Wow, what a spy thriller! I loved this story of a modern day sheriff investigating the death of a retired FBI agent. The setting is near the site of a nuclear testing site from decades the 1950s. Soon the investigation sends him on the hunt for a Russian spy from decades ago.

I really enjoyed this dual timeline thriller, the questions of what if a Russian spy had infiltrated the Nevada test site and has been living in the community for decades, the police procedural and all the family twists that came to light for the Sheriff.

Great debut!

This is a test!

In the tradition of Craig Johnson and C. J. Box, Bruce Borgos's The Bitter Past begins a compelling series set in the high desert of Nevada featuring Sheriff Porter Beck…

Porter Beck is the sheriff in the high desert of Nevada, north of Las Vegas. Born and raised there, he left to join the Army, where he worked in Intelligence, deep in the shadows in far off places. Now he's back home, doing the same lawman's job his father once did, before his father started to develop dementia. All is relatively quiet in this corner of the world, until an old, retired FBI agent is found killed. He was brutally tortured before he was killed and clues at the scene point to a mystery dating back to the early days of the nuclear age. If that wasn't strange enough, a current FBI agent shows up to help Beck's investigation.

On the high deserts of Nevada the US performed open air testing of nuclear bombs. It was closely guarded activity, and a ripe target for espionage from our enemies, particularly the Soviet Union. The Bitter Past is set in current day as a rural Sherriff and his team search to solve a murder. Soon joined by a federal agent it becomes a man hunt for a former Soviet spy that had infiltrated the testing site, pulled off the biggest heist ever in the world at the time, and ultimately betrayed his country. For years he was presumed dead, but recent information informed the Russians that one of their greatest traitors was alive, and they are out for blood.

I really enjoyed this book. It was fast paced with some flashbacks to the past to fill in gaps and develop the entire back story. The characters were well developed, and I actually cared for them. I also loved the setting, in the remote deserts of Nevada. The setting is almost another character in the story with the history it holds, as well as the barren and hostile landscape.

As an added bonus, the cinematic film Oppenheimer will soon be released. I suspect it will dovetail nicely with this book.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for giving me an advance reader copy in exchange for my thoughts and opinions.

"My whole life is not what I thought it was", muses the main character towards the end of this excellent new novel of suspense and mystery from Bruce Borgos. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this upcoming release.
Porter Beck, Beck to one and all, definitely has a lot to unpack as we travel through a mysterious case, one which has its roots in the Cold War and Nuclear Testing of the 1950s, but has taken root in present the present day, when a former FBI agent is found murdered - and in a most gruesome way.
The FBI sends one of its own to oversee the investigation, and it quickly becomes apparent that secrets from the past are coming home to roost.
Not only was the agent killed investigating the possibility of a Soviet spy somehow involved in a past terrorist event, but also the near certainty that there are operatives in the present trying - with devastating results - to find him and bring him back to Russia.
We are taken back to America's past and the Nuclear Proving Grounds in Nevada and fast-forwarded to the future where it rapidly becomes clear that the present danger is closer than Sheriff Beck knows.
All of the characters in this gripping story are well-drawn, and the author shows an in depth knowledge (thanks to much research, I'm sure) of what went on in the 1950s and how it has ramification even today - although this IS a work of fiction, it is also believable on many levels.
Death by torture, kidnappings, chases through the desert... all of these lead us to a startling conclusion, and one that even Beck could not imagine.
Recommended

CW: torture, misogyny

Lots of names to keep track of, a shifting timeline, point-of-view changes...there are things to work at in this read, as well as a graphic account of torture and aftermath. They are all necessary, not just stylistic choices.

What I liked the best about the read was the melding of police procedural in the present with espionage thriller in the past told with a good leavening of snark. This is a read that agreed with my desire to be involved in a story not just a passenger on a train to a known destination. The publisher's comparisons to C.J. Box and Craig Johnson are apt. I'm a sucker for a series set in a place I don't want to go, and that included all deserts...especially irradiated ones! I could *feel* the dryness as I read along.

I found the polygamous-Mormons subplot to be tacked-on and found it contributed nothing to my experience of the read.

Talk about a dramatic start to a book, a book I hope turns into a series: one of the most gruesome murder scenes I have ever read. The setting, the high desert of Nevada, is described so beautifully with its twists and turns of canyons, the loneliness of the area and a huge area for a sheriff and his small staff to cover. The timeframe of the story has two datelines—present day and the 1950s which is quite timely with a movie about Oppenheimer and the atomic bomb opening in July. A knowledgeable sheriff and a FBI agent make this a thrilling mystery spy thriller along with the historical fiction that adds up to be one of the best reads of the year. Thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for an advanced review copy of this book; the review is my honest opinion.

Wow. What an excellent, entertaining, exciting, enjoyable read. I hope this series continues, or if not, that this author writes another book very soon. It’s complicated and complex, with multiple potential villains and dual timelines to keep straight. But the writing is strong, the plot well-crafted, perfectly paced and logical. It’s full of interesting and relevant comments and facts about movies, people, events, books, and political, both in mid-century history and the present time. The high desert of Nevada is as much a living, breathing – and deadly – character as any of the people in the book.

And Sheriff Porter Beck? Definitely a character I want to spend more time with. He skirts right up to the edge of too much humor and flippancy, but witty as his words might be, his detective skills, memory and ability to run an investigation and solve a problem are dead serious. A very interesting guy. So much happens to him in the story I’m curious as to what role he carves out for himself next, and especially curious as to how the progression of his retinitis pigmentosa will affect his ability to do his job and how much longer he can keep it hidden.

The opening paragraphs of The Bitter Past are harsh and graphic, and the heightened sense of danger never recedes. Old men are being killed in an attempt to find a KGB spy sent to America in the mid-1950s, the early atomic age. And it turns out there are more old men in that desert that almost fit the profile than you would think. Add in an FBI agent who suddenly shows up insisting she’s there to help (and seems to stir something in Beck), near-mutiny in his own department and non-stop action and you have a book you will not be able to put down. It was thought-provoking, educational, fascinating and totally satisfying.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press Minotaur Books for providing an advance copy of The Bitter Past via NetGalley for my reading pleasure and honest opinion. It was most definitely a pleasure and I am eagerly awaiting the next book in the series. I voluntarily leave this review; all opinions are my own.

This book had me hooked from the start. It blends mystery, humor, suspense, action, a touch of romance, and unique characters that blend the past with the present to portray a complex scenario.

The story is primarily told in the present, but there are jumps to the late 50s that share what it was like when they were testing nuclear bombs, what they thought would happen with the radioactive material, and what actually happened. I really enjoyed the changes in time because it helped us to understand the present by understanding the past.

Sherriff Beck has his own issues to deal with, including degeneration in his eyes, especially at night, that hinders his abilities. FBI Special Agent Sana Locke is sent to Nevada to investigate the death of a former agent. The tension between these two could set off sparks. One underrated character is Beck's sister, Brinley. She is one hot mess but has skills that most of us might wish we possessed.

I enjoyed the interaction between all of the characters. I especially loved Sana's dry and sarcastic wit. I had a good chuckle throughout the book.

I don't know if this is going to be a series, but I think the author should consider it. It does say #1 on Goodreads, so I'm going to go with it probably will be a series.

If you enjoy mysteries, you might want to give this one a whirl. We give it 5 paws up.

Book Review: The Bitter Past (Porter Beck #1) by Bruce Borgos
Published by St. Martin's Press & Minotaur Books, July 18, 2023

★★★★★ (4.5 Stars rounded up)

Author Bruce Borgos peppers his commendable prose with wry humor, hilarious one liners reminiscent of a John Sandford "Virgil 'That F-king' Flowers" novel, a chuckle in each page.

This is a novel I enjoyed reading!

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Lincoln County, NV
150 miles due north of Las Vegas

Sheriff Porter Beck's 12-man department in this sleepy desert county in southern Nevada is rocked by the brutal killing of a retired FBI agent, 74-year-old Ralph Atterbury. Beck, son of the former sheriff, Joe Beck, now semi-invalid, is joined in the investigation by American-Jordanian FBI Special Agent Sana Locke, and Beck's maverick, sharp-shooting adoptive-sister, Brinley Cummings.

Agent Atterbury's death catapults the remote county into its "bitter past" as the home of "Nevada Test Site Downwinders", with county residents invariably exposed to radiation from atmospheric nuclear tests from 1951 to 1957 conducted at the Nevada Test Site, 170 miles west. Residents at that time were given radiation badges by the Atomic Energy Commission to compile data on the dangers of splitting the atom in the open air.

Author Bruce Borgos weaves into his police procedural /historical fiction thriller a delicious spy and romance angle, a decades-long enduring love affair between KGB Lt. Georgiy Dudko aka "Freddie", and Kitty, daughter of an American scientist, as Russian illegals, circa 1950, take up residence under deep cover to try to infiltrate America's most secret scientific facilities in atomic research near the proving grounds in the Nevada desert.

Even as Sheriff Porter Beck finds out that the answer to many questions and mysteries hits much closer to home than he ever could have imagined...

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// She looks up at me. "Do you have a theory?" My eyes are the perfect shade of noncommittal, and Locke doesn't wait for me to respond, as if she has just asked a silver-backed gorilla what he thinks about the price of egg.
- - - From "The Bitter Past" by Bruce Borgos //

Remarkably complex and well-constructed. A must-read, great start to a series!

Review based on an advance reading copy courtesy of St. Martin's Press & Minotaur Books, and NetGalley.

The Bitter Past by Bruce Borgos is the first book in the fantastic (Porter Beck) series. This was my first time reading a book by the author and I thoroughly enjoyed this intense, high stakes tale. The engrossing storyline is part police procedural, espionage thriller/mystery, historical fiction all in one and filled with evocative characters. With gripping chapters that alternate between the present day and the past, which really kept me engaged and up reading well into the night. A huge thank you to Minotaur Books, the author and NetGalley for the advanced electronic copy of the book.

The premise of the book starts when Porter Beck comes back to his hometown in the high desert of Nevada after serving in Army Intelligence. Now he is the new sheriff, a position his elderly father once held years ago, but who is currently in the early stages of dementia. The untroubled police department is shaken when a retired FBI agent is found tortured and murdered. When FBI agent Sana Locke arrives to investigate the story takes off at breakneck speed which involves nuclear testing in the 1950’s, as well as a Russian spy that infiltrated the testing site. But someone is out there looking for that long ago unremembered person who can shed some light into what happened back then and the fatal danger taking place right now. If you love mysteries then I highly recommend The Bitter Past by Bruce Borgos.

We usually see Cold War spy or espionage novels with an international setting. What a treat to have one set on American soil with a county sheriff as our investigative hero. And Porter Beck is a good hero. He is down to earth yet smart at outwitting the villain. I really like his sister too. She is one tough and capable woman.

The plot is very interesting, combining nuclear testing in the 1950s with a score to settle today. Borgos has done a good job of weaving past events into a current situation of suspense. I liked learning about the nuclear testing and the effects on the local population. The fictional possibility of Soviet infiltration was all too scary. There are plenty of surprising plot twists near the end as we find out people are not who they claim to be.

I enjoyed this dual time novel of espionage and suspenseful intrigue. I like Beck as a hero and will be watching for him in future novels from Borgos. Please bring along sister Brinley, super heroine.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.

Book 1 of the Porter Beck series. A combination of historical fiction and thriller. There is a dual timeline of the present time and 1957. If you enjoy being in the middle of the action, this series will be for you!
Thank you NetGalley!

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur books for sending The Bitter Past by Bruce Borgos for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

This was one of the most gripping, well-written thrillers I have read in a while. I love a good mystery, and this came with a side of spies, espionage, the KGB, and nuclear war. In this dual-timeline, pulse-pounding read, Sheriff Porter Beck must figure out who the Russian is hiding in his small town before he's found and exterminated. Told from Beck's point of view in the present, and Freddie Meyer's point of view in the 1950s, we watch as the past and present collide in a face-off years in the making.

Although I was never one for history class, this taught me things that I didn't know about the fight for nuclear bomb domination that went on in the 50's between the US and Russia. This gave insight into how determined both sides were to come out on top, no matter the cost.

The story pulled me in from the beginning, and with the well-developed cast of characters, I had problems putting the book down. The novel read like a fast-paced movie in the vein of Jason Bourne.

All in all, a great series starter for Sheriff Porter Beck. If you like a fast thriller, great characters, a strong mystery, and a little espionage, then this book is for you.

I am always so pleased to discover a new "mystery" writer; I read a lot of mysteries and a new-to-me author is relatively rare. "The Bitter Past" is the new novel of Bruce Burgos, and it is a corker. It reminded me not only of Craig Johnson's Longmire series (and Johnson has written an encomium for "The Bitter Past"), but also of Ace Atkins' Quinn Colson series set in Mississippi. You can't do better than these excellent authors, as far as I am concerned.

You can read the blurb to get the synopsis of the plot. Readers of my reviews know by now that I detest spoilers and don't include them.

"The Bitter Past" was a very pleasurable read. The interplay between the past and present made this book hard to put down. The writing flowed and I never felt that this was a first-in-a-series novel. I am already looking towards the next installment with great anticipation.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

This is a compelling thriller set in two timelines. In the present day, Sheriff Porter Beck is investigating the grisly murder of a retired FBI Agent. He is almost immediately joined in his investigation by another FBI Agent, because there is more to this murder than it seems. In 1956, a Russian agent infiltrates a nuclear testing site, trying to help his country win the cold war. At the same time, the deadly consequences of radiation poisoning are starting to come to light.

This book started out with a bang in the aftermath of a brutal murder, and the action didn't stop. The plot is not only intriguing, but it also takes us back to the nuclear testing in the Nevada Desert as we follow a Russian agent who is posing as a likable young American man. In the present timeline, the murder investigation is action-packed and will keep the reader riveted.

I received a free copy of this book from the publishers via Netgalley. My review is voluntary and the opinions expressed are my own.

Thank you Netgalley for the advance audiobook and reader copy of The Bitter Past by Bruce Borgos in exchange for an honest review. I really enjoyed this book. I loved the duel timeline and how it came together. This book felt like a cross between the show The Americans and The Big Sky. I loved the intrigue and small town feel.

3.5 stars rounded up. I have mixed emotions about this book. It was a very interesting story and I liked the dual timelines. The historical events were well plotted and it kept my attention. However, I didn't care for the feeble attempt at romance between Beck and the FBI agent. And one of my pet peeves, sooooo many characters to keep up with, it was hard at times to separate the good ones from the bad ones. But I did enjoy the book and since it is the start of a series, I will probably read the next one. My thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

So well written drew me right in.Enjoyed the two time lines the characters .Definitely will be recommending and following the author.#netgalley #the bitterpast.

I was intrigued by the dual timeline plot, investigating a present day murder with the backdrop of Soviet spies and nuclear testing in Nevada in the 50s. Very timely with the release of the Oppenheimer movie this month. The murder investigation and past timeline details were well done. It otherwise would have been a solid 3-4 star rating. However, the sexist language was so pervasive and the interactions between the main character and most of the women in this book were equal parts problematic and cringe-worthy (specific examples available upon request).
*Thanks to NetGalley, Minotaur Books (ebook) and Recorded Books for the advance copies for review.

Bruce Borgos, series debut, The Bitter Past, is a strong, plotted, intelligent, complicated story that explores little-known history. I instantly enjoyed Sheriff Beck's witty narrative, even though he comes across as sexist when he has fun sizing up Agent Santa Locke, who is called in to help him with the mystery around a gruesome discovery, "Zero body fat, a BMI built for a BMW. Right off a New York runway if she was so inclined." ~Beck. Normally that would be a turn-off for me. Still, Bruce Borgos won me over with his cast of fascinating, amusing, damaged characters and their witty, humorous dialogue that offsets the tension.

There is plenty of action with a race against time element. The barren, haunted Nevada desert is an unforgiving backdrop that drives the tension forward. However, the characters will have me reading the second book in the series.