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.

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.
**The narrator was on the bland side so I had to increase the speed and just listen to the words since the narration didn’t add much.

Big thanks to Recorded Books for the ALC to read & review! Out Now!

Would recommend if you like: police procedural, multi timeline/ POV, 1950s nuclear testing, multiple mysteries tied together & some thrilling moments!

Snippet from my review of the Minotaur Sampler:
"The Bitter Past by Bruce Borgos, available 7/18
This will be the first in a new series featuring Sheriff Porter Beck.
I liked the banter between Sheriff Beck & Agent Locke when they met. This is supposed to be told in two timelines which, if done well, I tend to enjoy. Also love me a good police procedural. This is definitely going into the "Want to read it" pile."

I love Porter Beck's character. He is serious in his police role but also jokes around. His humor was a welcome distraction from the cases; but he is a good investigator. I was surprised & pleased by the relationship between Sheriff Beck & Agent Locke as it developed. She seemed SO serious in their initial meeting, for her to let down her seriousness & joke around with Beck was great. I am looking forward to future installments in this Sheriff Porter Beck series [& also sooort of hope we haven't seen the last of Agent Locke].

There is lots of action packed into this story. A few different mysteries that may or may not be related (okay, they are, they all come together by the end -- great twists). I loved the police procedural specifically because Beck & Sana work together throughout. Maaan my jaw dropped more than once during the investigations.

In the past timeline: I love that the author writes in a way to humanize "Freddie" because he has a girlfriend & works hard. He seems like any other young man working to advance in his career. BUT when we find out who he is, why he's working there....WOW, WHOA, WTH.

The Bitter Past is a nice debut from Bruce Borgos.

"Sheriff Beck gets a call to a murder scene where it looks like the victim, a retired FBI agent, was tortured. The killer was obviously after some information but what was it? Did the killer get what he came for? Does it have anything to do with the county being close to the old Nuclear testing areas of the 50's? Beck must get answers if he wants to find and stop the killer."

This is crime fiction - but with the flavor of Cold War espionage. The setting is part of wide-open Nevada - a big county with few people and fewer law enforcement personnel. There are multiple layers to several characters. Sheriff Beck is full of surprises - from his military background and medical condition. The killer - hiding in plain sight. And probably my favorite character is Brin - Beck's sister. I hope we get a future book with her as the main character.

This book has dual timelines. The present and past events from the 50s that have everyone looking for answers.

A decent audio performance by James Babson. I would have liked to see a little more emotion in the audio with the diferent reveals and the chase scene, but it's still okay.

The reveal was a surprise and the ending makes me want to visit Nevada. There's also some interesting tidbits about the fallout from previous nuclear testing.
Borgos has great pace in this book. It's Cold War fiction with a modern twist. Can't wait to see more.

2-2.5 stars

I really enjoyed the two timelines and how they came together. I wouldn’t usually go for a book about Russian spies, but I found myself drawn to the timeline of the past. I also really liked the Nevada desert as the setting and the descriptions of how that impacted their work.

However, I really struggled with the relationship between Porter Beck and Sana Locke. I found myself cringing at some of their interactions and Beck’s observations about her.

I think people who like espionage and police procedurals might enjoy this book, but it wasn’t for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and RB Media for the advanced in exchange for my honest review.

This is a riveting blend of espionage, police procedural, and historical fiction. The captivating narrative seamlessly weaves these genres together. Truly it was a very engaging and unpredictable reading experience. The narrator, James Babson did a phenomenal job. James used a variety of tones and inflections that truly kept me engaged till the very end. The story wasn't confusing and I was able to follow along very well. Truly one that will stick with me for awhile.

I have a new favorite author! You never can be sure what to expect when you pick up a new book from a new author. And as a lover of some of the mystery thriller series greats, those can be tough shoes to fill. The Bitter Past by Bruce Borgos hit all the marks!
Porter Beck is Sheriff in the deserts of Nevada and his background is a story within itself! When a retired FBI agent is found tortured and murdered, Beck's investigation leads him back in history. A dual timeline brings to life the nuclear testing done in Nevada in the 1950s. And a ruthless someone is now looking for a Russian spy that may have been in the area at that time.
Porter Beck is a complex, highly skilled and intelligent main character quick with wit and I can only hope to see more of him in the future! The secondary characters in this book are also so likeable and interesting, especially Brinley - fierce and flawed. Let me say it again, with a mix of mystery, thriller, historical fiction with a touch of romance and humor this book hit all the marks!
The audiobook is narrated by James Babson who does a superb job. He captures the tone on Beck perfectly differentiates the various characters without over exaggeration. Great choice!
I highly recommend!

The Bitter Past by Bruce Borgos
Narrator James Babson
I could not even get to 20% with this audiobook. The beginning was extremely gruesome from the very start.
The main male character was not nearly as funny as he seemed to think he was. And don’t get me started on the main female character who was an FBI agent and yet acted like a 12 year old girl. Also, I’m so not into insta-love.
I have to confess there were a few good one-liners but not enough to make up for the rest of it.
Narrator was okay but not fabulous. Will not be looking forward to another book in this series since I had to DNF this one.

If you’re a fan of spy thrillers or police procedurals, you should check out The Bitter Past, a debut novel which I had trouble putting down once I’d started it. The story is set in the high desert of Nevada, in an area that was used for above-ground nuclear testing in the 1950s. Porter Beck is the sheriff in Lincoln County, which is a sparsely populated area in eastern Nevada, north of Las Vegas and near the Utah border. The action is mostly set in contemporary times, with flashbacks to the mid-1950s, which revolved around Russian operatives embedded in the US’s nuclear testing facilities back then. The fallout (literal and figurative) from those times has had a big impact on the present day. A retired FBI agent is found gruesomely murdered and a current FBI agent, Sana Locke comes to town to work with the locals on this case. Then a young Mormon woman goes missing. Suddenly, Beck and his small department have multiple investigations going on at the same time, which strain their capacity.

I enjoyed the main character, who has a background in Army intelligence and who was stationed in Russia for several years. He has started to develop night blindness from a condition that is hereditary, and that brought an end to his military career. He has been hiding this problem for quite a while, but it’s getting worse and is starting to impact his police work. His father was the previous sheriff and is suffering from the beginnings of dementia. Since this is the start of a series, it will be interesting to see how Beck’s night blindness proceeds. Beck has a penchant for puns and corny jokes, and that helped to lighten the atmosphere at times. I wasn’t crazy about the idea of him getting personally involved with Agent Locke so quickly, but that’s a minor quibble. There were a couple of really big twists near the end of the book, which I didn’t see coming.

The Nevada desert landscape was so beautifully described. You also get a good feel for how far apart everything is in that region, and how easy it can be to be isolated or go “off the grid.”

I bounced between the audiobook and the ebook for this title, which was very convenient. The audiobook narrator, James Babson, did a wonderful job.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance reader copy of this book and to Recorded Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to an advance copy of this audiobook. All opinions are my own.

5 stars

This book is a little out of my typical reading selections, which makes me even more surprised that I enjoyed it this much. Rather than speeding through it (a common m.o. I admit to somewhat begrudgingly), I tried to really slow down with this one. Then, when I was almost finished with an e-version, I received the gift of audio. What do you know? I just had to read it twice in a row!

Porter Beck, the m.c. on which an apparent series will now be based, is the kind of guy you might want to punch in the face (I did) at first because of the creepy way he talks about women, but he gets into a consenting relationship with a woman who seems to dig it (and it's not the worst - just cringy - the bar is low these days), so it's passable. Fortunately, everything else about this character is pretty great, including his voice and perspective, which kept me engaged in two separate versions. For me, the even more intriguing character is in the (now fairly distant) past, a (then) young Russian spy (one day those of us with similar origins will find some other representation, but okay...paging Elizabeth Jennings). The jumps between the present day and this character's experiences are so well devised. There's never a feeling of abruptness or disconnection. Instead, the timelines build suspense, provide critical insights for readers, and keep the plot speeding toward an ending that I found absolutely worthy of the characters and of my time!

I could do without Beck's brand of "romancing," but even with some related eyerolls over here, he's a great character whom I'm thrilled is getting his own series, mostly because I want to see many more appearances from his family members - chosen and otherwise. This book concludes nicely (no frustrating cliffhangers or major unanswered questions), but there are definite and obvious opportunities for continued expansion. I'm already ready for the next one and will be aggressively trying to lay eyes (or ears) on it as soon as possible.

Many thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advance audio copy of this book. Wow. This book blew my expectations. It mixed a mystery, thriller, and historical fiction all in one book.

This book made me laugh, cringe, and worry multiple times through out the book. Can't wait to read more!