Another wonderful Sheriff Porter Beck mystery and a marvelous job by a very talented author! I will never tire of reading this series. This is Book #3 and I can't wait for the next one to come out. Each of the books in this series can be read as a standalone, but I would encourage readers to read them all, preferably in order.

This review was originally posted on Books of My Heart


Review copy was received from NetGalley, Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

There is something so compelling about the Porter Beck series. The main point of view being a sheriff, with lots of military intelligence training, set in a small town with lots of natural beauty, are all positives. The Blue Horse is around a series of both horse and people deaths during some wild mustang roundups. The mafia is involved in the background.

Beck has been dating Charlie and has planned to move to Reno to work in the state intelligence agency. She seems off as they begin investigations. She is fostering Mercy from the previous book. Covid is just starting in this story set in 2020. Both Beck's father, and Tuffy, the deputy planning to become sheriff get ill.

Beck's sister, Brinley, is working at a wilderness camp for kids from bad situations, much as she had been. She takes to a big fighter with no trust called Rafa. He runs away from the camp and Brinley goes after him; she likely has COVID. A chase across wilderness and mountains with limited food and water but plenty of poisonous snakes is a struggle. They end up near the source of Beck's suspicions and rescue an older man nearly beaten to death. But shortly they are the hunted.

There are plenty of bad guys who are more than willing to kill. They have worked to frame an ex-military guy, Race, who is friends with the group leader, Etta, protesting the wild mustang roundups. But he turns out to be helpful in tracking down the bad guys. The FBI is initially determined to arrest Etta and or Race. Beck is sure they are innocent. In the end, it takes all of them to catch the killers.

There is plenty of personal growth here for Beck, Charlie and Brinley, all while risking their lives and having it rough. It's also interesting to see the effect of COVID in this remote area. The action doesn't stop for a minute in The Blue Horse. I'll be very interested to see how they are doing next time.

A sight-impaired detective trying to crack a streak of murders during a wild horse roundup, rather, excuse me, gathering, in COVID-era Nevada? Now that’s not your average mystery! This story is packed with twists, misdirection, and plenty of mental sleuthing. It’s not a quick, easy “whodunit”, there are layers to unravel, and the pace keeps you thinking. Full of grit, adventure, and unexpected moments, this was a truly unique and enticing read.

Headline: Unputdownable. A must-read!

Book Review: The Blue Horse, Porter Beck #3 by Bruce Borgos
Published by St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books, July 8, 2025

★★★★★ (4.5 Stars rounded up. Rave!)

LINCOLN COUNTY, NV, Porter Beck's quiet dessert bailiwick is home to the highly restricted, enigmatic Area 51. As narrated in the Porter Beck Book 1 "The Bitter Past" (2023), the county is also home to descendants of thousands 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.

// The Blue Horse, Porter Beck #3 (2025) //

JUST ANOTHER day at the office. As usual, Sheriff Porter Beck finds himself with his hands full with all the activists and environmentalists attracted by alien conspiracies and what not, this time against those opposed to the roundup and relocation of mustangs and wild horses by the BLM (Bureau of Land Management). Mixed into the concoction are the aspirations of a Canadian lithium mining company, controlled by dubious Sicilian characters. It all gets serious when a helicopter pilot skillfully maneuvering, herding the horses gets shot and killed. Shortly after, the BLM chargé d'affaires gets her head trampled by horses.

SERIOUS, DEADLY business, and personally challenging for the sheriff, afflicted with a case of night blindness.

BUT BECK IS NOT ALONE. He has with him his trusty Sheriff's Deputy Bo, short for Colombo, an ex-narc, hired in the county budget as an officer-in-training. The fox-red English Lab wears a ballistic K9 vest when on duty, and turns out to be the one that saves the day. Lieutenant and sidekick, Tuffy Scruggs along with the rest of his 12-man sheriff's department. Plus the biggies from the alphabet Feds who swoop in at opportune times.

Adoptive sister, Brinley Cummings, found by Pop, Joe Porter, at age 10 in the mountains, abused, sexually assaulted, now a professional firearms expert, gun tutor to A-list Hollywood actors, star of her own YouTube channel "GunGirl".

Petite amie Charlie Blue Horse, a Great Basin Paiute native American and state detective of the Investigative Division for the Department of Public State. She's got Beck's six, and was key player in Book 2 "Shades of Mercy" (2024).

Mercy Vaughn, aka Mei Wu, star of Porter Beck Book 2, teenage hacker extraordinaire, institutionalized after having been suspected of hacking a cool $Bliion from the Feds. An Uighur, with her blonde hair and blue eyes, possibly a "Zhelaizhai" descendant of Roman soldiers. Greg Knutson, better known by his sobriquet "X-Files", Area 51 Government cover-up conspiracy aficionado, investigative journalist and podcaster. Lastly, Race aka Robert Lewis Northrup, Afghanistan veteran, sharpshooter. Hero or villain?

"DIE GROßEN BLAUEN PFERDE" (The Large Blue Horses). In the end, a 2011 masterpiece by German painter Franz Moritz Wilhelm Marc, proves key to solving the helicopter and BLM murders...

----------

Superbly written, well-researched. Author Bruce Borgos peppers his distinctive prose with wry one liners you'd see in a Virgil 'That F-king' Flowers" novel by author John Sandford, a chuckle in each page.

(Note: The third Porter Beck book is staged in the COVID era and may not appeal to some readers.)

An unputdownable, must-read!

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

When a mustang round up turns deadly, Sheriff Beck and his team find multiple motives and suspects. Gruesome murders are balanced with Beck’s life as he deals with his failing eyesight, his father’s dementia, an unexpectedly cranky girlfriend Charlie, and the impact of COVID. A secondary storyline around Beck’s sister took awhile to tie in to the main mystery, and there were several plot twist I didn’t see coming. Facts about the controversy surrounding mustangs are woven throughout the high action thriller. Although this is the third outing it can stand alone. Porter Beck is a unique character in a distinctive setting. Recommended.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an eARC. All opinions expressed are my own.

Despite protests, the Bureau of Land Management is running a round-up of wild horses. As Sheriff Peter Beck and his deputy Tully patrol, they witness the crash of the helicopter being used by the BLM. The pilot was shot down and when they find the location that the shot was fired from all that is left is the shell casing and a blue horse. Beck’s investigation centers on the protest group and its’ leader, but something does not sit right with him.. There is more to the killing than just the disruption of the round-up. Detective Charlie Blue Horse, Beck’s lover and a state officer, arrives to offer her help with the investigation. In a second gruesome murder, filmed and released on the internet, the blame once again falls on the protesters. At that point the FBI is also called in. Beck’s office is short staffed with the rise of COVID, his father and Tully begin to show symptoms and Beck’s sister Brinley is also reported missing. She had been a volunteer on a wilderness program hike for troubled youth. Rafa, one of the boys, ran off and she left the group to find him. The protesters have been a distraction from the true reason for the murders. When Brinley tracks Rafa to a mining facility the events begin to come together.

This was supposed to be Beck’s last case as sheriff. He is set to take over a state position but Tully’s and his father’s illness and a new twist in his relationship with Charlie have him reconsidering. Beck also suffers from a retinal disease that leaves him blind in the dark and will eventually lead to total blindness. He has learned to cope with the condition and still perform his duties. This is a Western and a mystery, but what makes it extraordinary is Bruce Borgos’ characters. This is a story about people dealing with Covid and environmental issues. It had me smiling at relationships, cringing at the cruelty of the murders and treatment of the horses and shedding tears at the emotional ending. This is a story that should not be missed. I would like to thank NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press/Minotour for providing this book.

Sheriff Porter Beck’s third outing takes place in the pre-vaccine days of Covid-19, when people in his part of Nevada enjoyed the advantages of an outdoors-focused lifestyle and its natural social distancing. With that came a range of attitudes about the seriousness of the threat, and those are on display among the characters here even as members of Beck's team fall ill. This is the backdrop for the latest crime Beck investigates: a sniper attack on a helicopter pilot during a roundup of wild mustangs by the Bureau of Land Management. Local cattle ranchers are none too sympathetic towards the wild horses, making it difficult to conduct a thorough investigation of the matter, but local protesters are the obvious prime suspects. The story is dramatic and gripping, with a compelling subplot involving Beck’s sister, Brinley and a troubled kid who run into danger in the wilderness. Even the minor characters in this series are always up to something worth watching. Beck continues to adapt to his increasingly debilitating night blindness, thanks in part to help from his faithful dog, the awesome Deputy Columbo (“Bo”). This is quickly becoming a must-read series.

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur for a digital advance review copy.

I enjoyed the first book in the series and was excited to receive an ARC of this third installment. There was a lot going on in this story with COVID, protestors rallying against BLM management of wild horses, lithium mining, relationship drama with Charlie and Beck…. It was fast paced and I enjoyed the introduction of new characters.

The Porter Beck series has quickly become a favorite. This 3rd book sealed the deal for me. Beck, is a small county Sheriff in Nevada. He reminds me more and more of Joe Pickett from CJ Box's series. Riddled with faults, just really wants to do the right thing, and is a force to be reckoned with when the people he loves are in danger. Add in that he has a unique "disability": a genetic vision loss that causes him total blindness in low light/night. This book also gave me echoes of the Joe Pickett series since the storyline was centered around a controversial topic: wild horses. Knowing nothing of this controversy, it was educational as well.

There isn't a single character in this series that I don't like. I feel like, at some point, Borgos may have to break off his sister, Brinley, into her own series.

Lastly, I love all the "folksy" sayings in this book: like a cat learning algebra; nailing jelly to a wall, and so on.

Rich And Multilayered Story Marred By Emphasis On COVID. At one point during/ after the world collapse due to COVID-19, I had an ironclad star deduction policy for any mention of COVID whatsoever. One line referencing it even obliquely was usually enough to trigger it. I've relaxed that policy over the years and no longer apply it for such one off/ tangential references, so long as they are minimal and don't actually impact the story beyond an attempt to acknowledge the reality of setting any story in that period of world history.

This noted, I absolutely still apply it religiously when a story makes COVID a primary focus of the story... and unfortunately that happens here. Borgos could have used almost literally anything else to achieve some of the same ends he uses COVID for here, and it would have worked reasonably well - hell, some of them could have even tied into themes from earlier in the series. But he chose to use COVID, and that is damnable to many - and a major issue for me. Enough to warrant the star deduction, at minimum.

One of the other major themes here is perhaps just as volatile, if more locally - that of Nevada's wild horses and what should be done about them. This story plays out across the entire book, and Borgos seemingly does a solid job of showing the strengths and weaknesses of both sides. I say "seemingly" here as as a native of the borderlands between Appalachia and Atlanta, I can certainly count on both hands the number of times I've even been west of the Mississippi River - and I'm pretty sure I can count them on one hand. I've only been west of Texas *once* - a weekend nearly 20 yrs ago in Phoenix, Arizona. Thus, I don't really know anything at all about how Nevadans feel about this issue one way or the other, and unlike Borgos, this isn't something I've spent a lifetime in and around- culturally, at minimum. (Now, if the issue is the American Civil War... different story. But that particular topic doesn't apply to this book. :D)

Outside of these issues (and even inside of them, to a degree), this is a police procedural in form and format, if a more interesting/ less typical version of the sub genre in its particulars. Throughout this series, Borgos has made a truly interesting and compelling character in Porter Beck, a fully fleshed out, heroic yet flawed in his own ways, man of his world. Supporting characters, including Beck's dad and sister, are equally compelling, and even other relationships come across as all too realistic, particularly as things develop further in this book with these relationships. Even secondary characters such as the various suspects of this book are fleshed out much better than other authors generally do, including some rather horrific backstories that have enough detail to them that they seem based on at least generalizations of specific real world people and events. Indeed, once one gets beyond the COVID and beyond the horse issue- both central to this particular story, to be clear - and perhaps beyond the issues of foreign ownership and mining also discussed here, though less prominently and in far less detail, the actual story here between the various characters themselves is actually quite strong, and everyone plays their roles rather superbly.

Borgos has done an excellent job of building this world in a realistic, complex manner that reflects on the real world issues of its place and time in a manner that provides food for thought for all involved and for those completely unfamiliar with the area or its issues, and in so doing presents a solid story for all readers, but particularly male readers who may be looking for more male-oriented books that don't have the problems that more extreme forms of entertainment and/ or discussion all too often have.

Very much recommended.

I really enjoyed this series. The first 2 books were very riveting and this one was the same. Lots of action, twists and turns and an interesting story kept me interested the whole way through.

This is the 3rd book in the Porter Beck series that I've had the pleasure of reading thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Press.
The story opens as the COVID epidemic is beginning in NV as Sheriff Porter Beck and his faithful deputies are observing a wild horse "gathering"(round up) in northern Lincoln County. When the helicopter assisting with the roundup crashes, the lawmen note that the pilot has been shot with a high caliber rifle. This is followed by the BLM coordinator being brutally murdered.
I loved the way the author introduced the complex characters and developed them in realistic situations, making them relatable and down to earth. AA new character was Deputy Columbo (Bo) an English Lab that Beck is training to help him as his retinosa pigmentosa worsens.
This book has a lot going on including murder mysteries, action, suspense, action, tension, corporate crime, but is it balanced with the heartwarming relationships, strong sense of family and duty, and clever clues and resolution. The climax was action packed, and the ending was poignant.
I can hardly wait until #4 arrives!

The Blue Horse is exciting from beginning to end! When a wild horse round up is scheduled by the BLM (Bureau of Land Management), protestors arrive. Porter Beck expected a bit of trouble, but when a helicopter pilot is shot out of the air, and one of the BLM managers is later found brutally murdered, Porter and his team are faced with a double murder investigation while they try to prevent any more calamities or fatalities as the protestors numbers grow. Fortunately, Porter's new girlfriend, Charley Blue Horse, who is also a detective, has come to visit and lends her help, along with a little long-distance aid from Mercy. Porter himself is struggling with his continuing fading eyesight. Meanwhile, Porter's sister, Brinley, is at a camp for abused teens, one of whom, Rafa, runs away and stumbles into a lithium mining area. Brinley is soon in pursuit of Rafa. The story unfolds in 2020, and COVID has started its rampage across the country, with no vaccine yet released. Bruce Borgos has brilliantly combined all of these elements into an exhilarating, twisting mystery, with elements of environmental abuses, both to the horses and from the mining operations. The plot twists in this book are amazing, as well as how the author combined all the elements, and exposed the criminals behind them. I just love the characters he has created for this series, and how their stories, and Porter's fading eyesight evolved in this new book. This is one of those mysteries that has a heart, and a sense of family at its core. Porter Beck has become one of my favorite fictional detectives of all time! Thank you to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for my advance copy. The opinions of this review are my own.

After receiving a widget via NetGalley to read The Blue Horse back in March, I decided to take a chance on the novel, despite the fact that it, one, was not a genre I typically read and two, I hadn’t read the other installments in the series.

Borgia did an excellent job establishing the characters and the setting so us standalone readers weren’t confused. Porter Beck is a nuanced western sheriff, with several key traits that unravel as the plot unfolds, allowing me (and I assume other readers) to forget the stereotypes that have been connected with his choice of career and entrenched in the literary genre itself for over a century. Indeed, I truly enjoyed the surprise moments during which other languages were utilized and his military experience lead to a unique skillset or breakthrough in the case. So too was the mystery of the murders well planned— so much so that I truly didn’t foresee who the killers were.

As a disclaimer, it took me far too many pages to truly become invested in the story, much less interested in reading the novel, as I felt there was some elemental charm missing in the first several chapters that quickly made its presence known by the middle of the novel. As such, I took far too long to read the novel, setting it aside for days and even a few weeks. That said, now having completed The Blue Horse, I do not believe there is a pacing issue, as I originally thought. I think it’s simply due to the fact that this novel, the fourth in the series, was my introduction to the world of Porter Beck and because again, this is not the genre I typically read. Given that disclaimer, however, I do think it would be prudent of Borgos to create a bit more momentum early in the next book to keep readers like myself from abandoning the novel.

One more note: as a teacher, I work with today’s teenagers (middle school and high school students) every day. Therefore, when Rafa was introduced, I kept questioning whether or not the teens of 2020 actually used certain terms that he kept saying. Perhaps my students took to the slang later than others, but I don’t remember my 2020 students saying ‘no cap’ and ‘on God’. For me, my students didn’t start using them until at least 2022.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the ARC!

Thank you to NetGalley and the author/publisher for providing me with a copy. Here’s my honest opinion.

Bruce Borgos is a must read anytime a new book comes out because his stories don’t disappoint. The characters round out the story nicely, and I was pleased see the return of his girlfriend Detective Charlie Blue Horse along with his kick-ass sister Brinley and computer genius Mercy (love her character).

This third in the Porter Beck series has his department investigating several deaths with a backdrop of a wild horse roundup by the Government, protestors, and lithium mining interests in rural Nevada. It’s set as the COVID pandemic is beginning capturing the rural reaction well.

Easily makes my 2025-favorites list.

Another Kind of Organized Crime Comes To Nevada

Sheriff Porter Beck and his deputy, Tuffy Scruggs, are riding their horses to the BLM roundup of wild horses. A helicopter is hurdling into a canyon. They hear a shot and then an explosion when the helicopter hits the canyon wall. Porter and Tuffy hurry to the mouth of the canyon. Porter sends in Bo, his Labrador, into the canyon. He’s trained to find drugs and explosives. He finds the location from where the shot was taken. They find a 6.5 Creedmoor shell. Down at the helicopter, the pilot is dead. From his driver's license, they learn his identity. Beck calls Jolene Manning, the BLM supervisor of the roundup up and informs her of the death. She faints. From this start, a captivating novel begins.

This novel consists of three main storyline threads. The first thread is the investigation into the murder of the helicopter pilot, but it quickly expands with two more murders. Sheriff Beck and Detective Blue Horse are the primary narrators of this thread. The second thread is a criminal element. It is not clear how this element is involved in the main storyline, but the connection is slowly revealed. In the last thread, Sheriff Beck’s sister, Brinley Cummings, is on a camping outing for Green Horizons, which provides in-residence counseling for wayward kids. One particularly troubled youth runs away while the group is camped in the middle of a forest. Brinley goes after him. These three threads do merge. The first problem that plagues Sheriff Beck is his night blindness. He will be going on terminal leave shortly. Second, his Assistant Sheriff Scruggs, who is his best detective, is coming down with COVID. Most threads have multiple voices, but I did not find it confusing. This feature allowed me to observe the action through the eyes of the person present versus during later conversations. The main storyline becomes intriguing quite quickly. The first three murders indicated someone opposed to the roundup. Then, more violence occurs, which suggests that it would be committed by those in favor of eliminating the horses. Then, the criminal thread is not consistent with either. Finding out how all this fits together solidly grabbed my attention.

The two B-storylines provided much of the background for Beck in this novel. The first thread is the relationship between Beck and Blue Horse. In the last novel, their relationship had become very personal, and this novel starts with him planning to move with her up North. Beck is surprised by how she is becoming distant and acting strangely. Like a stereotypical male in this situation, he is finding it challenging to communicate to find out what is going wrong. The second is the deteriorating health of his father. Both threads provide the reader with an insight into how Beck reacts to very significant personal issues. This aspect of the novel enhanced my reading enjoyment.

One aspect that can cause some readers to stop reading is present in this novel. There are no intimate scenes. The violence becomes more graphic as the novel proceeds but never becomes excessive. The one issue is language, primarily language that is vulgar and impious. I did find reading this novel on an e-reader an advantage as I frequently used the easy Internet access to search for locations.

The only issue I had with this novel was minor. There was a statement that indicated that a fired bullet could be ballistically matched to bullets from unfired rounds. As the storyline did not rely on this fact, it led to my assessment that it was minor. I particularly enjoyed the ending. This novel is the last in a three-novel set. All the series-long threads were successfully wrapped up. While it was bittersweet in one aspect, this is one of the best endings of a series that I have read. The novels of this series are the only works by this author that I have read, but he has earned my Must-Read author category. I am very interested in what his next novel will be. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this entire series and highly recommend reading this novel and series. I rate it with five stars.

I received the free, pre-publication e-book version of this novel from Minotaur Books through NetGalley. My review is based solely on my own reading experience. Thank you, Minotaur Books, for the opportunity to read and review this novel.

Another grand adventure for Beck and his crew. When someone shoots down a helicopter pilot during a wild horse round-up, Beck is sure he will find the shooter quickly. Then when the woman who works for the BLM and one of her workers is murdered, Beck isn't so sure things are cut and dried. As Charlie and Beck's relationship progresses, Charlie drops a bomb on Beck. Their lives will be changed. Can Beck, Charlie and the others find the people responsible for the murders?

This is the third book of this great series. Small town Nevada sheriff and his team solving complex crimes. Plenty of twists and turns and action to keep you on your toes. I love this series.

I really enjoy this series, and The Blue Horse is no exception!
Porter Beck is a county sheriff in the high desert of Nevada, near Area 51. Former military and son of the previous sheriff (who is now 90), Beck is skilled, intelligent and thoughtful. He also suffers night blindness, which he is trying to adapt to in a variety of ways, including bringing on a canine deputy, Columbo (Bo), who flunked out of the police dog academy twice but Beck hopes will work out as a seeing eye dog. Beck, Bo, and Beck's second in command are monitoring the controversial round up wild horses by the Bureau of Land Management when a helicopter involved in the process goes down. Beck and Bo realize right away that it wasn't a simple crash: the pilot was shot. When the BLM employee managing the roundup is brutally murdered soon after, Beck brings in the Feds to help him find the killer. The FBI's evidence leads them to two individuals protesting the round-up, but Beck suspects a set-up and is determined to get to the bottom of it. All of this takes place against the back-drop of the earlier days of the COVID-19 pandemic, which is just starting to hit people in Beck's county and laying out some of his team and family. There are a couple of subplots involving Beck's family and personal life that add depth and emotion to the story. Well written and superbly plotted, The Blue Horse explores the controversy surrounding wild horses while providing an action-packed and engaging thriller.
Although this is the 3rd book in the series, I think it can easily be read as a standalone.

This is book 3 of the Porter Beck series. Porter is a sheriff in Nevada. During a controversial wild horse round-up (which is being observed by Porter and his team), the helicopter conducting the round-up crashes. Porter and his team set out to investigate and quickly discover that the pilot was shot.

There is a lot going on in this book. It takes place in 2020 and is during the early stages of Covid. Porter's dad is ill. His sister, Brinley, is counseling kids at a camp when one of the boys goes missing and she sets out to find him. They end up in the wrong place at the wrong time. There is lithium mines and wild horses. Porter's girlfriend, Charlie Blue Horse, is a state detective and she comes in to assist with the investigation when Porter's deputy gets Covid. Porter suffers from a disease of the retina that affects his eyesight at night and in poor lighting. He has a lab named Frank Columbo, or Bo, that helps Porter at night when he can't see.