Overall this was a decent read. I found a lot of the details to be annoying, particularly the part about RAW photo files to not have metadata. I found myself more interested in Brin and Rafa’s story than Beck and Charlie’s. While I wasn’t the right audience for the story, it did get me out of my reading slump.

This was a very interesting book about the wild horses out in the Nevada. The book starts out like a minimum history and a love story at the same time. The helicopter was chasing them and crash and the pilot .waskill The sheriff name PO LTE R came out and his girlfriend.That detective named charlie was there as well. The Land management. Is where the horses wwaere on federal land. Some people object to these because they want the horses to be wild and not be taken off the land. There is also a Wilderness camp for children out there as well. This also played an important part of the story as well. It was interesting how these 2 people to react it and try to find out the murders. It was a great story and I learned a lot about these wild horses out in Nevada.I don't know better

I honestly did not read this book because it had my ex's name in it so I DNF'd it because I didn't need that in my reading life. Also I didn't find it that interesting plus the chapters of this book were so long. At point I did try to listen to the audiobook and even that did not work for me sorry.

When a roundup of wild horses turns deadly Sheriff Porter Beck is on the scene with help from his girlfriend Detective Charlie Blue Horse. The FBI also comes into “help” with the case when fingers start pointing toward a wild horse advocacy group.

But things aren’t sitting right with Beck and despite his growing disability of not being able to see when the day grows dark Charlie and his not very good service dog Columbo (Bo for short) help him search for more clues.

Meanwhile his sister is missing out in the wilderness after a boy runs away from a wilderness retreat for troubled teens. His father has contracted COVID and Charlie is acting strange toward Porter and he is feeling insecure about his failing eyesight.
This is a great series, and I love that the main character has a disability. Its also about found family and learning to lean on each other. The overall mystery in this series is easily overlooked by police who are only focused on one thing and not taking in a bigger picture. Mining is on trial in this book as well and what is doing to our land. Set in Nevada it has a lot of history behind each story.

A controversial wild horse round-up is the scene for a shocking murder of a helicopter pilot, which is then soon followed by the murder of the person managing the round-up for the Bureau of Land Management.

Sheriff Porter Beck has no shortage of possible suspects, from a representative from a wild horse advocacy group, to others who had more personal reasons to want these two individuals' deaths.

The one bright part of his life is Detective Charlie Blue Horse, his new girlfriend. Together, they follow numerous leads and contradictions to a Canadian Lithium mining company whose operations are near the round-up area. Beck feels something is hinky with the company's executive and operations.

Meanwhile, Brinley, Porter's sister, is leading a number of at-risk and troubled kids in a wilderness program, and one of the kids, Rafa, escapes, with Brinley in pursuit. Their trajectory takes them across the path of bad men hunting Porter, and things go from bad to worse. And the Feds are involved, and want a quick resolution to everything. Yup, Porter is not having a good time.

The pacing is fast, starting with the opening murder and leading to the various chases and reveals. Bruce Borgos' characterization is good, and I've become quite fond of Porter, Brinley, Charlie Blue Horse and Rafa. There is a lot happening and Borgos maintains tight control over his story threads, all leading to a tense, and personally rewarding, for Porter, conclusion.

James Babson narrates the audiobook (I listened and read my way through this story). Babson does a good job evoking Porter's intelligence and insight, as well as his sense of humour. I liked Babson's voicing of the other characters, also.

Can't wait for the next entry in this compelling series.

Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martin's Press and RBMedia for these ARCs in exchange for my review.

If you’re drawn to characters like Walt Longmire or Arliss Cutter -- men who lead with grit, humor, and a stubborn sense of justice -- Porter Beck belongs on your shelf. Bruce Borgos may not have the same name recognition as Johnson or Cameron, but he’s writing at their level, and The Blue Horse proves it.

Beck’s inherited eye condition, retinitis pigmentosa, means he’s fine in daylight but nearly blind at night. And since trouble tends to come after dark, he’s forced to rely on instinct, experience, and a sharp tongue to survive. Some of the book’s best moments -- funny, tense, and deeply human -- come when Beck is bluffing through danger he can’t fully see.

The story opens with the rounding up, or gathering, of wild horses, and those scenes are emotionally raw. If you’re sensitive to animal distress, brace yourself; the brutality doesn’t stop there. It shifts toward people, and Borgos doesn’t pull punches. The violence is never gratuitous, but it hits hard.

Set in 2020, COVID isn’t just a timestamp; it’s a living part of the story. It shapes the characters’ isolation, urgency, and choices. Multiple storylines unfold, each compelling on its own, but they’re destined to collide. And when they do, the tension spikes.

By the final 20%, you’re not just reading, you’re racing. Borgos tightens the screws, tugs at your heart, and leaves you breathless. That last stretch is what turns this from a solid four-star read into a five-star gut punch.

Three books in, and these characters feel like family. Beck isn’t just a hero, he’s a man you root for, worry about, and want to follow into the dark.

Book #3 in a series that has grown better with each book, which is the point of a series. Sheriff Beck will face more challenges than you'd expect in this quiet section of the Nevada desert. With the help of his supporting cast of characters, he'll soon weave the individual crimes into a coordinated attempt to drive the locals away from the lithium mines and steal millions. As Beck sets the trap, will he catch the right criminals?

Bruce Borgos’ new Porter Beck novel, The Blue Horse, is lovely and frustrating simultaneously.
I genuinely loved The Blue Horse except for all the COVID talk, which tested my resolve to finish the book. It’s weird to read a person who loved a book but came close to not finishing it. Imagine writing it. Luckily, my love of the series and the characters won out. I have enough scars from the time of COVID and don’t particularly want to read anything more about it. Especially when it’s never far from mind. I’m glad I stuck with it towards the end because Borgos’ improvement is on full display, along with his growing confidence. Some of the decisions within the book were ballsy as hell and made me audibly gasp a few times. Give me an author who takes risks any day.

Thank you to Minotaur Books for the galley of The Blue Horse via NetGalley!

What an excellent read. Hard to put down. This has all the pieces I like to read…a good but tough cowboy cop, horses, mystery and a bit of allure mixed in.

Charlie Blue Horse, a female State Detective and Sherriff Porter Beck delve into some odd murders. I hate to see the people die as much as I do the wild stallions but it’s still a good story.

This is the “flows along, fun to read, wish it wasn’t over” kind of writing. Bruce Borgos obviously has this talent if you even look at the number of ratings and reviews on any review platform. Looks like this was the third book in the series. Think I’ll go back and read the other two and hope for a fourth.

When I am looking for a great, detailed mystery set in the Nevada desert, there is no better author than Bruce Burgos and his Lincoln County Sheriff, Porter Beck. The characters are solid, completely believable with their beliefs, attitudes, and issues. The story is well crafted and I eagerly turned the pages trying to keep up with the action, the planning, the crimes. A million hands clapping for making Porter Beck less than perfect as he confronts his upcoming challenges. There really is something to say about the strong, introspective, mostly silent hero. I would read any installment in this series in a heartbeat.

Many thanks to Minotaur Books / St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for a copy.

Was looking forward to this third book in the Porter Beck series. Unfortunately the story seemed to tangent quite a bit and it never really grabbed my attention. It seemed that many enjoyed it, it just wasn’t for me. Thanks to Netgalley for the chance to read and review this one.

Sheriff Porter Beck is investigating a helicopter crash that isn’t what it seems. His girlfriend Charlie Blue Horse, a state detective, is called in for another incident, their relationship has it’s ups and downs through the trying cases. There’s a gruesome murder and trouble brewing. The farmers and protesters are at odds over wild horses being rounded up. The setting in Nevada mountains is scenic and made me want to visit. I thought the contrasting views on the plight of the wild horses was well described. This story is set during the pandemic and it plays into the overall theme. I’ve liked all in this series and can’t wait to see where the next adventure leads. Thanks to St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books (via NetGalley) for providing an Advance Reader Copy of “The Blue Horse” A Porter Beck Mystery #3, by Bruce Borgos, published 07/08/2025. These thoughts and opinions are my personal honest ones given voluntarily without compensation.

The Blue Horse
By Bruce Burgos

There is a somewhat specialized type of police procedural/murder mystery where the protagonist is not a big city cop, but a park ranger or a cowboy sheriff. This is one of those. The sheriff here is Porter Beck, a county sheriff in Nevada. This is not the first Porter Beck book, but it is my first – and it won't be my last.

This story has it all: saving the habitat of wild mustangs vs. the rights of ranchers; development of a lithium mine in the interest of our national security vs. polluting the waterways; politicians and mafia and other unsavory types.

I loved this story, most especially for the characters. No one is portrayed as perfect – all their human flaws are right out there. But there wasn't a character I didn't like – even the bad guys! Beck has a degenerative eye disease that is slowly stealing his sight. His girlfriend, Charlie Blue Horse, is the love of his life and a state cop. His adoptive sister was subjected to horrendous abuse as a child. Rafa is another such child, traumatized and combative. Race, the veteran suffering from PTSD, is another winning character. I just loved them all. Through them, I became invested in this story.

If you are looking for a fast paced entertaining read, this is the book for you!

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC.

Ever since Craig Johnson started publishing in the early summer, I've missed my taste of the modern day western when the days start to grow shorter. I can't wait to read Johnson's latest, nor C.J. Box's, so a replacement was needed. Last year, thankfully, I discovered Bruce Borgos. Beck Porter is exactly what I needed. A mix of Walt Longmire and Joe Pickett, Porter brings something familiar, but different enough to not be a close, to the genre. I loved book one in the series and thought book two was solid enough. This one felt more in line with the first. The mystery was good, the action was top rate, and the scenery was beautiful to get lost in (in my head at least). It was interesting enough to see it was set a few years prior, during the height of COVID, but I don't think it drew away from the moderness of the modern western. Porter is entering a new phase of life by the book's end, but I hope he still has several more adventures to go. He feels like he's just getting started.

The Blue Horse was a wonderful mystery read. The multi-view point story telling really opened up the plot and allowed the reader to step into the story in different ways. Though the mystery is the main plot, this is a character driven story. Along with figuring out the crime, the characters are also navigating 2020 and life during the pandemic. The pacing is great, it pulls you along without rushing the story but also without too much of the drag that can sometimes happen in books of this genre. I highly recommend this book for those looking for a mystery that will keep you guessing and entertained the whole way through.

I love books set in our National Parks or the rugged outdoors, and in this book Sheriff Porter Beck of Nevada is dealing with the Bureau of Land Management's annual wild horse roundup. Tempers are hot on both sides. Ranchers don't like the horses tearing through their lands, but animal activists think the horses should be left alone to live their lives. Then during a roundup, a helicopter being used to corral the horses is shot out of the sky. More deaths will follow before Sheriff Beck determines who the bad guys are, and a lithium company will add further complications to the story.

This is book 3 in a series on the Nevada sheriff, but I was not hindered by jumping in at the this point. I had all the information I needed to follow the storyline. Borgos writes well developed characters, both male and female, and I'm interested in the characters lives in Book 1 & 2, so I may go back and fill in these missing pieces.

I liked that this book had a lot of drama and excitement with definite bad guys, without going crazy over the top with weaponry and high body counts. One favorite writer's stories have been getting more and more unrealistic, but that was not the case here. I also liked that there were so many characters to be interested in, not just the main one. I will look forward to reading more from this author.

This was a 4.5 read for me, but I always round up when I find a new author I like.

Thank you to NetGalley, Bruce Borgos, and publisher for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoy the Porter Beck novels and this story delivers. While doing a mustang roundup, a helicopter pilot is shot and killed. This sets a chain of events into motion that Beck is investigating in the midst of the Covid pandemic. Meanwhile, his sister ends up in the thick of it when tracking down a runaway from a wilderness retreat for troubled youth she is part of.

Great story with action and poignant moments. Beck is such an interesting character with his night blindness and how he deals with that. His relationship with Charlie also takes an interesting turn. The end almost feels like and ending and a new beginning. Hoping this series continues on!

Thanks to the publisher for a review copy via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A lot of the problems I had with this book was my own problems. I didn't realize it was part of a series so I was sort of confused through it but otherwise it was an okay book and I enjoyed it.

This is the third in series and can be read as a stand alone. Thank you to the publisher, Net Galley and the author. My review opinion is my own.
This is my first book by the author. I enjoyed the well crafted story . As one who is involved in advocacy for our wild horses I especially enjoyed reading how the evil doers in the story harming our wild horses received their just karma. I enjoyed the investigation aspects and the characters are richly drawn and interesting. A controversial subject indeed written quite well.

Bruce Borgos delivers a tight, smart, and suspenseful thriller here, part modern Western, part police procedural, with just enough heart and grit to keep you invested. The story builds neatly, characters feel lived-in, and the stakes stay real. A few threads might pull a little too hard or feel undercooked emotionall, but overall, this is a strong mystery that delivers on tension, setting, and character.

If you like stories that operate in the thin air of high desert drama, with layered plotting and flawed heroes who keep at it, The Blue Horse is worth your time.