Author: Bruce Borgos
Published: July 8, 2025, by Minotaur Books
Format: Kindle, Hardcover, 368 Pages
Genre: Police Procedural
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.
Series: Porter Beck #3
Blurb: A helicopter driving a controversial round-up of wild horses suddenly crashes and the pilot is found to have been shot. Then the person coordinating the round-up for the Bureau of Land Management is savagely murdered, buried up to her neck and then trampled to death by the very same wild horses. And there's no lack of suspects—with the wild horse advocacy group having sworn to protect the horse At Any Cost! Now the state and federal agencies are showing up looking for answers or at least a scapegoat.
Sheriff Porter Beck has had better days.
Porter Beck's new girlfriend, Detective Charlie Blue Horse, arrives to help with the investigation, which leads them to Canadian Lithium mining operation near the round-up area that sets off Beck's mental alarm bells. Brinley, Beck's sister, is leading a group of troubled kids in a wilderness program, when one of them, Rafa, bolts one night. When Brinley catches up to him, they're just outside the mine—in the wrong place, at the wrong time.
With his personal life in turmoil, too many suspects and too many secrets, the feds pushing for a quick resolution, and his impetuous (if skilled) sister in the mix, one wrong step could be deadly for Porter Beck.
My Opinion: 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.
Sheriff Porter Beck has had better days.
Porter Beck's new girlfriend, Detective Charlie Blue Horse, arrives to help with the investigation, which leads them to Canadian Lithium mining operation near the round-up area that sets off Beck's mental alarm bells. Brinley, Beck's sister, is leading a group of troubled kids in a wilderness program, when one of them, Rafa, bolts one night. When Brinley catches up to him, they're just outside the mine—in the wrong place, at the wrong time.
With his personal life in turmoil, too many suspects and too many secrets, the feds pushing for a quick resolution, and his impetuous (if skilled) sister in the mix, one wrong step could be deadly for Porter Beck.
My Opinion: 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.
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