The Blue Horse (Porter Beck #3) by Bruce Borgos
Publication Date: July 8th 2025 by Minotaur Books
Pages: 368
Source: Publisher
Rating: ★★★★★
My
Thoughts:
Detective Porter Beck has his hands full when a wild horse
round-up by the Bureau of Land Management has equine activists, CANTER,
protesting. Things turn violent when the helicopter pilot hired by the BLM to assist
with the round-up is murdered. Right away CANTER is under suspicion, but Beck feels
things aren’t as they seem. The FBI is called in and they ignore Beck’s observations
and gut instincts. It doesn’t stop him from following up on his own.
Meanwhile, Beck’s sister Brinley is volunteering with a wilderness
program helping troubled teens and when one of them runs off, her pursuit lands
in the crosshairs of some really bad people. It all intersects with Beck’s case.
I’ve been loving the Porter Beck series! Each installment is
a new mystery but ongoing personal relationships are at play, as well: Beck and
his girlfriend Detective Charlie Blue Horse, his sister Brinley, a gun expert,
his dad the previous sheriff, now suffering from dementia. I loved seeing how
they’re all getting along. Being set in September 2020, there was some sadness
with Covid at its height of deadliness.
The Blue Horse was a twisty, action-filled mystery
with Beck and his crew following the clues and ferreting out the bad guys. Captivating
from beginning to end! I was eager for justice to be served, especially when
there were animals at risk and completely on the side of the horse activists! It
all wraps up in a thrilling conclusion and with the way things ended I’m wondering
if this is the final book in the series. If so, it was a satisfying conclusion.
Still, I’d love more mysteries!
5 Stars
Book Description:
A controversial wild horse round-up in the high desert of Nevada results in two murders and too many suspects for Sheriff Porter Beck to deal with.
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.
