Description:

In the tradition of Craig Johnson and C. J. Box, Bruce Borgos’s The Bitter Past begins a compelling series set in the high desert of Nevada featuring Sheriff Porter Beck.

Porter Beck is the sheriff in the high desert of Nevada, north of Las Vegas. Born and raised there, he left to join the Army, where he worked in Intelligence, deep in the shadows in far off places. Now he’s back home, doing the same lawman’s job his father once did, before his father started to develop dementia. All is relatively quiet in this corner of the world, until an old, retired FBI agent is found killed. He was brutally tortured before he was killed and clues at the scene point to a mystery dating back to the early days of the nuclear age. If that wasn’t strange enough, a current FBI agent shows up to help Beck’s investigation.

In a case that unfolds in the past (the 1950s) and the present, it seems that a Russian spy infiltrated the nuclear testing site and now someone is looking for that long-ago, all-but forgotten person, who holds the key to what happened then and to the deadly goings on now.

Adele’s Review:

The Bitter Past is book one in the Sheriff Porter Beck mystery series by Bruce Borgos, released July 18, 2023. Book two, Shades of Mercy, releases July 16, 2024, and a review of that book will go live on Bayside Book Reviews and its Instagram page on release day. (Spoiler alert: The book is AWESOME, 5 Stars!)

Since this reviewer absolutely loved Shades of Mercy, I decided to go back to the beginning and read book one, The Bitter Past. I intend to follow this fabulous series long term. Bruce Borgos has written an outstanding modern day western hero in Sheriff Porter Beck of Nevada. Beck’s character arc grows significantly from the first book to the second (and I admit I prefer the more seasoned Beck in book two), though his backstory gives us greater perspective and appreciation for his growth.

The Bitter Past is a well-written, well-paced mystery with a hero worthy of admiration, and a unique cast of quirky secondary characters who help him solve crimes and restore order to their remote desert county. This new series is highly entertaining and highly recommended.

Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6563161522

Amazon Link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B9KSJ6JF