The second Porter Beck thriller is packed with action and has a really twisty plot.

Porter Beck is a sheriff in Nevada, in a country with more cacti than people, but big city problems are creeping in. One of his childhood friends has just died of a fentanyl overdose and others are in danger from that drug.

Also, when a prize bull on another childhood friend's ranch is hit with a missile which was snatched from the Air Force's control by an unknown hacker, his county is invaded by the alphabets - FBI, NSA, etc. as they are searching for the hacker.

Beck has received an email from the hacker asking him to be alert because they might need some help from him. Beck comes to believe that the hacker is a sixteen-year-old girl who is being held at a camp for juvenile offenders after a variety of computer crimes including stealing $80 million from a Federal Bank.

Learning this the friend who lost his bull is also involved with Mexican drug cartels adds another group who want something or someone from his county. And a Chinese spy trying to recover his sleeper agent who has gone AWOL adds more complexity.

I really enjoyed this thriller. I couldn't put it down. ( )

This is the second book in this series, and this as with the last one, is full of action. Just when you catch your breath and think things are calming down, we are off and shots are fired.
Most of what happens here you will not see coming, and never even imagine that its possible, and never mind the age of one of the perpetrators!
You can read this alone, but this one is just as awesome as the first! Whom to trust? Don't get to comfortable and think you know the answers, I sure didn't.
The surprises and revelations go right to the final page!
I am hoping for a third book in this series!
I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher St. Martin's Press, and was not required to give a positive review. ( )

A well written, action-packed book that you can't put down. ( )

This is the second installment of the Porter Beck Mystery series, and I was thrilled to get my hands on this ARC. Bruce Borgos did not disappoint with this page turner. The story revolves around incidents in Beck's jurisdiction that can only be caused by a hacker.

Shades of Mercy kept me enthralled as Porter and his cohorts raced to save the young hacker after she disappeared with both a drug cartel and a foreign government as possible suspects in her abduction.

Bruce Borgos is an auto buy for me after reading this one. I can’t wait for the next book in the Porter Beck Series. 4⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books for this complimentary ARC. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. ( )

Review of Uncorrected Digital Galley

When a military drone crashes onto Jesse Roy’s Double J Ranch in the midst of Shiloah Roy’s seventeenth birthday celebration, a prize bull is its sole victim. At the same time, Sheriff Porter Beck mourns the loss of a friend, another in a string of drug deaths plaguing the town.

Who hacked into the drone and caused the crash? Could it have been a local hacker? Sheriff Beck learns that sixteen-year-old Mercy Vaughn has the skill, but is detained in the local Youth Center and has no access to a computer.

Or does she?

As the investigation continues. Sheriff Beck finds himself with more questions than answers . . . and growing doubts about Mercy.

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Although this is the second book in the author’s Porter Beck Mystery series, there is sufficient backstory for the story to work well as a standalone. Nonstop action and well-defined, believable characters pull readers into the telling of the tale. Of special note is Beck’s English Lab partner, Columbo, who had washed out of the county’s K-9 Drug Academy.

With its strong sense of place and a complex, intriguing plot, the unfolding narrative keeps readers turning pages as fast as possible. Filled with secrets, lies, and unexpected twists, the suspenseful tale is both entertaining and unputdownable.

Readers who enjoy fast-paced stories full of action, tension, and suspense . . . along with a bit of international spy intrigue . . . will find much to appreciate in this thriller that keeps them guessing right up to the immensely satisfying denouement.

Highly recommended.

I received a free copy of this book from St. Martin’s Press / Minotaur Books and NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.
#ShadesofMercy #NetGalley ( )