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 ( )

I really enjoy Sheriff Porter Beck, Beck, as a character. He's highly fallible, but also extremely intelligent, with a heart of gold. I also love his sister, Brinley: badass weapons expert to the stars. I didn't enjoy this book quite as much as his first. Though I was really intrigued by 16 year-old hacker, Mercy, who is wreaking havoc in Beck's county. Lots of action in this one, which you can read as a standalone, but the various bad guys and their ill intents got more convuleted as the story went on.

Definitely a series worth investing in, bring on #3!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for providing me with a e-copy of this book in return for an honest review.

Side Note: Do not read if you don't want to read about a cows being essentially blown up. ( )

abduction, vision-issues, retinitis-pigmentosa, espionage, hacker, exmilitary, CIA, triggers, unputdownable, invisible-disability, contemporary, lies, snarky, torture, local-law-enforcement, series, fiction, Chinese-intelligence, rural, crime-thriller, siblings, Nevada, networking, wildfires, action-adventure, punny, suspense, drones*****

Mercy is a computer genius/hacker/teenager who was doing time for her misdeeds. The most relevant of which is hacking into cartel monies, this is what gets her abducted and more. Secrets are revealed, past contacts with CIA activated, and all this has the background of wildfires fed by temperatures and drought. Fast paced and alarming. Loved it!
Can't wait till it comes out in audio so I can get a copy to keep!
I requested and received an EARC from St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books via NetGalley. Thank you!
#PorterBeckMysteriesBk2 Available 16 Jul 2024 ( )

Following the author's spectacular thriller debut, The Bitter Past, this second book is no less thrilling.

The opioid drug running from Mexico has hit Sheriff Beck's patch as a childhood friend succumbs to badly formulated fentanyl. Then Beck is called to another childhood friend's ranch where the friend has become a wildly successful rancher, raising some of the finest grade of beef for miles around. That is until someone threatens that success by taking out the prized breeding bull with a hijacked military grade drone. Meanwhile, lethal drugs are coming into the region and munitions are heading out to Mexico. What has Beck's friend gotten himself into and who is trying to put a stop to his success? And what's with all the Chinese agents?

Yet again, author Bruce Borgos has done a spectacular job of setting the scene, steadily building tension throughout the story, bringing it to a full climax and then gently easing it to a satisfying conclusion. The writing is excellent and the characters are well developed. There's a certain charm to protagonist Sheriff Beck. He's not perfect and all the more admired for it. This was yet another satisfying thriller by a deftly skilled writer.

Triggers: some rough language and graphic grisly detail involving animals

I am grateful to Minotaur Books for having provided a complimentary uncorrected digital galley of this book through NetGalley. Their generosity, however, has not influenced this review - the words of which are mine alone.

Publisher: ‎ Minotaur Books
Publication Date: July 16, 2024
No. of Pages: 352
ISBN-13:‎ 978-1250848093 ( )