Eight stars
First and foremost, a large thank you to NetGalley, Bruce Borgos, St. Martin’s Press, and Minotaur Books for providing me with a copy of this publication, which allows me to provide you with an unbiased review.
Returning for the sequel in the Porter Beck series, I sought to see how Bruce Borgos would handle things. An effective debut left me wanting more and it arrived abundantly as I dove into this story with ease. When a flashing light fills the rural Nevada sky, Sheriff Porter Beck rushes to investigate. What he discovers is like nothing he has seen before, involving the military, a Mexican cartel, and a youth is living in custody. The story unfolds and the action ramps up until nothing is quite as it seems. Borgos does a stellar job with this one!
Porter Beck serves as sheriff in the Nevada desert area, a place his father served as lawman for many years. While it is usually quiet, things have taken a turn of late, leaving Sheriff Beck to wonder. A close friend is the latest victim to die of an unusually strong illegal opioid, brought in from places unknown. After a flash in the sky during Independence Day celebrations proves not to be fireworks, Sheriff Beck is called upon to investigate more death, this of the bovine variety. Another friend of the sheriff’s—a prosperous rancher—seems to have been. the target of some errant military drone that killed his prized bull. The secretive nature of the drone and the military coyness leaves everyone wondering what’s going on. This is rural Nevada, not some glitzy neighbourhood, yet a great deal of action and attention shines down on the county.
After conferring with a military official, the drone appears to have been hacked, though no names immediately come to mind. When Sheriff Beck receives an email from the purported hacker, he knows it’s trouble, especially when he is called out by name. Piecing a few thing together, Beck comes across Mercy Vaughn, the only known hacker in the area who’s proven to be a thorn in the side of the US Government. She’s swift and known for her ability to get into most anything. Trouble is, she is only a teenager, locked away in a juvenile dentition facility with no computer access. Still, there’s something about Vaughn that does not sit right with Beck and he’s prepared to find out.
When Mercy disappears from a daytime assignment, alerts go up and Sheriff Beck knows that trouble awaits him. Little does he know just how much could happen the longer that Mercy is gone. Trouble pushes in like a wayward cloud and soon the entire community is rocked with news of a Mexican cartel and their plan for the community, as well as Mercy’s abilities and her ultimate puppet master. It will take everything that Sheriff Beck has to keep his county safe, while also trying to unravel the truth behind everything that has been taking place over the last while. Burgos fills the reader with a true sense of tension as this story reaches its climax!
A great thriller needs to have all the elements connect well to make it enjoyable for the reader. Bruce Borgos does that with ease as he weaves together a thriller that checks all the boxes. The narrative flows well and keeps the reader in the middle of the action, gaining intrigue and momentum as things get more complex. Keeping a strong local feel to the story, Porter Beck breathes that small-town charm into the story, though he is nothing if not gritty when the need arises. Other characters offer a great push and flavouring to keep the reader flipping pages, all in an effort to learn a bit more about what’s going on.
The plot develops slowly but builds as the story takes shape. There are many surprise moments for the reader and things take a non-linear approach, though there is nothing confusing about them. Borgos knows how to keep the reader wondering and provides the ingredients needed to leave them wanting more. Where things are headed, no one can be quite sure, but there is surely something on the horizon for the patient reader.
Kudos, Mr. Borgos, for a great follow-up novel in this developing series.
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