Shades of Mercy

February 1, 2024

The second in the "Porter Beck" series sees the sheriff faced with troubles on two fronts--a flood of illegal opioids and a hacker. The hacker problem might be solved if teenage computer whiz Mercy Vaughn would help, but she has disappeared. Beck now faces an even wider set of dangers. Prepub Alert.

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May 1, 2024

As a government RPA (remotely piloted aircraft) is hijacked and explodes over a birthday party in the high Nevada desert, Sheriff Porter Beck is rushing to the scene of an emergency, but he's not in time to save a childhood friend from a drug overdose. The next day, an Air Force special agent brings Beck to the ranch of another childhood friend, Jesse Roy. They find Ro standing over a crater where his prize bull was killed by the hacked RPA. The government's immediate willingness to reimburse Roy for the bull and other incidents makes Beck think he's not getting the whole story. But when he's told that a brilliant incarcerated 16-year-old might be the hacker, he believes. Mercy Vaughn has the ability and knowledge, and when she disappears from a road crew all hell breaks loose. Beck is determined to save the teen, but he's up against the U.S. government, a Mexican cartel, and Chinese agents, none of whom seems as concerned with keeping Mercy alive. VERDICT The sequel to The Bitter Past is a little disjointed, but it's an intense thriller capitalizing on current technology, and Borgos writes strong, capable women characters.--Lesa Holstine

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June 15, 2024
A stolid Nevada sheriff learns that no community is immune from modern societal afflictions. The elaborate 17th birthday party of Shiloah Roy is disrupted by a fireball in the sky, the explosion of a remotely piloted aircraft 92,000 feet above the Double J Ranch. The bizarre accident momentarily distracts Shiloah's father, Jesse, from his customary attention to his volatile daughter. Meanwhile, Sheriff Porter Beck is responding to a distress call at the Pioneer Hotel. Though Lincoln County features ranches and wide-open spaces, its proximity to Las Vegas brings problems like the fatal drug overdose of Beck's closest friend, Cash Conrad, at the Pioneer. Soon, Special Agent Ed Maddox of the Air Force's Office of Special Investigations arrives, seeking cooperation from Beck. The only casualty of the initial incident at the Double J is a bull, but later victims will include 30 dead steers. Because these crimes have a tech element, suspicion falls on Shiloah's friend Mercy Vaughn, a brilliant 16-year-old hacker who's currently in a juvenile detention facility. The seriousness of the case is underscored by the introduction of South Korean political consultant Dal Cho, who after receiving a distressing message heads for Lincoln County. Beck and his sister, Brinley Cummings, question Mercy--Brin thinks she's innocent; Beck, not so much. The sheriff's second outing is written with clarity and quiet authority; the book balances his complex cases with the fully realized community surrounding him and effectively addresses current issues. A timely procedural that packs a subtle wallop.

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July 22, 2024
Borgos’s entertaining second outing for Porter Beck (after The Bitter Past) sees the Lincoln County, Nev., sheriff pursuing a brilliant teenage hacker. The same night one of Beck’s oldest friends dies of an opioid overdose, another childhood buddy—rancher Jesse Roy—is the victim of a bizarre attack: someone hacks into a military drone’s operating system and uses it to fire a missile at Roy’s prize bull during his daughter’s 17th birthday party. The undercover agents assigned to the case tell Beck that, after the drone was returned to the Air Force, the anonymous hacker sent military flight controllers a message: “Please give my regards to Sheriff Beck. And sorry for the inconvenience.” Based on a tip from his adopted sister, who works at the local juvenile detention center, Beck comes to suspect adolescent tech genius Mercy Vaughn—but before he can investigate, Mercy disappears. Beck sets out to find her, learning, in the process, that her handlers are more dangerous than anyone imagined. Borgos’s vivid local color calls to mind Craig Johnson’s Longmire series, but his clever plotting and well-rounded characters stand firmly on their own. This series deserves a long life.