I love a mystery that has a spy element and The Bitter Past: A Mystery by Bruce Borgos did not disappoint. Set in a small Nevada community, north of Las Vegas, this mystery features sheriff Porter Beck. It’s relatively quiet in Beck’s jurisdiction until an older, retired FBI agent is found brutally tortured and murdered. All signs point to this being part of a bigger story that started in the 1950s when the area was used for classified nuclear testing and the Cold War was on everyone’s mind. And now an FBI agent is knocking on Beck’s station door wanting to be involved in the investigation. 

This is a page turner of a story that I flew through. I do think it’s important to note that the first two pages include a graphic description of the deceased FBI’s body and crime scene. It’s rough, but I was able to skim and still follow along. The rest of the story is not as graphic and I was hundred percent in, trying to figure out what was happening. 

The past storyline from the 1950s weaves wonderfully with the present day and I was sorry to leave each timeline because I wanted to know everything. It’s fast paced and I hope this is the first in the series featuring Beck. There is also a small side love story which will be interesting to follow, although it was the action and mystery that kept me in the story, telling myself that I’d read just one more chapter before turning out of my light for the night. 

This comes out July 18th. Other reviews compare this to books by Craig Johnson and I have to agree. @minotaur_books @stmartinspress