Review of "The Blue Horse: A Porter Beck Mystery" by Bruce Borgos

In this third book in the 'Porter Beck' series, the Nevada sheriff investigates three murders. The book works as a standalone, but familiarity with the characters is a bonus.

On that note:

Sheriff Porter Beck and his small cadre of officers uphold the law in Lincoln County, Nevada, a vast sparsely populated region that contains Area 51: a U.S. military base synonymous with stories of UFOs and government cover-ups. Previously, Beck was an army intelligence officer and is familiar with many languages, including Russian and French.





Beck has a degenerative eye disease that affects his vision. Beck can see in daylight, but is blind at night, and will eventually be completely sightless.



To prepare for his ultimate loss of vision, Beck has a canine named Frank Columbo (Bo), who's being trained as a seeing-eye dog.



Porter's 90-year-old father, Joe Beck, had been sheriff for three decades and is beloved and respected in Lincoln County. Joe is now suffering from dementia, but still likes to mount a horse and ride with Porter on occasion.



Porter's adopted sister Brinley Cummings, who was rescued from an abusive home, is one of the foremost weapons experts in the country. Brinley consults on Hollywood movie sets and does volunteer work with troubled youth.



Porter's girlfriend, Detective Charlotte (Charlie) Blue Horse, is a Paiute woman who works for the Department of Public Safety in Reno, 400 miles from Lincoln County.



Charlie lives with her mother and 14-year-old daughter Jules. Charlie also 'fosters' a 17-year-old girl named Mercy, an extraordinary computer hacker who's in unofficial 'witness protection'.



Beck has plans to leave his job as sheriff and become chief of the Investigative Division for the Department of Public Safety, which will allow him to work with his girlfriend Charlie in Reno. When Beck departs, Chief Deputy Tuffy Scruggs - Beck's top officer who looks more like Dick Butkus than Dick Tracey - is slated to become sheriff.



*****

The story opens in September 2020, during the Covid pandemic, and in the midst of a wild horse roundup, or gather, in Lincoln County. The gather is cited as an emergency by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), due to drought. The BLM, under the direction of Jolene Manning, plans to capture and remove almost 1500 stallions, mares, and foals, all in the name of public land management.



Ranchers support the gather, since the wild horses compete with their livestock for grass and water. On the other hand, there are dozens of protestors from CANTER (Compassionate Advocates for Natural Terrain and Equine Rights), led by activist Etta Clay.



The CANTER demonstrators hold up placards and use bullhorns to hurl insults at BLM employees, cowboys, and helicopter pilots - who chase the horses into canyons, to be loaded on trailers and transported away.



Sheriff Beck and Chief Deputy Scruggs are on horseback observing the gather when a helicopter herding the horses crashes.



Porter and Tuffy hurry over and find the pilot dead, shot in the chest by an expert marksman. The cops immediately suspect CANTER, and interview the group's leader Etta Clay, who claims to know nothing about the murder.

The next day, the local BLM director Jolene Manning is killed in the most horrendous fashion imaginable. Nearby, Daniel Cooper Scruggs (Tuffy's cousin) - the driver of a horse trailer - is also dead, shot in the head.



Reporters stream in to cover the newsworthy crimes, and Sheriff Beck's team is joined by FBI investigators and Detective Charlie Blue Horse. The prime suspect is CANTER'S Etta Clay, who presumably conspired with accomplices to kill BLM employees rounding up horses.

In the meantime, more is going on in the region.

A Canadian mining company called Longbaugh Lithium has a large lithium mine in Lincoln County.....



.....and an investigative journalist nicknamed X-Files (for his investigations into Area 51) is making inquiries for an exposé of the mining operation.



This angers the mine owners, who have enough trouble with protestors at their gates.

As all this is going on, markswoman Brinley Cummings is helping chaperone a group of troubled boys from the Lincoln County Youth Center. The boys are camping and hiking in Great Basin National Park as a form of wilderness therapy. The most difficult youth in the group, Rafa Porrazzo, runs away in the middle of the night, and Brinley sets off to catch him. Rafa has a 10-hour head start, the mountainous terrain is difficult, and Brinley has her job cut out for her.



The plot threads come together, including the search for the murderers; the mining operation; and Rafa's flight. In addition, computer hacker Mercy helps out from her home in Reno. The story has infidelity, action, danger, theft, blackmail, death, and destruction.....and canine Bo turns out to be a hero!!



In the midst of all the turmoil, Porter's father Joe Beck and Chief Deputy Tuffy Scruggs are showing signs of Covid, and the virus is spreading fast because most Nevadans refuse to wear masks. (Author Bruce Borgos is getting a little political here, but I don't mind.)

Beck successfully completes the investigation amidst tragedy and sadness, and surprises emerge.



At the book's finale, Beck and Charlie Blue Horse have decisions to make, and it will be interesting to see how that plays out.

I like the 'Porter Beck' books because the plots are clever; there are strong female characters; and (most of) the males aren't entitled misogynists.

I'd recommend the book to fans of westerns and thrillers.

Thanks to Netgalley, Bruce Borgos and Minotaur Books for copy of the book.

Rating: 4 stars

Review of "Framed In Death: A Lt. Eve Dallas Mystery" by J.D. Robb

In this 61st book in the 'Detective Eve Dallas' series, Eve is on the trail of a demented would-be artist.



It's 2061 and people communicate via video links, travel in semi-flying cars, and commit crimes.....just like current times. Lt. Eve Dallas is a capable New York detective married to Irish billionaire Roarke - a handsome devil with wild blue eyes.



As the story opens, a portrait painter in New York City - convinced of his brilliance - is frustrated and enraged by his lack of success. Determined to make an impression on the art world, the thwarted painter conceives a diabolical scheme. He will recreate portraits done by famous artists, with a twist.



For the artist's first project, 'Girl With A Pearl Earring' (1665) by Johannes Vermeer, the painter hires a sex worker - called a Licensed Companion (LC) in 2061 - to pose for him. The painter makes over the LC to look like the girl in Vermeer's painting, takes photos, and begins a portrait. The artist then drugs and kills the LC, and leaves her body in front of an art gallery, posed like Vermeer's painting.



The next day, the artist hires a male LC to pose for him, and makes the man over to look like 'The Blue Boy' (1770) by Thomas Gainsborough. The portraitist repeats the process described above, then leaves the LC's body near the home of an art gallery owner, posed like Gainsborough's painting.



Lt. Eve Dallas and her hippy-dippy partner, Sergeant Delia Peabody - who's a craft artist herself - get the case. The police know the perp won't stop, and they work day and night to catch the killer.





The cops aren't fast enough to stop a third murder though, a woman LC made over to look like 'Self-Portrait In A Straw Hat' (1780s) by Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun.



The detectives get a break when a forensic examiner determines the clothing used to dress up the victims are custom-made garments sewn from fabrics authentic to the time periods of the portraits. The tailor-made clothing would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, and would have to be made by specialists.



Dallas and Peabody immediately start calling fabric manufacturers and clothing makers to ask if anyone ordered the fabrics or garments on the murder victims.



EVERY MANUFACTURER cites client confidentiality, and Eve and Delia feel thwarted. However billionaire Roarke lends a hand here.



Roarke phones clothiers and says he's giving a costume party, and needs references to choose a clothing maker for himself and his wife. The clothiers name clients who bought costumes that emulate 'Girl With A Pearl Earring' and 'Blue Boy', and this turns out to be more clients than you might think.





Eve and Delia close in on the killer bit by bit, by tracking purchases of materials - fabric, paint, brushes, glue, wigs, etc. - needed for his 'displays'. It turns out the murderer is a spoiled rich boy who thinks he's going to be world famous.

The serial killer theme is grim, but there are light moments in the book as well. For example, Eve discovers someone stole her hidden candy bar, and thinks about coating the next one in laxatives; Eve meets an art gallery owner who's so snooty he 'out-snoots' Roarke's uppity butler Sommerset; and Delia Peabody and her friends show off their newly remodeled house, which Peabody calls "abso-mag"



Once the killer is nabbed Eve and Delia worry about getting him convicted, which makes an interesting finale to the novel.

The novel is engaging, but there are too many interviews with the victims' families, friends, and acquaintances; redundant phone calls to fabric makers, clothing manufactures, and artist supply stores; and excessive talk about the upcoming plea deal or trial. It almost feels like the author didn't have enough of a plot. That said, the mystery would probably appeal to Eve Dallas fans.

I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Susan Ericksen, who does a fine job, especially with Roarke's Irish accent.

Thanks to Netgalley, J.D. Robb, and Macmillan Audio for a copy of the book.

Rating: 3 stars

Review of "Mrs. Plansky Goes Rogue: A Mrs Plansky Adventure" by Spencer Quinn

In the first 'Mrs. Plansky' book, Mrs. Plansky's Revenge, the intrepid retiree pursues swindlers who scammed her out of $9,000. In this second novel in the series, Mrs. Plansky searches for a missing friend.

The book works fine as a standalone.

*****

Background: Seventy-one year old Loretta Plansky is having a pleasant retirement in Punta D'Oro, Florida.



Years ago, Loretta and her husband Norm made millions of dollars with their patented 'Plansky Toaster Knife', which slices and toasts bread simultaneously. After Norm passed, Loretta moved into a pretty little condo, and though Loretta misses Norm terribly, she's enjoying her life - shopping, seeing her friends, playing tennis, etc.



At the moment, Mrs. Plansky's 98-year-old father Chandler Wills Banning - a crotchety old coot who got thrown out of his assisted living home - is residing with Mrs Plansky.



Chandler is flat broke, so Mrs. Plansky was paying for his pricey retirement facility. Now Mrs. Plansky is supporting Chandler in her home, where he has an aide named Lucrecia.



Chandler is also 'romancing' Lucrecia's mother, Clara Dominguez de Soto y Camondo, who frequently stays over.



*****

As the story opens, Mrs. Plansky and her tennis partner, Kev Dinardo. win a mixed doubles match at the New Sunshine Golf and Tennis Club.



After the match, it begins to storm, so Loretta drives Kev and his bicycle home in her SUV, with their tennis trophies clinking in the back.



From Kev's driveway, Mrs. Plansky observes a nice house, the ocean, a strip of white beach, and Kev's white, crimson-trimmed yacht named Lizette. Loretta is admiring the sleek yacht when it bursts into flames, explodes, and is replaced by a ball of fire.



When firefighters arrive, Kev says his insurance will cover the debacle because it was an 'Act of God' - a lightning strike. But Mrs. Plansky didn't see any lightning.

The tennis trophies are forgotten in the mêlée, so Mrs. Plansky drives to Kev's house the next day, to give him his prize. Kev's door is answered by a big man who says he's Mitch from the insurance company.....and that Kev is away.



This is followed by some shady occurrences, and Kev doesn't call or show up. Mrs. Plansky comes to suspect Kev's boat was blown up on purpose, and that Kev is missing. Mrs. Plansky goes to the police, but the detective treats her like a confused old lady with dementia, so Loretta decides to search for Kev herself.



This results in threats to Loretta AND her son Jack, who Loretta now learns was involved in some kind of business with Kev.



Mrs. Plansky isn't your average retiree, and her exploits include breaking into Kev's house (twice); freediving; kayaking; swimming; sneaking around a beer brewery; flying to the Bahamas in a private plane; saving people's lives; and more.



As all this is going on, Mrs. Plansky has to deal with her father's antics, which involve frequent complaints; doing things behind Loretta's back; helping himself to Loretta's things; getting engaged; making himself an engagement party with a band; and more.



Some of the fun parts of the novel are Mrs. Plansky's inner thoughts - like the time she tries to figure out the code for a digital lock; or when she's not sure if the insurance man is called Mitch or Mr. Mitch. Despite Loretta's occasional confusion, she gets to the bottom of things in the end, and her spunk is admirable.



The story has a variety of interesting characters, such as Chandler's lady friends at his old retirement home; a journalist who pilots her own plane; Kev Dinardo's ex-wife; a helpful barefoot fisherman; Loretta's daughter Nina; Nina's new beau Hamish; an alligator named Fairbanks; and more.



This book doesn't have quite the verve of the first Mrs. Plansky novel. Still, it's fun to go on an adventure with Loretta, and I suspect Loretta will have more exploits in the future.



I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Petrea Burchard, who does a fine job.

Thanks to Netgalley, Spencer Quinn, and Macmillan Audio for a copy of the book.

Thanks to Netgalley, Spencer Quinn, and Macmillan Audio for a copy of the book.

Rating: 3 stars