The Bitter Past

In the tradition of Craig Johnson and C. J. Box, Bruce Borgos's The Bitter Past begins a compelling series set in the high desert of Nevada featuring Sheriff Porter Beck

Porter Beck is the sheriff in the high desert of Nevada, north of Las Vegas. Born and raised there, he left to join the Army, where he worked in Intelligence, deep in the shadows in far off places. Now he's back home, doing the same lawman's job his father once did, before his father started to develop dementia. All is relatively quiet in this corner of the world, until on old, retired FBI agent is found killed. He was brutally tortured before he was killed and clues at the scene point to a mystery dating back to the early days of the nuclear age. If that wasn't strange enough, a current FBI agent shows up to help Beck's investigation.


In a case that unfolds in the past (the 1950s) and the present, it seems that a Russian spy infiltrated the nuclear testing site and now someone is looking for that long-ago, all-but forgotten person, who holds the key to what happened then and to the deadly goings on now.

Praise for The Bitter Past

"A thrilling and assured debut, Bruce Borgos' The Bitter Past is at once a high stakes tale of high treason in the high desert and an unflinching examination of the lasting scars that even the coldest of wars can leave behind."-Chris Holm, Anthony Award winning author of The Killing Kind and Child Zero

"A crisp jolt of cask-strength, 100-proof writing." -Craig Johnson

"Vividly set in Nevada's high desert, The Bitter Past is an emotional story about the steep cost of doing the right thing. Bruce Borgos tells a gripping tale with vivid characters at a breakneck pace - I can't wait to see what Porter Beck does next!" -Nick Petrie, author of The Runaway

"Bruce Borgos' new mystery checks all the boxes: A stunning opening chapter, fascinating characters, plenty of action, intriguing story lines, wonderful humor to offset the tension, and even a hint of romance. I was sorry to see it end." -Anne Hillerman, author of the Leaphorn, Chee and Manuelito mysteries