ARC Review: Shades of Mercy by Bruce Borgos

Shades of Mercy
Author: Bruce Borgos
Series: Porter Beck (Book 2)
Publication: Minotaur Books (July 16, 2024)

Description: In the usually quiet high desert of Nevada, Sheriff Porter Beck faces one of his greatest challenges―a series of unlikely, disturbing and increasingly deadly events of unknown origins.

Porter Beck is the sheriff in the high desert of Nevada, doing the same lawman's job his father once did now that he's returned home after decades away. With his twelve person department, they cover a large area that is usually very quiet, but not of late. One childhood friend is the latest to succumb to a new wave of particularly strong illegal opioids, another childhood friend―now an enormously successful rancher―is targeted by a military drone, hacked and commandeered by an unknown source. The hacker is apparently local―local enough to call out Beck by name―and that means they are Beck's problem.

Beck's investigation leads him to Mercy Vaughn, the one known hacker in the area. The problem is that she's a teenager, locked up with no computer access at the secure juvenile detention center. But there's something Mercy that doesn't sit quite right with Beck. But when Mercy disappears, Beck understands that she's in danger and time is running out for all of them.

My Thoughts: The second Porter Beck thriller is packed with action and has a really twisty plot. 

Porter Beck is a sheriff in Nevada, in a country with more cacti than people, but big city problems are creeping in. One of his childhood friends has just died of a fentanyl overdose and others are in danger from that drug. 

Also, when a prize bull on another childhood friend's ranch is hit with a missile which was snatched from the Air Force's control by an unknown hacker, his county is invaded by the alphabets - FBI, NSA, etc. as they are searching for the hacker. 

Beck has received an email from the hacker asking him to be alert because they might need some help from him. Beck comes to believe that the hacker is a sixteen-year-old girl who is being held at a camp for juvenile offenders after a variety of computer crimes including stealing $80 million from a Federal Bank. 

Learning this the friend who lost his bull is also involved with Mexican drug cartels adds another group who want something or someone from his county. And a Chinese spy trying to recover his sleeper agent who has gone AWOL adds more complexity. 

I really enjoyed this thriller. I couldn't put it down. 

Favorite Quote:

Beck gazed at the screen once again. Hello, Lisa1957. He clicked on the message. It was brief: And so it begins, Sheriff. I hope this note finds you well. I have done a lot of homework on you, and I hope my instincts about you prove true because I have a feeling I am going to need your help very soon.

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.