The Blue Horse by Bruce Borgos

Borgos writes an excellent book. I find books that engage my emotions are my favorites. Books that engage my emotions and stimulate my intellect are tops. Add to those features action and pathos and you have a winner! Borgos does all of that and more with this book.

A setting in the Covid crisis is something that resonates with all of us. Everyone was impacted by that plague. Add to the setting the controversial round up of wild horses and environmental impact issues beyond that of rancher rancor and you have a county sheriff on edge. Porter Beck is struggling with decreased sight and facing major life changes in his professional career as well.

Brinley and Mercy both figure in the plot if you have read the two prior books, their presence will be well received.

Borgos shows how effective leading by example, seeing pain in others and tackling that pain in the face of daunting odds makes utterly compelling reading. If you love a book that brings you to tears, that ramps up your empathy, that endears you to the characters, that compels you to read well beyond bedtime, you must read this book.

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I highly recommend it.This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases if you click on a purchasing link below.#CommissionsEarned

James by Percival Everett

James (Pulitzer Prize Winner): A Novel Hardcover – March 19, 2024

by Percival Everett (Author)

4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars (77,811) 4.5 on Goodreads 366,822 ratings

#1 Best Seller in Black & African American Historical Fiction

Pulitzer PrizeWinner, 2025--National Book AwardWinner, 2024

PULITZER PRIZE WINNER • #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • N

 I liked the book but didn't love it.  It was frightening to get a glimpse into a life of servitude. The idea that there was a hidden society that was still oppressed was equally dismaying.  The humor of the minstrel group was a welcome surprise.  The inhumanity to your fellow man that was illustrated caused me considerable distress.  If history didn't prove slavery existed, it would be hard to believe that such ignorance and brutality existed.  It is an eye-opening book, and if I hadn't taught American History at one point in my life, I would tend to think the setting fictional, sadly, it was not.   

ATIONAL BOOK AWARD WINNER • A brilliant, action-packed reimagining of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, both harrowing and darkly humorous, told from the enslaved Jim's point of view

NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD FINALIST • ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW'S 10 BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR • SHORTLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE • KIRKUS PRIZE WINNER • A LOS ANGELES TIMES BEST FICTION BOOK OF THE LAST 30 YEARS

In development as a feature film to be produced by Steven Spielberg • A Best Book of the Year: The New York Times Book Review, LA Times, The New Yorker, The Atlantic, The Economist, TIME, and more.

"Genius"—The Atlantic • "A masterpiece that will help redefine one of the classics of American literature, while also being a major achievement on its own."—Chicago Tribune • "A provocative, enlightening literary work of art."—The Boston Globe • "Everett’s most thrilling novel, but also his most soulful."—The New York Times

When Jim overhears that he is about to be sold to a man in New Orleans, separated from his wife and daughter forever, he runs away until he can formulate a plan. Meanwhile, Huck has faked his own death to escape his violent father. As all readers of American literature know, thus begins the dangerous and transcendent journey by raft down the Mississippi River toward the elusive and unreliable promise of the Free States and beyond. 

Brimming with the electrifying humor and lacerating observations that have made Everett a literary icon, this brilliant and tender novel radically illuminates Jim’s agency, intelligence, and compassion as never before. James is destined to be a major publishing event and a cornerstone of twenty-first century American literature.

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Nobody's Fool by Harlen Coben

Sami Kierce is many things. He is a frightened college boy, a drunk, a former cop, a grifter, husband, father, crusader and a teacher. Some of these roles are simultaneous. Down on his already questionable luck, Sami gets an ice cold blast of a frighteningly frigid encounter from his past. Someone Sami loved and someone who is dead fuel the mystery of this thriller.

Coben, once again, runs multiple intriguing plots to tantalize, tease, and torture you until you can reach the climaxes. This book has a plethora of bit players who add depth and color to the story. The Pink Panthers, Golf Gary, the Three Dead Hots, Wacky Raymond and more bring a wealth of mutability which is entertaining.

The idea of closure, secrets, vengeance and the settling issues whiffs through book. Integrity and wealthy seek a balance through Sami’s work. This had an intricate plot with wonderful characters and I highly recommend it.

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River of Lies by James L'Etoile, #2

The interplay between Emily and Javier, the protagonists, doesn’t quite reach Parker’s Hawk and Spencer’s devastating dialogue but is still good. They make a good team, and this book deals with current troubles in our cities. Most major cities are facing the homeless population problem. The plot here is the despicable solution that a group of corrupt politicians and businesspeople implement.

One of the timely subplots is Emily’s facing her mother’s cognitive decline. This is a sad situation that is plaguing many, many folks. L’Etoile does a great job bringing in current issues while maintaining forward momentum on the plot.

A homeless mother and her daughter figure prominently in the investigation. That aspect of homelessness is truly depressing.

This is a well-executed book with an excellent plot, I recommend it.

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The Fallen by David Baldacci

 The Fallen (Memory Man Series, 4) Paperback – September 11, 2018

by David Baldacci (Author)

4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars (61,510) 4.2 on Goodreads 74,611 ratings

Book 4 of 7: Amos Decker

Baldacci does a superb job in providing his protagonist with very human foibles. Amos is not omnipotent, nor is he a superhero, he is a flawed almost anti-hero struggling to do the best he can with what he is. This is a great series that I highly recommend.

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Star FBI detective Amos Decker and his colleague Alex Jamison must solve four increasingly bizarre murders in a dying rust belt town--and the closer they come to the truth, the deadlier it gets in this rapid-fire #1 New York Times bestseller.

Something sinister is going on in Baronville. The rust belt town has seen four bizarre murders in the space of two weeks. Cryptic clues left at the scenes--obscure bible verses, odd symbols--have the police stumped.

Amos Decker and his FBI colleague Alex Jamison are in Baronville visiting Alex's sister and her family. It's a bleak place: a former mill and mining town with a crumbling economy and rampant opioid addiction. Decker has only been there a few hours when he stumbles on a horrific double murder scene.

Then the next killing hits sickeningly close to home. And with the lives of people he cares about suddenly hanging in the balance, Decker begins to realize that the recent string of deaths may be only one small piece of a much larger scheme--with consequences that will reach far beyond Baronville.

Decker, with his singular talents, may be the only one who can crack this bizarre case. Only this time--when one mistake could cost him everything--Decker finds that his previously infallible memory may not be so trustworthy after all...

This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases if you click on a purchasing link below.#CommissionsEarned