The Bitter Past

Borgos’s atmospheric debut, the start of a series focused on Nevada sheriff Porter Beck, is a clever, spy-flavored mystery. Forced to retire from the Army for medical reasons, Beck has returned home to Lincoln County, Nev., to help care for his dementia-stricken father. Beck’s expertise on Russia from his military service proves unexpectedly useful when he’s called to investigate the gruesome murder of retired FBI agent Ralph Atterbury. The assailant tied Atterbury to his recliner, skinned his extremities, pulled out his teeth, and blowtorched his face. Beck is sure that the killing wasn’t random, a conviction buttressed by the arrival of Sana Locke, whom the FBI has sent from D.C. to help him investigate. Locke shares that, in the 1950s, the KGB sent a spy to Nevada to learn about the atomic testing program being run near Lincoln County. In the ’60s, the operative began cooperating with U.S. intelligence—and Atterbury was the Russian double agent’s last FBI handler. In toggling timelines, Borgos paints a vivid picture of midcentury Cold War espionage and slowly reveals how its consequences reverberate to the present. Intelligent storytelling and well-drawn characters bode well for future series entries. Agent: Janet Reid, Janet Reid Literary. (July)