The Bitter Past

Told in two timelines, The Bitter Past is a combination of historical fiction, mystery, and espionage.

1950’s The nuclear race is on! A young Russian spy has infiltrated a nuclear testing site in Nevada.

Present – Porter Beck is the sheriff in a community north of Las Vegas, Nevada where his father once was sheriff. He came home to help care for his father who now had dementia.

When a retired FBI agent is found brutally murdered, the clues point back to the 1950s and the nuclear testing site. Things get even more interesting when an FBI agent working alone shows up and begins to help Porter with his investigation. Porter will rely on the skills he learned as an intelligence officer in the Army to help with his investigation.

I struggled a little with the writing and found that I was never fully invested in the plot. When there are two timelines, I tend to enjoy one over the other. I found that I enjoyed the timeline in the past more. I wanted to know if the Russian spy would ever get caught, what he would learn, would he get away, etc. In the present, I never warmed to Sana, the FBI agent who showed up alone to help. I also didn’t quite buy into the instant attraction between the Porter and Sana. In fact, I found it annoying. Although I enjoyed Porter, it was his sister, Brinley, who became a favorite for me. She had a personality where the other characters felt more stereotypical to me.

I did enjoy how the author brought the two timelines together. I found this to be well thought out and a nice touch. But it was not enough to get a higher rating from me. For me, this book was a bitter pill to swallow.

Others are enjoying this much more than I did. Please read their reviews as well.

*Buddy read with Brenda

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.