Borderline [Hardcover]

Mark Schorr (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 5, 2006

Psychologist Brian Hanson, a Vietnam Vet and recovering alcoholic, is crushed by the death of one of his clients. He's sure it's not suicide. When he investigates, he discovers that a string of suspected criminals have been murdered without explanation. Is Portland America's safest small city because of a vigilant police force, or are there other forces at work? Hanson soon learns of a dark secret lurking just below the surface of the City Administration, risking his job, his marriage, and his life. A story of blackmail, political corruption and murder, Borderline is truly a thrilling read.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this gripping if uneven mystery, the first in a new series from Schorr (Ace of Diamonds), Brian Hansen, a Vietnam vet and recovering addict, works as a psychologist at a Portland, Ore., mental health and addiction clinic. Soon after his patient Tammy LaFleur misses her weekly appointment, Hansen is chilled to learn that she has killed herself. Despite her paranoia, Tammy had seemed optimistic; the suicide method arouses his suspicions, as does the victim's connection to an influential Portland police family. Schorr weaves Hansen's inquiry with an investigation into a vigilante serial killer who targets recidivist criminals. The resolution, which involves a sadistic deputy mayor, shifts the novel from a gritty look at corruption and substance abuse toward unlikely fantasy. Still, Hansen is a complex, compelling amateur sleuth who deserves further development in future installments. (Sept.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Schorr hits on a wonderful occupation for an investigator in the debut novel of a new series. His hero, Brian Hanson, is a Portland, Oregon, community mental-health worker, giving him access to a wide range of troubled people, explosive situations, and court documents. Hanson is no fresh-faced, overly optimistic newbie. As a psychologist for 25 years, Hanson has dialed his goals way back; he seeks only tiny victories for himself (as a recovering alcoholic) and his clients, mostly impoverished, mentally ill, addicted, or all three. But the apparent suicide of a client whose life really seemed to be turning around hits Hanson hard. And the method doesn't fit: Hanson's once-beautiful client apparently shot herself in the face, a rare occurrence for women. Hanson launches into a complete critical-incident review, plunging into court documents detailing his client's slow and steady fall from grace. What he finds is a string of murders buried beneath layers of bureaucracy. An impressive debut. Connie Fletcher
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Minotaur Books; 1st edition (September 5, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312359152
• ISBN-13: 978-0312359157
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,083,918 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Mark Schorr is the author of hundreds of non-fiction articles, three short stories, and eleven mystery novels. He's been a bookstore manager, private investigator, nightclub bouncer, international courier, freelance journalist, newspaper reporter, novelist, educational trainer, and psychotherapist.

He's lived in New York, Washington DC, Los Angeles, and Portland, Oregon. His works have been published in France, Spain, and Japan, and optioned for the movies. (No films ever made, but forget it Jake, it's Hollywood).

As a trainer/presenter, he's lectured on writing, psychotherapy, and crisis de-escalation (not all at once) in New York, Beijing, California, Washington, and Oregon.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Real Page Turner!, October 3, 2006

By 

miriam rankin "book lover" (usa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Borderline (Hardcover)

Well written, well paced, "Borderline" was an excellent read. The entertaining story is compelling and I was completely surprised by some of the plot twists. The characters were solid, believable and interesting. I will enjoy seeing who is cast in the movie when it's made- it would make a great film!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tight plot, excellent read..., September 26, 2008

By 

Thomas Duff "Duffbert" (Portland, OR United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Borderline (Hardcover)

I recently read an article about a local author, Mark Schorr. He lives in the same basic area of Portland as I do, and he writes crime thrillers. There are two books in his Brian Hanson series, so I thought I'd start at the beginning with Borderline. Wow... A very tight and fast read, made even more interesting given the home town element.

Brian Hanson is a therapist working with some of the city's most forgotten and neglected citizens. Street people, prostitutes, you name it. He has his own issues also, as his time in Vietnam led to PTSD and drug and alcohol abuse. He's gotten clean and sober, but his violent past is only a flashback and a drink away. While he deals with the seamy side of Portland, his wife is a high-powered and upper-crust real estate developer who lives for the deal (and the money). Needless to say, there's a fair amount of tension between them and their two philosophies of life, and the marriage isn't going all too well.

One of Hanson's clients, a prostitute named Tammy, seems to be getting her life slowly turned around. But she's found with a gunshot wound to the head, and the police write it off as a suicide. He's not so sure, and starts digging around to see if perhaps there might not be something more to the story. This "asking around" attracts the attention of the deputy mayor, Tony Dorsey, who also has an interest in the case. Portland's major crime stats are way down compared to other cities, and its his job to make sure it stays that way. Dorsey decides to cozy up to Hanson's wife in order to get some inside information, exert some pressure and influence, and also get her into his bed (and other surfaces). Hanson enlists the help of a young FBI agent, the niece of a client, to see if there's anything to his murder theory. At first, all these separate pieces appear to be unrelated on the surface. But very soon, Dorsey's got Hanson's wife exactly where he wants her (in more ways than one), she's trapped herself into aiding him in his larger goals, and Hanson has to figure out if his life is worth more to him than trying to find the truth about Tammy's death.

As I started reading, the enjoyment of the home town element of the book kept me interested. It's always fun to read a passage and imagine EXACTLY where and how it looks. It didn't take long before Dorsey's secrets and Hanson's suppressed violent persona took over and had me hooked. I burned a whole evening (when I should have been doing something else) finishing up the book, as I didn't want to put it down. And I don't quite know how to explain it, but Hanson's personality evoked strong emotions that caused me to really care about what was about to happen.

As I head out for a getaway at the coast this weekend, the follow-up to Borderline is tucked in my bag. I have no doubt it'll be finished by this time tomorrow...

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars exhilarating amateur sleuth, September 9, 2006

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Borderline (Hardcover)

In Portland, psychologist Brian Hanson talks over the phone with his patient twenty-eight years old parole Tammy LaFleur, who has missed her last two appointments because she insists the men are just outside waiting for her. He warns her that one more missed session and he will report her; she turns angry insisting he does not care. Brian, a recovering alcoholic, feels sorry for himself having to put up with this diatribe.

Not long afterward, Brian feels guilty when he learns Tammy committed suicide. However, as he goes over her time with him, he concludes she was either compliant or defiant, but never suicidal. Fearing he will return to a violent reaction as he has done under pressure since his Nam days, Brian informs his police contact Detective Robert McFarlane to make sure he harms no one as he has a violent history. To satisfy his culpability, he investigates the death of his client, the daughter of the former police chief. When others inside of Tammy's circle die, Brian believes a human wolf is killing people.

Clichéd absolutely! Stereotyped for sure! So what; readers will not be able to put down this exhilarating amateur sleuth investigative thriller. The action never slows down even when Brian's banker wife, fed up with his antics, turns to someone else for solace. The contest between the Wolf and the shrink is fun to follow as both shares so much in common as either one will OVERKILL to achieve their objective.

Harriet Klausner