BORDERLINE - Mark Schorr

 Brian Hanson is a Vietnam Vet, a recovering alcoholic who still struggles with PTSD. He's now a psychologist, working in Portland, and he's upset over the death of a client - ruled a suicide but Hanson doesn't believe it.  He decides to do some investigating on his own and discovers that there have been a number of criminals and lowlifes who have been murdered in the Portland area in the past few years.

 Is this coincidence, or is there someone inside the City administration or police force culling the criminal herd on the sly?

While Hanson starts looking at the city administrators (who've been boosting of a reduction in major crimes), Hanson's wife, Jeanie, is an ambitious banker working with the city on some major projects. One city administrator has his eye on Jeanie, but not for her working skills. That same administrator sees Brian Hanson as a potential threat to his work and claiming Jeanie as a conquest is only one step in his plan to ruin the psychologist.

It's been a few decades since I read a Mark Schorr novel but I remembered really liking his books, which is why I dug through some book stores looking for a few his books.

Schorr's writing is very crisp and clean, making this a really easy read. It helps, too, that in Brian Hanson, Schorr has a recognizable everyman. His Vietnam PTSD isn't a major focus of the character, but it does a play a part in the construction of the story. When this book was first published, back in the mid-1980's, this would have been a much more recognizable issue.

One of the great assets to Hanson's character is his quiet, straight-forward attitude. Even the infidelity of his wife is address, not head-on - he's too quiet for that - but in a manner that likely gets most male readers agreeing with his method. 

Hanson doesn't rely too much on luck (something I see with a number of detective-style action books (but the ending does come through with a bit of luck)) though he does need to call on some helpful acquaintances at times.

Looking for a good book? Borderline by Mark Schorr is a solid, satisfying mystery thriller.

4 stars

* * * * * *

Borderline

author: Mark Schorr

series: Brian Hanson #1

publisher: Leisure Books

ISBN: 9780843959796

paperback, 325 pages