Local Authors, Local Books: Probing Politics and Poker Is a Novel Idea for Ex-Prosecutor – River Journal Staff

In my investigative experience,more sexual assaults are committed by people who the victim knows and trusts. Dan Schorr

As theYonkersInspector General and aWestchesterAssistant District Attorney,Dan Schorrled numerous high-profile, complex, and fascinating investigations andprosecutions.Hisexperiencestackling various types of criminal activity, sexualmisconduct, and other wrongdoinginspired him to write his debut novel,Final Table, which was published bySparkPresson Oct.5.

Schorrsays that his time as a Westchester sex crimes prosecutor, as well as his workinvestigating sexual misconduct allegations withhis own firm, Dan Schorr, LLC,revealedthat the real world of sexual assault allegations is often very different from accounts depicted in movies and novels.

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Fictional sexual assaultsaregenerallycommitted by strangers in dangerous places or by groups of assailants, which is consistent with the stranger danger attitude that is widespread regarding potential assaults, Schorr says.But,in my investigative experience,more sexual assaultsare committed by people who the victim knows and trusts, and many involve victims who have engaged in some consensual sexual contact withthe offenderprior to the nonconsensual activity. I thought it was importantin this bookto depict such a scenario with all of its nuances and complications.

Final Tablehas garneredexcellent reviews and praise, including from Westchester residentSunny Hostin, the Emmy-Winning Co-host ofThe Viewand best-selling author ofI Am These TruthsandSummer on the Bluffs. Hostin callsFinal Tablea compelling, timely, and fast-paced story of a sexual assault survivors fight to regain control ofher life in the face of fear, self-doubt, international intrigue, and looming retribution.

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The novel is a political thrillerabout sexual misconduct in the #MeToo era, set in the worlds of international politics and high-stakes poker. It focusesheavily on the role that cable news andsocial media play in amplifying the accounts of survivors, whilealso harassing andintimidating individuals who end up in their crosshairs.

The story follows former White House staffer Maggie Raster, who is struggling to build her own consulting firm and overcome a recent sexual assault by an ex-boss.

The other principal character,Kyler Dawson,isa broke former poker championwhodesperately needs togain entry intoa controversial buthighlylucrative international poker tournament. Thetournamentshost nation faces widespread condemnation for the recent murder of a prominent female U.S.journalist, and a pending presidential executive order threatens to prohibitDawsonand others fromentering the contest.

Maggies chaotic first attempt to promote her new business as a television political analyst brings her to Kylers attention, convincinghim that her political smarts and connections can provide the help he needs.By working with him, shehas a shot at scoringashareof the $20 millionpokerprizeif he wins.

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To succeed, she will have to confront numerous challenges personal and political, foreign and domestic including mounting pressure to publicly address the misconduct of her former boss. Kyler also has his own obstacles andcheckeredpast to overcome, but if eachof themcanface downtheir daunting challenges, he might win the tournament and earn them both a fortune.

Setting an international political thriller in the worldof tournament pokermight seem like an unusual combination, but,Schorrsays,To me,theyrea perfect fit. Both involvehugedecisions that must be made under extreme stress with incomplete information.And the costs of mistakesin both politics and poker, in the novel and in the realworld,are oftendisastrous.

Schorr lives inWhite Plains with his wife and two children.

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Local Authors, Local Books: Probing Politics and Poker Is a Novel Idea for Ex-Prosecutor - River Journal Staff