The Fourth Deadly Sin

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: After reading the first 3 deadly sins, and knowing that the 4th was the last one, I was looking forward to reading it. I was disappointed in that it wasn't as suspenseful and action packed as his other Deadly Sins(Actually #1 and #3 were the best, with #2 being a disappointment). I do not want to reveal the ending, and I am glad that Delaney does figure out the case, but I was disappointed in the way the killer is punished. If I had to rank all 4 books, #1 is a 5 star, #3 is a 4 star, and #2&4 are 2 stars. Start with the first- it is a classic detective/killer book.

Rating:
Summary: A formula book with some redeeming features
Review: First things first. Lawrence Sanders was a hack. He wrote fomulaic murder mysteries. This is one of them, but it was really a pretty good book, especially for a hack.

A New York psychologist gets murdered with a ball peen hammer in his own office and a dark and stormy night. A retired detective is pressed back into duty to lead an interesting team of detectives that is sorting through some of his patients, friends, employees and wife to try to figure out who did this dasterdly crime.

The old cop, Delaney, has one interesting vice. Rather than drinking when depressed over the progress their making, he eats cold sandwiches made of leftovers over the kitchen sink, which irritates his wife to no end.

An interesting theme is developed - Delaney asserts that truly beautiful women (in this case the wife - literally everyone comments about her striking looks ) often are (self-)limited in other capacities because they can get by with just their looks. For example, they don't have to develop specialized skills or learn to how to get along with difficult people or situations because everyone caters to them.

Anyway, I'll give this book a "C+" The detectives and their different styles were interesting, but I had pretty much figured out who did it about half way through.


Rating:
Summary: Indeed a disappointment.
Review: First was too detailed and confusing, second one better, smoother on the third, running out of gas by the fourth. OK but not the best.

Rating:
Summary: Lightweight
Review: First was too detailed and confusing, second one better, smoother on the third, running out of gas by the fourth. OK but not the best.

Rating:
Summary: Sad, Bad, and Mad!
Review: I loved the first three Sins, but this latest entry makes one feel quite relieved that he didn't do any more, but at the same time, one wishes he'd get his act together. Very little suspense, and one of those where you know the murderer the first time they appear. Delaney and friends are wonderful characters, but in this outing they didn't do themselves much credit. Basically it's a 20 page story that is dragged out in tedious detail until you hit a very unsatisfying conclusion. He wimped out and did a Poirot ending. Which I hated, needless to say! I wish he would have not written this book at all, or waited until he could have done a better job. If more sins are committed in the future, I will certainly read them, and hope they are better than this trite, deadly dull outing.

Rating:
Summary: Sad, Bad, and Mad!
Review: I loved the first three Sins, but this latest entry makes one feel quite relieved that he didn't do any more, but at the same time, one wishes he'd get his act together. Very little suspense, and one of those where you know the murderer the first time they appear. Delaney and friends are wonderful characters, but in this outing they didn't do themselves much credit. Basically it's a 20 page story that is dragged out in tedious detail until you hit a very unsatisfying conclusion. He wimped out and did a Poirot ending. Which I hated, needless to say! I wish he would have not written this book at all, or waited until he could have done a better job. If more sins are committed in the future, I will certainly read them, and hope they are better than this trite, deadly dull outing.

Rating:
Summary: No shiny fluff here!
Review: I read The Fourth Deadly Sin before I knew of Sins 1-3. I won't let 1-3 go unread. Lawrence Sanders' style of crime prose captivated me first with Anderson Tapes' crime reporter-type story telling. The Passion Of Molly T. made me a complete fan. The Fourth Sin is unlike any crime drama that I've ever read. The vivid descriptions and Sanders' use of intelligent language (I admit, I needed a thesaurus several times) allow you to view Delaney, his wife Monica, Abner Boone and other characters as if you were beside them at all times. Not a single character in this book is cardboard. All are shown with flesh and soul. And with all this detail, the plot still moves you like a locomotive. Magestically gaining speed, rolling though the hills and valleys and screaming it's whistle at top speed towards the end. Sanders is good. Really good!

Rating:
Summary: Indeed a disappointment.
Review: Sanders became a bit tiring with this last entry in the Delaney series. In fact, he probably should have stopped writing altogether. It is also too bad he didn't see fit to write about sins 5, 6 and 7. If Sanders had reinvented himself and kept his style fresh, this novel would have really shown. But as it is it is only lackluster. But still, it is worth reading. Just be prepared to be accused of being a cult fan.