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= The Fourth Deadly Sin by Lawrence Sanders =

About the Author
"Lawrence Sanders (March 15, 1920 – February 7, 1998) was an American novelist and short story writer.""“Lawrence Sanders was born in Brooklyn in New York City. After public school he attended Wabash College, where he obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree. He then returned to New York and worked at Macy's Department Store. In 1943 he joined the United States Marine Corps and was discharged in 1946. Sanders was a former magazine editorial writer and later turned to full-time fiction writing. He wrote his first novel, The Anderson Tapes, in 1970, at the age of 50. It deals with a plot by a group of criminals to rob a luxury apartment building. In 1971, Sanders received an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for best first novel. His Archy McNally series was continued by author Vincent Lardo.”"

Other Stories Written

 * 1) The Anderson Tapes
 * 2) The Pleasures of Helen
 * 3) Love Songs
 * 4) The First Deadly Sin
 * 5) The Tomorrow File
 * 6) The Tangent Objective
 * 7) The Marlow Chronicles
 * 8) The Second Deadly Sin
 * 9) The Tangent Factor
 * 10) The Sixth Commandment
 * 11) The Tenth Commandment
 * 12) The Third Deadly Sin
 * 13) The Case of Lucy Bending
 * 14) The Seduction of Peter S.
 * 15) The Passion of Molly T.

Success in Story-writing
Received an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for best first novel. His Arcy McNally series were so successful they were later continued by another author. Part of what made his stories so successful was the fact that he focused on the genre of crime, mostly murders, and mystery. Those are two topics that over the decades have prominently been at the top of favorite reads. Another thing that makes this story in particular so effective is the setting, what greater place than the busy city of New York? As any city it is full of diverse characters, and plentiful in violence. Lawrence Sanders, as he proved in this book, is a skilled writer when it comes to tying events, characters, in suspenseful twists that will leave the reader gasping.

Plot Summary
This mystery and crime story starts at the beginning to mid-November, in what is safe to be assumed 1985 Manhattan, New York. Within the first chapter Lawrence Sanders introduces one of the main characters, Dr. Simon Ellerbe, a Psychiatrist, but not for too long because in this same chapter the doctor is brutally murdered in his office. His eyes and head are beat in by a ball peen hammer, and apparently, as one can assume within this chapter, by someone he knew.

Former Chief of Detectives, and lover of sandwiches, Edward X. Delaney gets dragged into the case and recruits Sergeant Abner Boone and Jason T. Jason. Together they run through the crime, starting from scratch in order to lead as accurate of an investigation as possible. They question the first two people who called in the case, his beautiful wife, and psychologist, Dr. Diane Ellerbee who called in the disappearance of her husband, and their friend Dr. Julius Samuelson. Both having alibies, they move on to the next suspects, which are patients. Dr. Diane Ellerbee provides a list of names and addresses of 6 possible candidates. The people were Ronald J. Bellsey, Isaac Kane, Sylvia M. Otherton, L. Vincent Symington, Joan Yesell, and Harold Gerber, all with different illness’ ranging from Depression to mental disabilities.

The three detectives go through procedures and ask all suspects questions but eventually recruit six more officers to help with the case, one per suspect. In a thrilling web, the reader follows through with Edward X. Delaney and his discoveries, the nonsuspicious patients, and the patients with one too many incriminating arrows pointing at them. One thing is for certain, Sanders strings the reader along to a plot-twisting ending that will leave you with a mouth gapping ending.

Edward X. Delaney
The main character in the novel, is described as a sandwiching loving, ex-Chief of detectives, who is a religious, faithful husband and father, and modern man for his time."“He had a hair-trigger temper, a strong sense of his own dignity, and absolute faith in his detective talents and methods of working a case. He couldn’t change himself, and he couldn’t change the Department. So he got out before the ulcers popped up, and tried to keep busy, tried to forget what might have been. But still…” (15 Sanders)"

Monica Delaney
Edward X. Delaney’s second wife. She had two daughters before marrying Edward. In the novel she appears often as the woman who goes out shopping, cooks, and invites Edward’s coworkers over for dinner. However, she serves the crucial role of being Edward’s psychologist and voice of reason in troubling times."“She was a stalwart woman with a no-nonsense body: wide shoulders and hips, heavy bosom, and a respectable waist. Muscular legs tapered to slender ankles. There was a warm solidity about her that Delaney cherished. He reflected, not for the first time, how lucky he had been with women: first Barbara, and now Monica–two joys.” (20 Sanders)"

Dr. Simon Ellerbee
Another one of the main characters, but also the character that is sacrificed to have a crime/mystery novel. He was a psychologist, a bit troubled by his personal problems, but willing to meet with patients past work hours. To others such as Edward Delaney he appeared to be someone “organized, logical, and emotionless” (102 Sanders).

Dr. Diane Ellerbee
The wife of Dr. Simon Ellerbee, she was as beauty as almost anyone in the novel can testify, and had money and brains. She was the one who noticed her husband missing when he didn’t arrive at their meeting location at 11:30pm. She had finished her patient that day and driven up ahead of him. She would also be the one that provides the list of suspects from her husband’s troubled patients."“A softly sharp profile suited for a coin. Sky-blue eyes that seemed to change hue with her temper. A direct, challenging gaze. Porcelain complexion. A generous mouth that promised smiles and kisses. She was wearing a severely tailored suit of pin-striped flannel, but a tent couldn’t have concealed her figure. She didn’t move; she flowed. What was so disconcerting, almost frightening, was the woman’s completeness. She wasn’t a Valkyrie, he decided; she was a Brancusi sculpture–…” (71-2 Sanders)"

Jason T. Jason – “Jason Two”
One of the two officers of the NYPD selected to work alongside Edward Delaney. (37 Sanders)

Sergeant Abner Boone
One of the two officers of the NYPD selected to work alongside Edward Delaney. According to Edward, he had a drinking problem which he fixed as soon as he got a family and has been sober for 4 years. (37 Sanders)

New York City in the 1980's
"“Compared to the 1970s, the 1980s were a time of restrained optimism in New York. The boom on Wall Street was fueling the speculative real estate market, and unemployment numbers dropped noticeably, however, the city's reputation for crime and disorder was still very much a part of New Yorkers' daily lives.Mayor Ed Koch repeatedly warned that filth, crime, and racial tensions were weakening the city. He put a high priority on rebuilding neighborhoods and infrastructure. One result was that gentrification brought new businesses to decrepit neighborhoods corners and converted low-end rental housing to co-ops and condos that attracted young upscale professionals and business people. Koch's energetic efforts brought enormous attention from the media, but critics condemned his attacks on his opponents as 'crazy,' 'wackos,' and 'radicals' and alleged he was racially divisive.""For years enormous attention followed the criminal trials resulted when a woman known as the Central Park Jogger was badly beaten and raped.[5] The illegal drug trade flourished, causing the murder rate to soar, and dividing the city into areas ruled by different drug lords. It became known as the crack epidemic. The New York City Subway fell victim to a crime epidemic that saw more crimes being committed on the subway each year than in any other subway system around the world.""Homelessness became a serious problem during the 1980s, specifically in the last two of Edward Koch's three terms as mayor (1978–1990). The city outlawed discrimination against gay and lesbian people in such matters as employment and housing in 1986.[9] In 1989, Koch was defeated by David Dinkins in the Democratic Party primary in his bid for a fourth term, and then Dinkins narrowly defeated Republican Rudolph Giuliani in the general election to become the city's first-ever black mayor.”"

Cultural / Historical Context in The Fourth Deadly Sin
This is an accurate portrayal of the scenario that was depicted in Sander’s The Fourth Deadly Sin. In chapter 2 of the novel Edward Delaney was meeting with Ivar Thorsen, the Deputy Commissioner, to discuss his involvement in the case and cooperation with Michael Ramon Suarez, the new Acting Chief of Detectives, who was also Puerto Rican. In this time Thorsen describes the police diversifying to have all sorts of ethnicities and women joining. “ Edward, you remember when they used to say that in New York, the Irish had the cops, the Jews had the schools, and the Italians had the Sanitation Department? Well, things have changed–“ (15 Sanders). However, aside from diversifying there is another element that plays a role in the story, that’s politics. It is because Dr. Simon Ellerbee has such a rich influential father and wife that his case is set to top priority with as many as 9 people solely working on the case. As Sander mentions through the ideals of Monica’s voice “But it just doesn’t seem right that the rich and influential get all the attention” (23 Sanders). It is even mentioned in the novel how if a stealing, violent, murdering junkie was killed the police would even be glad he was killed rather than spend manpower to solve the case thoroughly.

Critic Reviews
Despite not finding too many Critic Reviews on The Fourth Deadly Sin, the one found wasn’t positive, but it contradicts popular belief since this book was in the New York Times’ Best Seller for four months in a row.

Kirkus Review June 15, 1985
"“In the three previous Deadly Sin cases for crusty NYPD veteran Edward X. Delaney, Sanders used violence and vulgarity--some of it from the psycho-criminal's viewpoint--to juice up uninspired police-procedural. This time, however, the doings are much tamer, much duller--as an utterly routine murder-mystery is padded out to nearly 400 pages with humdrum sleuthing and interminable talk. The murder victim? East Side psychiatrist Dr. Simon Ellerbee, hammered to death in the townhouse/office he shared with psychologist-wife Diane (a wealthy beauty). The prime suspects? Dr. E.'s six most volatile patients: a sadistic bully, a tortured Vietnam vet, a chirpy homosexual (one of several dated stereotypes), a retarded youth, a matronly agoraphobe, and a suicidally inclined spinster. So retired super-cop Delaney, with eight NYPD-ers assisting him, does close-up investigations of these six wackos--concentrating on their alibis (a knotty, contrived jumble) and their hypothetical motives for killing the shrink. (Did he force one of them to face some ugly truth, thereby triggering massive anger?) The few half-intriguing moments here involve the relationships that develop between some of the cops (two compassionate, one brutal, one nastily seductive) and some of the suspects. But finally, after Delaney realizes that the late Dr. Ellerbee had fallen in love in the months before his demise, the case takes on a new direction--one that will come as no surprise whatsoever to most readers. Ho-hum plotting, oddly unconvincing N.Y.C. backgrounds, stale dialogue abounding: the weakest psycho-puzzle by far for Iron Balls Delaney--whose mixture of cutesiness (with wife Monica) and boorishness (with everyone else) has become thoroughly unappealing.”"     What this critic fails to see is the development and maturing as a person and character that Edward X. Delaney was put through in the past novels and this one. Edward Delaney himself acknowledges that although, while his body is no longer what it used to be and he can’t chase criminals up fire escapes, he is still capable of dealing damage, and has kept his brain sharp as ever. Edward has matured past the “violence and vulgarity” phase in his life and has changed to using his wits, instead of playing the hard-ass cop that gets his way by force, he has become resourceful and mature (as one would expect for a man his age).