The Deadly Sins Novels Volume Two

Book excerpt: The final two cases in the series by the #1 New York Times–bestselling author—plus the Edgar Award–winning debut novel that introduced Edward Delaney. Lawrence Sanders’s first novel in the Deadly Sins series became a New York Times bestseller and was made into an acclaimed film starring Frank Sinatra as hard-bitten New York City homicide detective Edward Delaney. Sanders would follow up with three more Deadly Sins novels—each one a New York Times bestseller—proving himself again and again to be “a master” (The New Yorker). This collection also includes Sanders’s first novel, completed at age fifty, The Anderson Tapes, which introduced Edward Delaney and won an Edgar Award, and was made into a film starring Sean Connery. The Third Deadly Sin: By day, she’s an unassuming middle-aged secretary. By night, dressed in a midnight-black wig, a skin-tight dress, and spike heels, she prowls smoky hotel bars for prey. Inside her leather bag are keys, cash, mace, and a Swiss Army knife. Her first victim—a convention guest at an upscale Manhattan hotel—is found dead with multiple stab wounds. Edward Delaney has come out of retirement to stop the so-called Hotel Ripper, who has seized the city in a chokehold of panic. But he’s not expecting the killer to be a woman. “A first-rate thriller . . . as good as you can get.” —The New York Times The Fourth Deadly Sin: With no leads and a case getting colder by the hour, the NYPD calls in former chief Edward Delaney to solve the grisly murder of Dr. Simon Ellerbee, a noted Upper East Side psychiatrist, who not only had his skull bashed in by a ball-peen hammer but had his eyes mutilated. It’s up to the veteran detective to analyze the symbolism of the attack and study the doctor’s patients to find out which one of them wanted to hammer home a point. “Not to be missed.” —Kansas City Star The Anderson Tapes: Newly sprung from prison, professional burglar John Anderson is preparing for the biggest heist of his criminal career. The mark is a Manhattan luxury apartment building. Enlisting a crew of scouts, con artists, and a getaway driver, Anderson orchestrates what he believes to be a foolproof plan. To pull off the big score, he needs one last thing: the permission of the local mafia, who expect a piece of the action. But no one inside Anderson’s operation knows that the police have recorded their conversations. The NYPD has hatched a plot of its own—but even its task force may not be enough to stop such a cunningly planned robbery. “The novel races forward, accelerating in action and suspense.” —TheNew York Times