THE THIRD DEADLY SIN by Lawrence Sanders

 Finished Th 7/10/25

This is a writer that I used to read thirty years ago. This book seemed like a reaction to the brand new theories of Feminism. The book was published in 1981 and the premise seems to be that now that woman want more responsibility they also have to accept the liabilities. Men commit more of the violent crimes and now women will share that dubious burden. {I don't think that there is any reliable proof that this has occurred}. I really liked the book and I'll (re) read more of Sanders.  

From 'annikalareview.com'

"THE THIRD DEADLY SIN (1981) & the fourth book in the series.

In the first chapter of The Third Deadly Sin, Lawrence Sanders introduces us to Zoe Kohler, a divorced woman in her 30s who works as a secretary in the security office of a Manhattan hotel. Zoe is ordinary in appearance. She often feels invisible, adrift, and sometimes wonders if she exists. She is “disgusted” by the world, and more specifically, by men. Zoe has recently embarked on a series of “adventures” to make her mark. By the end of the chapter, Sanders has made it clear what those adventures are.

In chapter 2, we meet series protagonist Edward X. Delaney, retired Chief of Detectives of the New York Police Department. Delaney really misses being a cop, so he is thrilled when he is asked to help investigate a series of killings in midtown Manhattan hotels.

The brutal killings are nearly identical: the victims have had their throats cut and their genitals mutilated with multiple stab wounds. But there is no apparent link between the victims, and there are few clues. The murders appear to be random—similar to the “Son of Sam” killings that terrorized New York City in 1976 and 1977, a few years before the time in which this book is set.

The reader knows what Delaney and his team do not: that Zoe Kohler is the killer, dubbed the “Hotel Ripper” by the press. But the police and the press assume that the killer is male. Serial murderers have rarely been female. When women do kill, they are usually motivated by passion or greed. Those motives don’t fit random “repeater” murders.

But as Delaney analyzes the killings, he begins to suspect that the perpetrator is in fact a woman. He questions why a woman couldn’t be as capable of murder as a man. A woman, just like a man, could feel “hatred of a type of individual or a class of individuals who, in the killer’s sick mind, are deserving of death,” or could feel “rejection not by individual or class but by society, the world, life itself.” Such feelings could lead either a man or a woman to commit murder.

This motive for murder would fit the classic definition of wrath, the third deadly sin. In some lists of the deadly sins, the third deadly sin is lust, and lust is in play here too. But the deadly sins in the books’ titles refer to the sins of the killers, and here it’s the victims who have been motivated by lust. Zoe herself is disgusted by lust. So even though Sanders isn’t explicit about it, I’ll go with wrath as the third deadly sin.

As always, Delaney shares his theories with his wife Monica. But Monica, who has immersed herself in the women’s movement, pushes back against the notion that women can be capable of such horrific acts. This dynamic between Delaney and Monica gives Sanders the opportunity to explore the question of gender at this relatively early point in the women’s movement (the book was published in 1981). Although some of the discussion seems dated, it still provides an interesting sociological context for the story.

The chapters alternate between Zoe’s perspective and Delaney’s. It’s an effective technique for ratcheting up the suspense, as the reader knows what Zoe has done before the police do. Sanders is meticulous in describing both Zoe’s thoughts and actions and the progress of the police investigation. The book is not a quick read, but Sanders rewards the patient reader with a wealth of detail about the mind of a killer, on the one hand, and the painstaking work involved in a police investigation, on the other hand.

A word of warning: some of the descriptions of the brutal murders (and one rape) are quite vivid. So if you’re squeamish, this book may not be for you."