The First Deadly Sin

The First Deadly Sin is the first book in American author Lawrence Sanders's "Deadly Sins" series, published in 1973 and included on the Mystery Writers of America (MWA) list of the hundred greatest mystery books. Set in New York, the story unfolds along two parallel threads: one follows Edward Delaney, commander of the NYPD's 251st Precinct, who keeps vigil at his critically ill wife's bedside while growing weary of the sordid power struggles at the top of the police department, having already resolved to submit his resignation and leave the NYPD; the other follows Daniel Blank, an executive at a prominent New York publishing house, impeccably dressed and physically fit, a first-rate mountaineer in his spare time, living a respectable upper-class life. What he seeks is excitement and distinction, and after meeting a mysterious woman named Celia Montfort, the restlessness long dormant in his depths is fully ignited—a desire that carries not only wild lust but the smell of blood. When a murder is reported, his superiors suggest that Delaney investigate the killer privately as a suspended officer on leave, and he accordingly assembles an amateur investigative team, gradually tightening the net of the manhunt. The truth of the crime is peeled back layer by layer through investigation and confrontation; through the killer's psychological labyrinth and the detective's stubborn questioning, the novel probes the struggle among power, desire, and conscience, and reveals the more naked side beneath the city's glittering surface. The complete Chinese translation runs about 400,000 characters.