The Seventh Commandment

The Commandment #4

by Lawrence Sanders

Lawrence Sanders concludes his bestselling Commandment series with a sizzling tale of hot-blooded lust and stone-cold murder Nothing gets by Dora Conti. Her latest case brings the tough-as-nails claims adjuster to the mean streets of New York, where Lewis Starrett, a wealthy society jeweler, has been fatally stabbed. Though the killer was apparently an amateur, there was a lot of power behind the knife’s thrust. The victim lived in an eighteen-room duplex on Fifth Avenue with his wife, daughter, son, and daughter-in-law. Conti must look into the lives of this privileged clan before deciding whether to pay out Lewis Starrett’s life insurance policy. As it turns out, their family affairs are a seething viper’s nest of lust, adultery, and escalating violence. The body count rises—along with Conti’s growing desire for burnt-out cop John Wenden.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Thriller, Crime, Action, Suspense, Detective

357 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 15, 1991

About the author

There is more than one author with this name

Lawrence Sanders was the New York Times bestselling author of more than forty mystery and suspense novels. The Anderson Tapes, completed when he was fifty years old, received an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for best first novel. His prodigious oeuvre encompasses the Edward X. Delaney, Archy McNally, and Timothy Cone series, along with his acclaimed Commandment books. Stand-alone novels include Sullivan's Sting and Caper. Sanders remains one of America’s most popular novelists, with more than fifty million copies of his books in print. Also published as Mark Upton.

Reviews

[Sophie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this quite a number of years ago, but I recall enjoying it very much. Good story, good character development. I was not bored at all. I believe that was the case with the entire series. I recommend it.

[George Henry · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read "McNally's Risk" (my first Lawrence Sanders book) and enjoyed it so I thought I'd try another of his. I happened to have picked up "The Seventh Commandment" at a book sale so I thought I'd give it a try. I didn't find it as good: the female character's struggle with fidelity was not plausible and the plot in general was tepid and too contrived. Well written but a story a little too bland for me. I'm now reading one of his earlier works "The Case of Lucy Bending" and finding it more to my liking. Review later.

[Mary Cushnie-Mansour · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Seventh Commandment by Lawrene Sanders had me hooked from the first page. I started it in the morning, and finished it in the early evening.

Dora Conti, who is an insurance investigator, gets sent on the tough cases. What I find ingratiating is that Dora, the heroine in this story, is not a super model type - she is an average looking woman, slightly overweight, but with a mind as sharp as nails when it came to getting down to the nitty-gritty truth of matters. Dora's boss sends her to New York to investigate the death of the Starrett family patron who was knifed down in the street. The Starrett family owned high-end jewelry stores all over the world.

Page after page unfolds another twist and turn in the story. Dora plods along, working with John Wenden, a NY cop who develops a crush on Dora. However, Dora, as tempted as she might be by the flatery John pours on her, keeps telling John that she is a happily married woman. Does she succumb to his advances - read the book (LOL)

The Starrett family, and those who surround them, are a mysterious lot whose lives have become entwined with lust, greed, and murder after murder. Just when Dora thinks she has it all figured out, another body shows up dead, and it is usually the person she was thinking might be the mastermind behind the entire sordid affair. However, as Dora digs deeper, she discovers something even more sinister - something that steps outside the luxurious world of the Starrett empire.

For anyone who loves a great murder/mystery, The Seventh Commandment is a must read!

[James Oates · Rating 4 out of 5]

As with most Sander's book, an easy read with good characters and a number of good plots interwoven together.

You could almost easily guess where the book was going and how some of characters were going to end up, but it doesn't take a thing away from a good read.

You won't disappointed if you pick it up.

[Jjean · Rating 4 out of 5]

First time reading Lawrence Sanders and found his story interesting and a fun mystery - with characters you could really like or not - good plot with many twist & turns in involving a wealthy family, drugs, scammers, murder and a possible forbiden affair between the insurance investigator & lead cop!

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great and refreshing

I liked that woman. The way she worked and used everything she had to get to the answer. She was an ordinary woman with extraordinary ways of making it work. All the characters especially the women was someone we know, knew, or read about. Money doesn't always smooth it over. Read it. I read it I one day. Its a good who did what! Gigi-B'more

[Mike Downs · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like the characters and the way Sanders weaves his magic.

[Michael Lottamoza · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it. I wasn't sure I would at first but it turned out to be a very good read!!

[Bob Box · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read in 1992. Another spellbinder from Sanders, master of suspense.

[Elaine Bernier · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another winner from Lawrence Sanders

Dora Conti ,our heroine, is an imperfect sleuth,but always successful.
She gets to the bottom of the malfeasance in an amusing yet heartwarming way. Not slap happy but witty. Well written.
Characters are vivid..the good are ' pretty good' and the bad are very bad.

[Cindy Kirkland · Rating 3 out of 5]

I actually enjoyed this book. I liked Dora, she was a feisty little thing, wish I could be more like her. I did not particularly care for the ending, I thought it was too abrubt, her investigation is over but I would have like to meet Mario (the husband). A return to home would have been a satisfying way to end the book.

[Guida · Rating 4 out of 5]

anda la dora para de ser assim!
a dora deixou se levar completamente por tudo
a historia do crime ia bem no princípio mas depois com tantas mortes e plot twists pareceu forçado. a maneira como turrier morreu foi deveras interessante mas mal planeada e desenquadrada

[Irv Kantrowitz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good book. It is about an insurance claims adjuster who tries to identify fraudulent claims. There are many less than honorable characters and murders. A strong friendship develops between the claims adjuster and a police detective.

[William · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read

Excellent will written read with interesting well developed characters. The story line is fast moving with lots of twist and turns. I would recommend the series to anyone who enjoys will written mysteries. Enjoy reading 2009

I read this novel from the locol library

[judy ann gillespie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting

I have never read a book in this series. I hope to find the first one to read soon. Book really moves, lots of entanglements and false directions. Dori comes thru, helps NYPD, DEA, IRS make their own cases. She does resolve the Insurance claim at the end

[Gene Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lawrence sanders makes for convoluted mysteries

The plethora of characters were used to generate the many murders involved in this convoluted story. Some of what happened was almost predictable.

[David K. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book

All Lawrence Sanders are.
I liked this Commandment a bit more than the others.
It's a good who done it.

[Marilyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok not too deep, kind of knew how it would turn out from the beginning, fast read.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok for a bedtime book. I found the use of obscure english words interesting, I am not sure what the author was getting at - I am so smart?

[Denise Parsley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book

Very clever, did not see the end coming. Loved the characters and the morality
Would love to read about the Dora character again!

[George Hahn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good mystery, told in a breezy style that I enjoyed.

[shapeofaflyingdeer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like Wuthering Heights this story is such an extreme of the “prescriptive” for the unmarried reader. It is a psychological thriller on a few levels.

[greatgrayprairie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even the main character when away from the hearth was on a power-trip. It was the consummate us-them steam rollover.

[Paul Brackett · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a fast page turner but not very deep. The female lead could have been developed much more.

[Jaime · Rating 3 out of 5]

So what is the seventh commandment? Unless you are Catholic or Lutheran, the seventh commandment is "You shall not commit adultery." If you are Catholic or Lutheran, it’s "You shall not steal", which also works in this storyline. But mainly, the title is referring to adultery. Woven in to all of this adultery (or possible adultery) is a caper involving a jewelry empire and the trading of gold. And greed, and drugs, and a little bit of conning, too. I liked the mystery part of the book, but the adultery stuff rubbed me the wrong way. I actually would have liked to see Dora and police detective John get together, but not when she is supposedly "happily married". If the author wanted her to seriously consider cheating on her husband, he should have at least made the husband some sort of scumbag. I think I would have been happy with the adultery being limited to the other players in the story and leave our main character out of it.

[Martha · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lawrence Sanders is one of the first authors I've read. I was in high school and might have been a bit young for his genre at that time but when you're a kid and have limited book resources you can't be picky lol. I got his books from my dad's little library. I thought this one lacked the ... whatever it is I got from his books before lol. I remember I liked the other commandments and deadly sins books. This one, not so much. Also, I can't remember if his style in writing dialogues in this book is the same as it was before. If it was then I will charge it to inexperience lol. It's a bit annoying reading it

John, you should blah blah
Red, what do you think blah blah
Terry, listen, blah blah

Other than that, it still has the Sander's signature when it comes to drama, intrigue, and a dirty secrets. I guess I can say Lawrence Sanders is my Sydney Sheldon except Sanders' novels has more police work going on.

[Dharia Scarab · Rating 3 out of 5]

Since I don't normally write reviews unless I have something specific to say, here's the break down of how I rate my books...

1 star... This book was bad, so bad I may have given up and skipped to the end. I will avoid this author like the plague in the future.

2 stars... This book was not very good, and I won't be reading any more from the author.

3 stars... This book was ok, but I won't go out of my way to read more, But if I find another book by the author for under a dollar I'd pick it up.

4 stars... I really enjoyed this book and will definitely be on the look out to pick up more from the series/author.

5 stars... I loved this book! It had earned a permanent home in my collection and I'll be picking up the rest of the series and other books from the author ASAP.

[Sam · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a fairly typical mystery novel. The suspense is good, and it engrosses the reader because we want to know who killed the victim. The most annoying thing about the book, though, is that different characters continuously uses the same phrases to describe different people/situations. This seems to me to be lazy writting--the author has a pet phrase (or several in this case) and they surface from chapter to chapter with no continuity in the characters that use them.

[Leander Grogan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book back in the 90's. I'm an author so I know how much of one's heart and soul goes into every book, which makes me reluctant to give a bad review. What I'll say about this book is it does not come close to what Lawrence Sanders is capable of. It's not a waste, it's just not his best.

Dora was diligent, perceptive, faithful and smarter than most men. But these qualities were just not enough to carry the book.

[Chuck · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting and fun mystery with a female insurance investigator leading the way to a complex solution of four murders. The story outlines one of the most incestuous and sociopathic group of individuals that you could find in a lifetime of looking. Not highly realistic, but keeps you awake and turning pages.