The Legacy of Lawrence Sanders

Lawrence Sanders has always been my favorite author. Back in my folks’ house, our books were regarded as “shared”, meaning the family owns them, even if the books were individually purchased. But when I moved to my own house, I think it was a given that the books were mine so I brought them along.

The collection, which consists of 35 (36? 37?) books, occupies a prominent place in our library. I have the complete Deadly Sin series, two Timothy Cone titles, and most of the Commandment and Archibald McNally series. Some were bought from local book stores while some were sent by my aunt and uncle (Hi Mama Bee and Uncle Stu!). If there’s one thing Sanders’ protagonists have in common, it’s their tummies. Capt. Edward X. Delaney is a sandwich junkie, Cone is clearly a take-out guy, while Archy saves the best for last - dinner. They love to drink, too.

I love the books so much and know them by heart yet I re-read each of them occasionally. Well, too frequent, I suppose, because before I knew it, my son Caehl was commenting, “McNally again?” or “Lawrence Sanders again?” I didn’t know he was “auditing” the books I’ve been reading. After a while, he too has memorized the titles and the cover designs. And yes, after a while, he has taken all of them off the shelves and placed them in his own bookshelf. Not even Alex or Cae has dared touched my books, si Caehl lang ang matapang.

Our daily “quiz” starts with “How about the one with the…”

1. Tapes? The Anderson Tapes
2. Butterfly with blood? Answer: McNally’s Risk
3. Car inside the egg? Answer: McNally’s Gamble
4. Mask? Answer: McNally’s Folly
5. Buddha? The Timothy Files
6. Girl with snake as hair with blood? Answer: The Seduction of Peter S.

And so on and so forth.

All in all, Sanders published 38 novels. He died while living in Florida in 1998 at the age of 78, and I quote, “…was one of the greats in mystery writing and will be sorely missed.”

Lawrence Sanders bibliography
The Anderson Tapes (Edgar Award) (1970)
The Pleasures of Helen (1971)
Love Songs (1972)
The First Deadly Sin (1973)
The Tomorrow File (1975)
The Tangent Objective (1976)
The Marlow Chronicles (1977)
The Second Deadly Sin (1977)
The Tangent Factor (1978)
The Sixth Commandment (1979)
Dark Summer (as 'Mark Upton') (1979)
Caper (as 'Lesley Andress') (1980)
The Tenth Commandment (1980)
The Third Deadly Sin (1981)
The Case of Lucy Bending (1982)
The Seduction of Peter S. (1983)
The Passion of Molly T. (1984)
The Fourth Deadly Sin (1985)
The Eighth Commandment (1986)
Tales of the Wolf (1986)
The Loves of Harry Dancer (1986)
Dream Lover (1987)
The Timothy Files (novellas) (1987)
Timothy's Game (novellas) (1988)
The Dream Lover (1988)
Stolen Blessings (1989)
Capital Crimes (1989)
Sullivan's Sting (1990)
The Seventh Commandment (1991)
McNally's Secret (1992)
McNally's Luck (1992)
McNally's Risk (1993)
McNally's Caper (1994)
Private Pleasures (1994)
McNally's Trial (1995)
McNally's Puzzle (1996)
McNally's Gamble (1997)

For more on Sanders, here are some good links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_Sanders
http://www.thrillingdetective.com/trivia/sanders.html
http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/s/lawrence-sanders/