It is a hot and humid August in 1969 and Police Captain Carmine Delminco is off on vacation with his wife. Normally summers would be quiet in the small college town of Holloman, Connecticut, but new evidence and bodies reveal that the small police department may have a real worry on their hands.

Is it a dangerous coincidence or not that the bodies of a number of unidentified emasculated men who have tragically died of starvation have been found? Do they have a serial killer in their midst? The premeditation and total lack of compassion has Lieutenant Abraham Goldberg suspecting they have a psychopathic killer on their hands. Delia is not so sure, but if it is the work of a psychopath, who is it?

Meanwhile, the eccentric Sergeant Delia Carstairs finds her search for any clues to her "Shadow Women" case elusive. Where did those six women go? The only point of satisfaction in her life right now is the new friendship that she has recently formed with Jessica Wainfleet and Ivy Ramsbottom since June. They love getting together and having a drink and intelligent conversations. Meeting these two intelligent and independent spinsters helps restore Delia's spirits from the frustration she experiences in trying to solve her case and she is very protective of them. Through them, Delia meets some strange, yet very intriguing people. Do they know secrets that could lead to the killer?

SINS OF THE FLESH by well-known author Colleen McCullough opens with a horrifying story of a man who is being kept in a cell and only given water to drink while slowly being starved to death. From this shocking start, the reader is instantly pulled into the mystery in this fifth book by McCullough featuring the intelligent and astute Police Captain Carmine Delminco. He may be away, but his small team is left struggling with the August heat and humidity and trying to come to grips with very unusual murders. Fortunately, this interesting protagonist unexpectedly returns and helps Abe and Delia as they sift through evidence and interview people of interest.

True to McCullough's famous style and her scientific background as a Neurophysiologist, SINS OF THE FLESH has such a strong degree of realism to it that it makes for a highly absorbing story right from the beginning to its astonishing whodoneit. While some of McCullough's characters are strange and many are flamboyant, they are all easily visualized and are authentic in their actions and motivations. As SINS OF THE FLESH is set back in 1969, the emphasis is the story is definitely on skilled police work and intuitive and strategic thinking which many readers enjoy as they attempt to figure out who has committed the murders.

SINS OF THE FLESH is also easily read as a stand-alone book, but I am sure new fans will definitely want to read all the books in the series about the intriguing Captain Carmine Delminco and his very small but diverse team. Full of heart wrenching secrets, powerful action and multi- layered mysteries, fans of crime fiction be warned! You will have a very difficult time indeed putting down SINS OF THE FLESH before its very dramatic conclusion!