This is vital stuff' says Romance Academy director, Rachel Gardner, in her foreword and so it is. As the author, a theologian at Cambridge's Jubilee Centre, clearly recognises, it is also a book many readers may consider 'hardhearted' because it concentrates so much on the societal rather than individual aspects of sexual behaviour. Sadly, for many people today, 'personal liberty is so important that they may feel relational disorder and pain are a worthwhile price to pay for it' (p192). GPs will not be alone in recognising that truth reflected in their surgeries every week.

The book is written with the unbelieving reader in mind as well as the Christian, though I suspect most secularists in our sexually obsessed society will find it highly unpalatable. However, those who can digest it will find a wealth of helpful well-referenced material on a wide range of sexual issues. The book's unique feature is to locate these within a wider framework showing how society, government and church can powerfully influence – for good or ill – the sexual behaviour of individuals.

Just Sex is a bit like the written equivalent of a cold shower, but sometimes they are just what is needed.