Customer Reviews

The Inspector Barlach Mysteries: The Judge and His Hangman and Suspicion

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These are two classics. I hesitate to call them "mysteries", because they are not just whodunits, but despite their short length they also explore moral and philosophical issues. I don't want to say anything about the plots, because there are some nice surprises which I do not want to spoil. I wouldn't even say as much as the "Product Description". Suffice it to say that when a 70-something year old detective who is dying of cancer chases after really bad criminals, this can lead to some tense situations. By the way, Durrenmatt also wrote the book on which the movie "The Pledge" was based, so that should give you some idea of what kinds of stories he wrote --- although the two novels in this volume are somewhat different. These were orginally written in German in the 1950's, and the translation here seems pretty good.

I remember reading "Der Richter und sein Henker" ("The Judge and His Henchman") 20 years ago in German and being very impressed with Friedrich Duerrenmatt's sparse, spare prose and his ability to create suspense and a sense of place with very few strokes. I also remember that Inspector Baerlach (Barlach in this English translation) was no cuddly investigator. Now, as I read this excellent English translation, I realize that the Inspector Barlach character has been used to discuss the larger philosophical and moral quagmire post-war Switzerland found itself in. The themes are universal, but in using a "Krimi" format with a cookie-cutter plot and almost stereotypical characters, Duerrenmatt was able to bring these compelling arguments to the public at large. I continue to find his work alternately entertaining and disturbing. It remains quite a good, brisk read...

These stories are perhaps not as good as The Pledge - which is one of the most chilling stories of obsession I've ever read, and I am amazed noone's turned into film, because it seems obvious film material. However, The Judge and his Hangman is similarly obsessive and creepy, but Suspicion doesn't quite work for me. Although the premise of the story - Barlach discovers the identity of a war criminal working in a Swiss hospital and has himself checked into the hospital to confront him - is fine, there are too many deus ex machina moments, and the conclusion seems unlikely. I realise that Durrenmatt is not interested in the police procedural per se, but uses it as a way of expressing ideas about Swiss society and its lack of willingness to face up to uncomfortable truths, but still, if you use that format, then you need to take it to a sensible conclusion for the genre and for me, Suspicion doesn't do that. The Judge and His Hangman is highly recommended and if you haven't read The Pledge, you really should

I find the Joel Agee translation to be, like all his translations, exceedingly tin eared and tedious. Durrenmatt is a great writer and these are superb novels, the earlier translations (for Harper and Godine) are much, much better.

i have read these stories in the original german, and as usual Dürrenmatt is unlike any other crime writer I know. The central character here is the Swiss detective Inspector Barlach, who suffers from a serious illness, which in no way impairs his detecting ability.
The first story is about the murder of a policeman.Barlach solves this, and at the same time disposes of a local major criminal. In the second, Barlach is in hospital recovering from a life threatening operation. The focus of the Suspicion of the title is the similarity Barlach notices,between his doctor, and a Nazi war criminal whose photograph he sees in the americam magazine Life.
Both stories take place in Switzerland.