484. The Judge and His Hangman

The Judge and His Hangman
Friedrich Durrenmatt
1950
Around 128 pages

I had a bit of a hard time tracking down this novel, and when it finally arrived from a distant land (the U.K.), it was somewhat underwhelming. It is a tiny, rather adorable book, and while I am all for brevity, 128 pages isn't a whole lot of time to set up and conclude a satisfying mystery. 

Inspector Barlach's best officer, Lieutenant Ulrich Schmied, is murdered. Schmied was investigating the activities of career criminal Richard Gastmann, an old enemy of Barlach. Barlach is assisted by Officer Tschanz to crack the case. 

It's very difficult to create an original detective, even in 1950. This is something I struggle with in my own writing, as I am constantly comparing my characters to well-known literary figures ("but mine has a hat! He's different!"). Barlach isn't the most eccentric guy, but by the end of the novel, I no longer felt that Durrenmatt was trying to shock us with twists and turns narrated by Hercule - I mean, Hans. Instead, I think Durrenmatt wanted to present to the audience a very specific moral conundrum, and have us ruminate on the ethics of the actions of our protagonist. 

It's hard to evaluate the merits of a detective story without giving away spoilers, but dammit, I live by a code. Compared to other masterfully crafted detective stories that are hidden with subtle clues and memorable characters, this novel falls short. But on its own, it's a neat little story that poses some thoughtful questions. And that's fun too.

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

Adapted into a film in 1975, starring Jon Voight.

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