Dürrenmatt excelled in the mystery novel genre; his novels always provide philosophical outlooks on the relationship between law and morality, the origin of evil and the possibility of knowledge. His notable detective novels include “The Judge and His Hangman” (1951) and “The Pledge” (1958).

This volume offers two mysteries following Inspector Bärlach as he moves through worlds in which the distinction between crime and justice seems to have vanished. In “The Judge and His Hangman” (original “Der Richter und sein Henker”), Bärlach forgoes the arrest of a murderer in order to manipulate him into killing another, more elusive criminal. And in “Suspicion” (original “Der Verdacht”), Bärlach pursues a former Nazi doctor by checking into his clinic with the hope of forcing him to reveal himself. The result is two thrillers that bring existential philosophy and the detective genre into dazzling convergence.

狄倫馬特當年作為一名年輕作家的最初收入來源之一是他的偵探小說，尤其是1951年的《法官和他的劊子手》與1958年的《諾言》。他特別擅長描寫神秘小說，而他的小說都會帶著哲學的觀點來描述法律與道德，惡的來源與知識的可能性，相互之間的關聯。