Pledge

Friedrich Dürrenmatt (1921-1990) was a Swiss author and dramatist, most famous for his plays The Visit and The Physicists, which earned him a reputation as one of the greatest playwrights in the German language. He also wrote four highly regarded crime novels - The Pledge, The Judge and His Hangman, Suspicion and The Execution of Justice, all of which will be published by Pushkin Vertigo.

To add to the excellence of the novel's narrative, the reader also gets Durrenmatt's provocative thinking on the flaws of crime fiction and police behaviour The Times Literary in style, haunting in mood Guardian A chilling study of an obsession that defies all reason Daily Mail An absolute corker... One of the most ingenious and surprising detective novels you'll read Mr Hyde As terse and assured in construction as the best of Simenon Spectator Powerful and compelling, even as Dr H uses the story to undermine all the basic principles of crime fiction Sunday Times Crime Club Hats off to Pushkin Press for re-publishing this gem, and for planning to delight us with more of Durrenmatt's tense, melancholy an incredibly seductive writing Thriller Books Journal Unusual and arresting... Durrenmatt is an accomplished and dramatic storyteller, and he has tucked into his short narrative some tantalizing moral questions Atlantic Monthly Spellbinding Washington Post This spare yet potent book which conjures the most striking magic, entrancing with its chills, shocks, artful delights, and even surprise lyrical wonders The National Now that Pushkin Vertigo have granted it a beautiful paperback release (with Durrenmatt's three other novels on the horizon) it's the perfect time to (re)discover this probing, unforgettable mystery. There are precious few groundbreaking crime novels but this is one. And one of the very best Hits the Fan (blog) Short, gripping and a compelling read Col's Criminal Library (blog)