The Chinaman: A Sergeant Studer Mystery - Softcover

Glauser, Friedrich

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1904738214 ISBN 13: 9781904738213

Publisher: Bitter Lemon Press, 2008

Synopsis

“After reading Friedrich Glauser's dark tour de force In Matto's Realm, it's easy to see why the German equivalent of the Edgar Allan Poe Award is dubbed ‘The Glauser.’”—The Washington Post

Praise for the Sergeant Studer series:

“Thumbprint is a fine example of the craft of detective writing in a period which fans will regard as the golden age of crime fiction.”—The Sunday Telegraph

“In Matto’s Realm is a gem that contains echoes of Dürrenmatt, Fritz Lang’s film M and Thomas Mann’s The Magic Mountain. Both a compelling mystery and an illuminating, finely wrought mainstream novel.”—Publishers Weekly

When, in later years, Sergeant Studer told the story of the Chinaman, he called it the story of three places, as the case unfolded in a Swiss country inn, in a poorhouse, and in a horticultural college. Three places and two murders. Anna Hungerlott, supposedly dead from gastric influenza, left behind handkerchiefs with traces of arsenic. One foggy November morning the enigmatic James Farny, nicknamed the Chinaman by Studer, was found lying on Anna’s grave. Murdered, a single pistol shot to the heart that did not pierce his clothing. This is the fourth in the Sergeant Studer series.

Friedrich Glauser is a legendary figure in European crime writing. He was a morphine and opium addict much of his life and began writing crime novels while an inmate of the Swiss asylum for the insane at Waldau.

About this title

About the Author:

Diagnosed a schizophrenic, addicted to morphine and opium, Glauser spent the greater part of his life in psychiatric wards, insane asylums and prison. His Sergeant Studer novels have ensured his place as a cult figure in Europe. Mike Mitchell is a well-known translator of German works and the winner of a number of literary prizes. He has translated the other Studer novels as well.

From Publishers Weekly:

First published in 1938, Swiss author Glauser's fourth Jakob Studer novel to be made available in English (after Fever) finds the Bern police sergeant in usual form—too smart to be trusted by his superiors and too superior to be dismissed from his post. When the body of James Farny is found lying atop the grave of the recently deceased wife of the poorhouse warden, the local doctor assumes the death is a suicide. Noticing that the man's clothes are intact despite a shot through the heart, Studer suddenly realizes he met the victim some months before, and Farny predicted his own murder. Dubbing the case the story of the three locales, Studer discovers the key suspects are from the poorhouse, a horticultural school and a village inn. Slowly, he puzzles out the relationships and the motives and reveals all in a traditional gathering of the suspects. Glauser's sharp portrayals of local institutions and customs add luster to this somewhat dated classic. (Jan.)
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About this edition

• Publisher: Bitter Lemon Press
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 1904738214
• ISBN 13: 9781904738213
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 186