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Translated from the German by Carol Brown Janeway, Crime Guilt assembles in one volume two story collections by Ferdinand von Schirach, a distinguished defense attorney who, inspired by true cases experienced during his professional life, has been producing fictional material in the crime field.

The reader looking for intriguing plots and whodunits might find some reason for disappointment: in most of the stories suspense is lacking entirely and von Schirach's narrative style is often quite unemotional and detached. On the other hand his glacial way of reporting the facts adds further chills to the already scary nature of the tales.

The subjects are extremely varied. In the pages of the book we meet a small town physician finally getting rid of an unbearable wife ("Fahner"), a gang of youngsters robbing the apartment of a wealthy Japanese who cares very much for the loss of an antique family object ("Tanata's Tea Bowl") as well as a smart boy saving his brother's life by fogging the evidence at the trial ("The Hedgehog")

"Love" is the account of a very peculiar sexual deviation, while "Comparison" is a bleak story of abuse and domestic violence. "Self.Defense" reports in detail a puzzling case of apparent self defense while "The Ethiopian" reveals the unusual story behind an atypical bank robbery.

A bunch of tales really stand out.

"The Cello" is a cruel tale about the unhappy life of the daughter and the son of a rich, heartless tycoon.

In "Summertime" the murder of a young girl in a hotel room is solved thanks to a painstaking reconstruction of the time sequence of the events.

The extremely entertaining "The Key" -- the most articulated and complex story in the book -- blends drug dealing and violence in a very effective way.

“The Illuminati" is a grim tale depicting a school tragedy where a group of teenagers harass a loner.

The most striking piece is perhaps the excellent "Funfair", a chilling piece about a case of rape, emphasizing the weakness of justice and the unfairness of life. Which summarizes quite well the author's personal view of the world, a lonely place where crime and guilt imbue the existence of too many people.