Guilt

'Devastating and fascinating' New York Times

'Ice-cool, effortlessly classy prose' Observer

A group of respectable family men are charged with the brutal murder of a teenager.

A promising student gets caught up in a sadistic schoolboy gang.

A couple are bound together by the events of one bloody night.

Where do you draw the line between good and evil?

In Guilt, people commit violent, extraordinary acts; some are convicted in a court of law, others are not. But our narrator, a nameless lawyer, knows that this is never the whole story.

Drawn from Ferdinand von Schirach's eminent career as a criminal defence lawyer, the stories in Guilt blur fiction and truth, compelling us to question the difference between guilt and justice, innocence and complicity.

Praise for Ferdinand von Schirach -
Ice-cool, effortlessly classy prose Observer
Tantalising and disturbing in equal measure -- Laura Wilson Guardian
An exceptional prose stylist New York Times
A magnificent storyteller Der Spiegel
Psychologically raw . . . delivered in a crisp translation by Katharina Hall, his unfussy prose is icily effective . . . it suggests that all justice systems are flawed, that they are all just processes. And, with immense empathy, von Schirach's stories show what happens to people when they are processed. -- Christian House Financial Times
The stories are cool, meticulously crafted, pithy and mordantly amusing . . . this is an unsettling, affecting, extremely powerful book. Highly recommended -- Declan Hughes Irish Times
An impressive page-turner with substance and bite Bookmunch
Thrilling and edgy, often carrying a twist in the tale -- To the Ends of the Word blog

Ferdinand von Schirach was born in Munich in 1964, and has worked as a defence lawyer for twenty years. He published his first book at the age of 45 and has since published various short stories, novels, essays and plays. Ferdinand von Schirach's books have been translated into more than 40 languages, and have sold millions of copies worldwide. He lives in Berlin.

This item is eligible for free returns within 30 days of delivery. See our returns policy for further details.