3 MAY 1930, Page 32

- THE DERUGA TRIAL. By Ricarda Huch. (Howe. 7s. fid.)—This

novel is supposed to satisfy the demand for a crime story which shall depend as much upon character as upon action. It goes even further, for it depends wholly on character, and upon the character Of Dr. Deruga alone. It is an elucidation of that whieh the judge and both counsel are continually seeking to extract from the witnesses, and questions of fact seem to leave them relatively -cold. This is, of course, as the more romantic of us feel that things should be, but it may be doubted whether, even in Germany, it actually exists. We should- never think, Of coarse, of applying such a standard to the ordinary detective novel, but we are almost bound to judge this one by what has been claimed for it. Otherwise, it is ingenious enough and, if it is not particularly readable, the dullness is probably due more to the very stiff translation than to the authoress, who displays some feeling for the inconsistencies of human emotion, though little for plausible action. In Dr. Deruga himself she has drawn one very attractive character.