A Philosophical Investigation

by Philip Kerr

Overview

A terrifyingly prescient cult classic by the bestselling author of the Bernie Gunther series. 

“Chilling...absorbing...part techno-thriller, part futuristic detective story, part diary of a serial killer.”—The New York Times Book Review 

LONDON, 2013. Serial killings have reached epidemic proportions—even with the widespread government use of DNA detection, brain-imaging, and the “punitive coma.” Beautiful, whip-smart, and driven by demons of her own, Detective Isadora “Jake” Jacowicz must stop a murderer, code-named “Wittgenstein,” who has taken it upon himself to eliminate any man who has tested posi­tive for a tendency towards violent behavior—even if his victim has never committed a crime. He is a killer whose intellectual brilliance is matched only by his homicidal madness.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780143117537
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	04/27/2010
Pages:	336
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 7.60(h) x 0.70(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Philip Kerr is the New York Times bestselling author of the acclaimed Bernie Gunther novels, two of which—Field Gray and The Lady from Zagreb—were finalists for the Edgar® Award for Best Novel. Kerr has also won several Shamus Awards and the British Crime Writers’ Association Ellis Peters Award for Historical Crime Fiction. As P. B. Kerr, he is the author of the much-loved young adult fantasy series Children of the Lamp.

Editorial Reviews

Praise for A Philosophical Investigation

“One of the more imaginative thrillers in quite a while...Combines teleological speculations with nitty-gritty futuristic police work.”—Wall Street Journal

“A truly intellectual thriller that makes the brain cells as well as the hairs on the back of the neck tingle.”—GQ

“The brainest thriller to come along in years...raising questions about knowledge, proof, and reality in unnervingly dramatic contexts.”—Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

Semantics, epistemology and serial murder share center stage in this imaginative but unconvincing near-future thriller. The year is 2013, and European researchers have discovered a physiological basis for violent criminal tendencies in men. The Lombroso program in Britain screens possible subjects and maintains a database of those diagnosed with the condition, as aids to law enforcement--serial killings have become terrifyingly common. When a previously law-abiding pharmacist is diagnosed as ``VDM-negative'' (potentially dangerous), he breaks into the program's computer system, removes his name from the records and begins systematically assassinating other men on the list. In London, Chief Inspector Isadora ``Jake'' Jakowicz takes on the case and begins a philosophical cat-and-mouse game with the killer, code-named Wittgenstein. Kerr ( A German Requiem ) interpolates passages from the murderer's journals into the third-person narrative, along with citations from the works of Ludwig Wittgenstein and other philosophers. But the cliches and improbabilities of the plot are not camouflaged by their outlandish context, as Kerr overplays his most original ideas, delivering the details of his futuristic vision in a distracting gee-whiz manner. The frequent philosophical discussions, as they are drawn out, become less convincing and more ostentatious. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly