A Philosophical Investigation - by Philip Kerr (Paperback)

About the Book

When the English government mandates genetic testing for predisposition to violence, it also creates an elaborate computer network to store the results. A computer expert decides to protect the rest of society by killing off others on the list. Inspector "Jake" Jakowicz must use all her powers of intuition to track the sociopath.

Book Synopsis

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.

Review Quotes

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

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(R) 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.