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Philip Kerr
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A Philosophical Investigation: A Novel Paperback – April 27, 2010

by Philip Kerr (Author)
3.8 3.8 out of 5 stars 810 ratings
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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.
Previous page
  1. Print length
    336 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    G.P. Putnam's Sons
  4. Publication date
    April 27, 2010
  5. Dimensions
    5.08 x 0.74 x 7.78 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    014311753X
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0143117537
  8. See all details
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All the Little Raindrops: A Novel
"All the Little Raindrops: A Novel" by Mia Sheridan for $10.39
The chilling story of the abduction of two teenagers, their escape, and the dark secrets that, years later, bring them back to the scene of the crime. | Learn more

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Editorial Reviews

Review

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 Back Cover

When the English government mandates genetic testing for predisposition to violence in the early 21st century, it also creates an elaborate computer network to store the results. But when a computer expert with just such a violent predisposition breaks into the carefully-guarded data, he decides to protect the rest of society by killing off others on the list.
Enter Inspector "Jake" Jakowicz, a tough, smart cop who must use all her powers of intuition to track the sociopath who wants to draw her into a chilling dialogue about the nature of life itself.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ G.P. Putnam's Sons; Reprint edition (April 27, 2010)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 336 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 014311753X
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0143117537
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 10.1 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.08 x 0.74 x 7.78 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.8 3.8 out of 5 stars 810 ratings

About the author

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Philip Kerr

Philip Kerr

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For most novelists, the city where the action takes place is a backdrop or a stage set, nothing more than scenery. But the Berlin of Philip Kerr’s stories is a character in the books – a personality as complex and troubled as his private-investigator protagonist. ‘When I started writing I was after the character of the Berliner rather than the history of Berlin,’ says Kerr. ‘Berlin people have always been awkward-squad Germans, which is probably why I admire them. Hitler didn’t like them at all, and Berliners are the same now as then – they haven’t changed.’

Read more here: philipkerr.org/about

Customer reviews

3.8 out of 5 stars
3.8 out of 5
810 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Floattube
5.0 out of 5 stars Mystery for analytic philosophy buffs
Reviewed in the United States on December 7, 2023
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This is not your typical mystery, nor even one of its many variations. Interest is enhanced if you know the history of analytic philosophy. It has flaws if compared to the better police procedurals, but I gave it extra points for originality and intellectual stimulation. The culprit is a philosophical blowhard, but how unreal is that?
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Bruce Miller
4.0 out of 5 stars A Thriller that lives up to its title
Reviewed in the United States on December 20, 2011
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Wow, I just finished this book last night and found it to be an interesting, but a very different type of story. The book was a futuristic thriller that was an intellectual challenge. If I had a background in Philosophy, I probably would have appreciated many of the subtleties and factual references. Nevertheless, it was not a disappointment. The book had the right balance of sex, character development, especially Jake the Chief Investigator, who was definitely one tough woman with her own personal issues. While there was a lot of rambling narrative, it was worth getting through to appreciate the story of the hunt. The RA suit and device was novel and probably wasn't too far from fact to fiction. I had a bit of a vicarious enjoyment of the situations that were portrayed. Now, if I can only buy one on line, I would be all set to take it to the next level. I am very glad that I have discovered this author and am looking forward to reading more books by him. He really tells a great story and has the perfect balance of humor, in any circumstance or situation, to enhance the story.
3 people found this helpful
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tonyinOz
3.0 out of 5 stars Bernie Gunther is a way better read!
Reviewed in the United States on April 2, 2013
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A Philosophical Investigation is definitely not in the "Bernie Gunther" genre. It is far more suited to those philosophical readers rather than those who want a relaxing and entertaining read added with the great insights into WW2. Philip Kerr shows off his philosophical knowledge, which is impressive, but I feel is unnecessarily too heavy in the volume of philosophical debating that occurs regularly in this book. I was hoping it was like his other books, all of which I love, but not to be so!
One person found this helpful
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Michael C. Farrell
5.0 out of 5 stars Exce!!ent mystery with a excitingly Philosophical twist
Reviewed in the United States on August 19, 2021
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I occasionally chat through Facebook with the mystery writer John Maddox Roberts about his SPQR series of historical mysteries set during the period of the end of the Republic. I am usually chiding him about the delayed publication of the next volume but he takes that in stride. Not too long ago, I mentioned Phillip Kerr and his death and how much we will miss his Bernie Gunther mysteries. John asked if I had read this one, and when I hadn't, indicated that I might like it. He was right. Instead tsh setting, e of Roberts late days of the Roman Republic of Kerr's Weimar Republic through late 1950s this book is set into a somewhat dystopian , near future. As much about language and meaning as about murder, the solution rests in understanding the ties between Wittgenstein the Philosopher and Wittgenstein the serial killer.
2 people found this helpful
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Thomas Schott
4.0 out of 5 stars early work by Kerr different from later work
Reviewed in the United States on October 21, 2022
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It is a book I used it to read . . . .
One person found this helpful
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John F. Peters
1.0 out of 5 stars Just can't get into this book.
Reviewed in the United States on February 6, 2013
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I like all other books by Phillip Kerr, but this one is dull, confusing, and difficult to follow. Perhaps I was expecting more of a straight-forward thriller. Perhaps others like oblique writing. Perhaps I'm just a dolt. But if I wanted to work that hard for my evening reading, I'd choose something a bit less tedious, such as a text on quantum chemistry.
5 people found this helpful
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John K
5.0 out of 5 stars Heavy story. Really fascinating!
Reviewed in the United States on August 29, 2016
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First: If you're looking for light reading, go somewhere else. But if you really want to get into the minds of the protagonists and the 'logic' that drives their actions, boy, this is the book for you. It was for me, anyway. I ended up consulting an encyclopedia during the course of my reading just to get background on the real person, philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein, that drives the killer's actions, and kept a dictionary on hand for the occasional bit of jargon not common in my vernacular. The story is set in 2013, which was the not distant future when written (1992). But, like all predictions of our future, we haven't achieves anything technologically like the author thought we would, although we're pretty much there socially. That said, moving one's SciFi brain into the "alternate reality" mode, everything fit. The story hinges upon the interaction of a police inspector (UK) and a serial killer, and it kept me interested. And, more importantly, I felt no disappointment in the ending. It ended very well.
9 people found this helpful
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Fred Heffron
2.0 out of 5 stars boring and long winded
Reviewed in the United States on November 29, 2012
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I assume that Phillip Kerr must have a background in Philosophy which he trying to demonstrate in this book. Bernie Gunther was definitely a break through for him but in this there are pages and pages of uninteresting dialogue. Switching between the thoughts of the investigating detective and the murderer to me is too contrived.
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Top reviews from other countries

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Client d'Amazon
5.0 out of 5 stars Novela erudita y disfrutable
Reviewed in Mexico on February 19, 2020
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Novela divertida y bien escrita. Me agrada la mezcla de géneros. Los guiños a la filosofía y al psicoanálisis son constantes pero no se requiere ser especialista para disfrutar la intriga.
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Jade Morris
5.0 out of 5 stars Different
Reviewed in Australia on July 28, 2020
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Very different , edge of the seat reading just the same : plots come together nicely : recorded any reader to have a look
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Line
2.0 out of 5 stars Un meurtrier philosophe pas vraiment convaincant
Reviewed in France on October 24, 2016
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Ayant tout lu ou presque des romans policiers de P. Kerr, et en particulier bien sûr tous les ouvrages mettant en scène Bernie Gunther, j'avais quelques doutes sur cette enquête philosophique, doutes confirmés avec déception à la clef.
Jake, enquêtrice de Scotland Yard, doit mettre fin aux agissement d'un criminel en série du nom de code Wittgenstein; celui-ci élimine petit à petit les hommes détectés potentiellement dangereux grâce à un programme secret élaboré scientifiquement et soutenu par la Ministère de l'intérieur.
Wittgenstein a lui-même été détecté positif par ce programme et justifie ses forfaits à longueur de pages, s'identifiant au philosophe et poursuivant avec logique son action criminelle.
Jake, forte et belle femme, doit elle-même contrôler sa propre propension à la violence et son aversion pour le sexe fort et elle a beau répéter à plusieurs reprises que le travail du détective a beaucoup en commun avec la recherche philosophique, la tentative de Kerr de démontrer ce lien n'en est pas moins pesante et peu convaincante. A mi-chemin entre vulgarisation philosophique que je ne suis pas à même de juger et dénonciations non abouties des fameuses détections du gène de la violence (cf l'idée évoquée sous la présidence Sarkozy de détecter les dangers dès la petite enfance ou encore celle de mettre en détention préventive les suspects fichés S avant qu'ils ne passent éventuellement à l'action) , ce roman policier brasse des notions trop abstraites pour que le lecteur en sorte satisfait. Déçue donc, mais toujours fan de Kerr.
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Ryan H.
5.0 out of 5 stars Well Written and Interesting.
Reviewed in Canada on October 20, 2013
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An excellent unraveling of unresolved issues with our perception of justice; a great story that hides a resounding philosophy lesson.
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G Kossow
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliance exceeded by excellence with a dash of irony thrown in
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 5, 2012
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Well, if you have or have not read Von Wittgenstein, the thing is read this book. Follow the maunderings and the meanderings of a mind which with the least bit of effort on the part of society would have caught the criminal in Freshman philosophy and stuck him in a pillory instead of Hester Prine. The book becomes the maze of a madman;s mind; it is superb and although we know who dunnit from the outset, we don't know if he is mad because he is subjected to the kind of government under which he exists, or if he has refused to be subject to it and seeks to overlay an order of his own making and delight. There is a bit of everyman in the antihero, heroic he is not, anti- he is, but if you are wondering what it takes to get a genius sour and dour and how much it takes to act upon these emotions, we see that it takes very little.

Read it and weep. There but for the grace of God went a leader. This has happened before, will happen again. Vote! Take matters into your own hands as much as you can. One more sandbag and the levee will not break. GK in vote-torn Florida
2 people found this helpful
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