A Philosophical Investigation - Paperback

by Philip Kerr (Author)

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.

Front Jacket

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.

Author Biography

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.