Rating: 
Summary: integral part of any criminology undergraduate course
Review: an excellent insight in to dystopia that seems all too real now, and provides rudimentary lectures for students who should know better, get it.
Rating: 
Summary: Story Sags Under the Weight of the Undeveloped Ideas
Review: Basically, if you're looking for a compelling mystery thriller with a twist, this is decidedly not that book. Kerr's book is a more highfalutin' version of "Silence of the Lambs", which itself was of course very popular back when Kerr wrote this book, in the early nineties. And though Kerr has some interesting ideas here, he ultimately can't seem to fit them into a compelling thriller. As one reader notes, the flow of the story is regularly interrupted by the pseudo-philosophical musings of the killer himself, which only minimally add to the story. The whole thing is frustrating because the premise and the slightly futuristic context are tantalizing in their promise, but in the end Kerr can't deliver. Chockfull of philosophical ideas, the story suffers. The character of Jake is alternately sympathetic and annoying. She harbors much of the same rage (due to her father's psychological abuse) as the serial killers that she pursues, although she is generally able to keep it in check. She hates men, and eventually realizes (a la Clarissa Starling) that the one man she finds the most interesting is the killer himself. Her character and her own story end up undeveloped. One of the better twists in the book is that the killer eventually understands that he has turned into exactly what he has been trying to prevent - a serial killer of potential serial killers. He has viewed himself as a kind of vigilante, convincing himself of the rightness of his actions with his philosophical ideas. But he has too much self-awareness to sustain that, and he himself eventually becomes dispirited and suicidal. Then Jake takes on the task of trying to "save" him, primarily because of her fascination with him. Unfortunately, all of these interesting ideas remain underdeveloped, and the book comes to resemble a sketch of a story onto which Kerr can hang his own philosophical musings. It appears that Kerr tightened up his writing style in subsequent books, but in this early one, the story comes up short.
Rating:
Summary: Story Sags Under the Weight of the Undeveloped Ideas
Review: Basically, if you're looking for a compelling mystery thriller with a twist, this is decidedly not that book. Kerr's book is a more highfalutin' version of "Silence of the Lambs", which itself was of course very popular back when Kerr wrote this book, in the early nineties. And though Kerr has some interesting ideas here, he ultimately can't seem to fit them into a compelling thriller. As one reader notes, the flow of the story is regularly interrupted by the pseudo-philosophical musings of the killer himself, which only minimally add to the story. The whole thing is frustrating because the premise and the slightly futuristic context are tantalizing in their promise, but in the end Kerr can't deliver. Chockfull of philosophical ideas, the story suffers. The character of Jake is alternately sympathetic and annoying. She harbors much of the same rage (due to her father's psychological abuse) as the serial killers that she pursues, although she is generally able to keep it in check. She hates men, and eventually realizes (a la Clarissa Starling) that the one man she finds the most interesting is the killer himself. Her character and her own story end up undeveloped. One of the better twists in the book is that the killer eventually understands that he has turned into exactly what he has been trying to prevent - a serial killer of potential serial killers. He has viewed himself as a kind of vigilante, convincing himself of the rightness of his actions with his philosophical ideas. But he has too much self-awareness to sustain that, and he himself eventually becomes dispirited and suicidal. Then Jake takes on the task of trying to "save" him, primarily because of her fascination with him. Unfortunately, all of these interesting ideas remain underdeveloped, and the book comes to resemble a sketch of a story onto which Kerr can hang his own philosophical musings. It appears that Kerr tightened up his writing style in subsequent books, but in this early one, the story comes up short.
Rating: 
Summary: Philosophical
Review: Book Review by C. Douglas Baker London 2013. Genetic typing has allowed the British government to identify men with a predisposition to serial killing. Now, someone is going around murdering all the men on the list! Thus is the setting for Kerr's A Philosophical Investigation. As a science fiction work, Kerr has painted a very believable future with a variety of insights on the day-to-day ramifications of modern technology. Gene typing allowing the government to identify potential serial killers could be used for nefarious purposes by an over zealous government. In this case Kerr avoids the "big brother" syndrome, instead showing that the existence of this information becomes dangerous, despite the government's humane intentions. An example of the everyday affect of new technology: a female detective gets a call in the middle of the night from a colleague, answering her picta-phone without thinking she inadvertently exposes herself and the caller makes a lecherous comment about her (...). Homosexuals now use a new, thicker condom less likely to break. Overuse of "reality approximation devices" (virtual reality), is likened to the overuse of LSD; many who overuse such devices begin to lose touch with reality. None of these tidbits are at all central to the story, but along with other small insights, build up a believable future environment. Readers will recognize many of the developments in 2013 London, both technologically and socially. [NOTE THESE CULTURAL VIEWPOINTS BELOW ARE EXPRESSED BY CHARACTERS IN THE BOOK, THEY ARE NOT VIEWPOINT OF THIS REVIEWER.] Women continue to advance in social equality. Cynically Kerr depicts governmental organizations, such as police forces, as being forced to accept women equally. One British Minister is a black female but a former Olympic sprinter with good looks, which no doubt immensely helped her rise to this position. Again a pessimistic, although realistic, depiction of the social advancement of women. While the women may not always be looked upon as equals by their male colleagues, they continue to prove themselves the equal of men in most cases, and in some tasks they are deemed even better. Unfortunately, as a mystery novel, A Philosophical Investigation does not come off as well. Kerr could have done much more to add to the suspense of the novel. The culprit is found out early on and the conclusion seems preordained from that point forward. The tracking and catching of the killer is mildly entertaining at times but for the most part is mundane. The real strength of this book lies in its setting and the creation of a recognizable 2013. Kerr's understanding of the ramifications of technological advances allows him to depict the use of technology in a realistic, day-to-day fashion that is not common in the science fiction genre. The plot and story itself are less satisfying but there is enough of interest here to entertain the casual reader.
Rating:
Summary: Philosophical
Review: Book Review by C. Douglas Baker London 2013. Genetic typing has allowed the British government to identify men with a predisposition to serial killing. Now, someone is going around murdering all the men on the list! Thus is the setting for Kerr's A Philosophical Investigation. As a science fiction work, Kerr has painted a very believable future with a variety of insights on the day-to-day ramifications of modern technology. Gene typing allowing the government to identify potential serial killers could be used for nefarious purposes by an over zealous government. In this case Kerr avoids the "big brother" syndrome, instead showing that the existence of this information becomes dangerous, despite the government's humane intentions. An example of the everyday affect of new technology: a female detective gets a call in the middle of the night from a colleague, answering her picta-phone without thinking she inadvertently exposes herself and the caller makes a lecherous comment about her (...). Homosexuals now use a new, thicker condom less likely to break. Overuse of "reality approximation devices" (virtual reality), is likened to the overuse of LSD; many who overuse such devices begin to lose touch with reality. None of these tidbits are at all central to the story, but along with other small insights, build up a believable future environment. Readers will recognize many of the developments in 2013 London, both technologically and socially. [NOTE THESE CULTURAL VIEWPOINTS BELOW ARE EXPRESSED BY CHARACTERS IN THE BOOK, THEY ARE NOT VIEWPOINT OF THIS REVIEWER.] Women continue to advance in social equality. Cynically Kerr depicts governmental organizations, such as police forces, as being forced to accept women equally. One British Minister is a black female but a former Olympic sprinter with good looks, which no doubt immensely helped her rise to this position. Again a pessimistic, although realistic, depiction of the social advancement of women. While the women may not always be looked upon as equals by their male colleagues, they continue to prove themselves the equal of men in most cases, and in some tasks they are deemed even better. Unfortunately, as a mystery novel, A Philosophical Investigation does not come off as well. Kerr could have done much more to add to the suspense of the novel. The culprit is found out early on and the conclusion seems preordained from that point forward. The tracking and catching of the killer is mildly entertaining at times but for the most part is mundane. The real strength of this book lies in its setting and the creation of a recognizable 2013. Kerr's understanding of the ramifications of technological advances allows him to depict the use of technology in a realistic, day-to-day fashion that is not common in the science fiction genre. The plot and story itself are less satisfying but there is enough of interest here to entertain the casual reader.
Rating: 
Summary: A different take on the mystery/thriller genre
Review: In "A Philosophical Investigation" Philip Kerr comes up with one of the most original premises I have ever encountered in the "thriller" genre. What if a killer philosophically justified his murders in advance, and what if modern science, on some level, supported those justifications? I don't want to give away the plot, but suffice it to say that Kerr's Earth of the 2020's is a dystopia in the classic tradition. On the surface, everything is OK, as technology has made work easier and play more intense. At the same time, though, the technology has subtly stolen the freedom of the indivdual and blurred the lines between right and wrong. As a result, the villain lives in a world where a logical moral argument can be made for the murder of society's undesirables. Is murder wrong if it removes potentially dangerous (genetically identified) people from society? "A Philosophical Investigation" succeeds as a futuristic thriller without any literary pretensions. The characters are deep and well drawn, and the future England is realistic. However, it is those "literary pretensions", that set this novel apart and that will leave you thinking. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: A different take on the mystery/thriller genre
Review: In "A Philosophical Investigation" Philip Kerr comes up with one of the most original premises I have ever encountered in the "thriller" genre. What if a killer philosophically justified his murders in advance, and what if modern science, on some level, supported those justifications? I don't want to give away the plot, but suffice it to say that Kerr's Earth of the 2020's is a dystopia in the classic tradition. On the surface, everything is OK, as technology has made work easier and play more intense. At the same time, though, the technology has subtly stolen the freedom of the indivdual and blurred the lines between right and wrong. As a result, the villain lives in a world where a logical moral argument can be made for the murder of society's undesirables. Is murder wrong if it removes potentially dangerous (genetically identified) people from society? "A Philosophical Investigation" succeeds as a futuristic thriller without any literary pretensions. The characters are deep and well drawn, and the future England is realistic. However, it is those "literary pretensions", that set this novel apart and that will leave you thinking. Enjoy!
Rating: 
Summary: Don't
Review: Keep buying Grisham or Sandford or Connelly; at least they are consistent. Philosophical was not the worst of Kerr ( that was the Berlin Serie) but close to it. The only good story I read fm him is A five year plan.
Rating:
Summary: metaphysical metamystery
Review: Solving the murder is the easy part of A Philosophical Investigation. FigurIng out which mystery Philip Kerr is actually trying to solve takes a little longer. Is it the brutal death of a woman or the metaphysics of reading?; a computer beak-in or the poetics of William Blake? Maybe Kerr's book is simply a complicated case of mistaken identity: an innovative treatise on moral philosophy disguised as a riveting feminist science-fiction detective novel.
Ostensibly about a meta-serial killer (a serial killer who kills potential serial killers) in the London of 2013, A Philosophical Investigation is composed of two distinct narratives. One is the blow-by-blow account of investigating officer, Detective Chief Inspector Isadora "Jake" Jakowicz. Abused by her father and harassed by her superiors, DCI Jakowicz is fighting Western Civilization's newest epidemic-"hollywood-style, recreational murders," media-generated, purposeless, ritualistic acts of male violence against women.
The second narrative is composed of diary entries by the serial-killer, codenamed "Wittgenstein" (the famous philosopher whose last work is titled-what else?-Philosophical Investigations). Part computer hacker, part dedicated public servant, part philosopher, "Wittgenstein" routinely gets his kicks by raping, killing, and mutilating computer generated images of women on his "Reality Approximation" machine in the virtual reality/privacy of his own apartment/mind. The problems begin when he decides to become a real world vigilante.
The alternating narratives also create a weird montage of current scientific and philosophical positions. Between the two of them, Jackowicz and Wittgenstein cover everything from the sexual symbolism of the brain to the mystical power of common names. By the time the narratives actually intersect, Kerr has shaken up most of our common assumptions about everything from free will to media manipulation, gender relations, political correctness, and the biology of morality.
Despite the "wonders" of universal DNA coding, holographic interfaces, and satellite phones, A Philosophical Investigation is more concerned with cross-examining the present than with escaping to the future. For Kerr that means coming up with a way to remain human in the face of vast systems of social tyranny and technological control. Through it all, Kerr remains optimistic. The low-key heroism and complex moral vision of DI Jakowicz will come as a great relief to anyone who appreciates the difficulty of doing the right thing in a world gone bad.
Rating:
Summary: Too philosophical and lecturous
Review: The title shows the warning. If you look for a pure mistery or crime book, than this should not be your first choice. It is a nice plot, but with the two mixed stories, the flow of reading is always interrupted. For my personal taste also the philosophical/theoretical parts are too long and too lecturous. If I'm interested in philosophy, I will choose a philosophical book. Also the moralizing about the behaviour of men should not take this much room in the book.
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