A Philosophical Investigation Paperback – 9 July 2020

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

I have read all of Kerr's books - I am approaching this, from the standpoint of someone who entered his world 'Mid Gunther',I feel that this book tried to cover too many things. The dystopian future, is now in our past and the errors of some of the details do not sit well. There is, as in all his works, a very clever story but it gets somewhat buried, amidst the things which prevent flow of the novel. The underlying philosophical points are interesting and, for me, the character of Jake, worked.That said, a 'poor by comparison' Kerr novel, still outweighs the best, of many other novelists.

This was my first Kerr novel so I do not have others to compare it with. First published in 1992 it is a crime thriller set in a dystopian 2013, which sometimes reads a little awkwardly now that this is in our past. A novel reflects the time in which it is written and despite what might now seem clumsy foretelling of political, technological, and criminological developments it reads like it's set in the 1980s. The casual racism and sexism among the police that goes unchallenged by senior officers (including the heroine, DCI Jake Janowicz) has more of an air of Life on Mars than a futurescape. Still, it is an ingenious plot, well-written, and creates some tension as it reaches its climax. It draws on two important tendencies in contemporary society - seeking the origin of violent criminality in the brain, rather than in social conditions and drift to increasing bio-surveillance both of which are masterfully developed in the novel. Also, the mass murderer has been codenamed 'Wittgenstein' by the Lombroso programme that monitors those who have tested positive for potentially violent crime. The main theme of the novel is the killer's attempt to use Wittgensteinian philosophy to justify his actions and Jake's rising to meet this. The trouble is that many people quoting Wittgenstein have not read him, and this could have been true of Kerr too. This is a complication of the plot but in the end not well developed. Nonetheless it is a good read.

This gripping novel plaits philosophy and police work ingeniously. There are so many resonances across the story, not the least of which are the many similarities between various cases of predator and prey. The principal characters are complex and credible. The near-future dystopian elements are disturbingly believable. Over the entire tale hangs an omnipresent existential awareness of what life must be for many: somewhere between bearable and worthwhile. Despite the serious sounding words I've chosen, this was a cracking poolside holiday read. It was my first Kerr novel and it propelled me straight to Wikipedia to see (1) what else there is (2) the correct order for sequential, related books.

Wouldn't bother. Pretentious garbage interweaving Philosophy and a third rate murder mystery. Never been a fan of either of those. Bought the book as it is by Philip Kerr - been my favourite fiction writer on the back of Bernie Gunther series, where history meets first rate imagination. Here it is just third rate garbage all round. Could not go past 100 pages. Literally chucked it in the bin, where it rightfully belongs to. Worst £ 8.99 I have ever spent.

It too a little time to understand that it was based on a concept that European integration had occurred and ID cards were the norm. Much philosophical discussion which I found difficult to follow and I struggled to finish the book or have much interest in the ending. Not up to the Bernie Gunther standard

I found this a difficult read. The premise was good but it wasn't the usual riveting read from Philip Kerr.

I honestly couldn't say that I enjoyed this book, but that could have been because it was an uncomfortable subject. The hero is someone who is acting on his own, and who, it could be said, is saving the lives of possible victims, by taking the lives of possible criminals, and in some ways it's difficult not to sympathise with him. I've given it 5 stars because it is a well written and clever novel, but not a cosy bedtime read by any means

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?

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.

Very different , edge of the seat reading just the same : plots come together nicely : recorded any reader to have a look

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.

An excellent unraveling of unresolved issues with our perception of justice; a great story that hides a resounding philosophy lesson.