On this page

This page lists novels and non-fiction books by Philip Kerr.

Cover images are of the first UK edition and a recent paperback or digital edition.

Philip Kerr also wrote a number of children's books, published using the name P. B. Kerr. These fall outside the scope of this page.

By Philip Kerr:
- novels
- omnibus editions
- non-fiction

March Violets

Philip Kerr

1989

A Bernie Gunther novel.

"Winter, 1936. A man and his wife shot dead in their bed, their home burned. The woman's father, a millionaire industrialist, wants justice - and the priceless diamonds that disappeared along with his daughter's life. He turns to Bernhard Gunther, a private eye and former cop. As Bernie follows the trail into the very heart of Nazi Germany, he's forced to confront a horrifying conspiracy. A trail that ends in the hell that is Dachau."

The Pale Criminal

Philip Kerr

1990

A Bernie Gunther novel.

"It is 1938 and Bernie Gunther is back on the mean streets of Berlin with his new partner, Bruno Stahlecker, another ex-police officer. But on a seemingly straightforward stakeout, Bruno is killed, and Bernie suddenly finds himself tapped for a much bigger job. A serial sex murderer is killing Aryan teenage girls in Berlin - and what's worse, he's making utter fools of the police. Gunther is forced to accept a temporary post in Obergruppenfuehrer Reinhard Heydrich's state Security Service, with a team of men underneath him tasked purely with hunting the killer. But can he trust his team any more than he can trust his superiors?"

A German Requiem

Philip Kerr

1991

A Bernie Gunther novel.

"In the bitter winter of 1947 the Russian Zone is closing ever more tightly around Berlin. So when an enigmatic Russian colonel asks Bernie Gunther to go to Vienna, where his ex-Kripo colleague Emil Becker faces a murder charge, Bernie doesn't hesitate for long. Despite Becker's unsavoury past, Gunther is convinced that shooting an American Nazi-hunter is one crime he didn't commit. But Vienna is not the peaceful haven Bernie expects it to be. Communism is the new enemy, and with the Nuremberg trials over, some strange alliances are being forged against the Red Menace - alignments that make many wartime atrocities look lily-white by comparison."

A Philosophical Investigation

Philip Kerr

1992

"London 2013: a world in which serial murder has reached epidemic proportions. Tested positively by the government as one disposed to criminal violence, Jake Jacowicz breaks into the computer to erase his name, where he discovers a list of others so accused and hits on a horrifying idea: what if he were to become a killer of serial killers?"

Dead Meat

Philip Kerr

1993

"In comtemporary Russia the old ghosts have been laid to rest, but the stench of corruption is just as strong as ever. Now a top-level Moscow investigator, dispatched to St. Petersburg, is about to discover just how deep the decadence runs--in both the corridors of power and the labyrinth of the human heart.  The man from Moscow has been teamed up with Grushko, a palm-reading local detective with Elvis Presley hair. Together they embark on a investigation into the brutal murder of a famous and controversial journalist. To Grushko, an expert in the ruthlessness of the rising Russian Mafia, the killing has all the earmarks of a professional hit. But in the new Russia appearances have almost as little value as the new ruble. Soon the focus of the investigation will fall on the journalist's widow, a pinup beauty whom one detective will find impossible to trust...the other to resist."

Gridiron

Philip Kerr

1995

Published in the US as The Grid.

"Ray Richardson, a brilliant architechnologist, has created a dazzling new building: 'The Gridiron', in the heart of L. A. The Gridiron represents the state-of-the-art in smart buildings: every aspect of the building, from temperature control to security, is controlled by an intricate computer system. On the eve of the building's official opening, a team gathers to put the finishing touches to Ray's new masterpiece. But there are a couple of unexplained deaths, which the team at first puts down to saboteurs. It is only when they discover how bizarre these deaths are that they realise the building - through its computer - is controlling them, and is set to destroy its creators."

Esau

Philip Kerr

1996

"In an ice cave high in the Himalayas, a perfectly preserved skull is found. A fossil from a long-ago era, it is neither ape nor man. Three hundred miles away in the Punjab, Pakistan and India rattle their nuclear arsenals, edging ever closer to catastrophe. And in a lab on the Berkeley campus, a paleoanthropologist learns that what she took to be a fossil find of the first order is in fact the scientific discovery of a lifetime -- proof of an alternate line of hominid development. Missing Link. Yeti. New Species. Hairy Man. Call it what you will. Call it Esau."

A Five Year Plan

Philip Kerr

1997

"The price of Dave Delano's silence about a crime he did not commit is five years in Miami's Homestead Correctional Center, and $319,060 - less 10% for his lawyer's management services. These years have not been wasted. Delano has discovered a flair for languages, has read everything from Dostoevsky to Kierkegaard and comes out in the kind of physical condition that means his trousers are too big and his coat too small. He's also had time to develop a plan, a plan that could net him a lot more than his silence ever did. But given that the seed money comes from the mob, in the person of 'Naked' Tony Nudelli - the man who should have been doing time in Homestead - Dave Delano's five year plan places him in extreme personal danger."

The Second Angel

Philip Kerr

1998

"It is 2069 and mankind is on the brink of extinction thanks to a virus that will wipe out four fifths of the population within ten years. In a world where blood is more valuable than gold, a man, whose daughter needs regular blood transfusions, must do all he can to get at the supplies."

The Shot

Philip Kerr

1999

"Tom Jefferson has a job he does very well. He kills for a living. Fresh off the takedown of a Nazi in Buenos Aires, Tom is poised for his next assignment - the assassination of Fidel Castro. The mob - led by Sam Giancana -- the CIA, and presidential candidate Jack Kennedy are all in on the plan. Together, they can take Castro out of the picture, put Jack in office, and get Giancana back in the Cuban casino business. And JFK can't say no, because Giancana possesses some very incriminating tapes documenting the politician's sexual escapades. But just as Tom sets his sights on Cuba, he is suddenly exposed to some explosive information that alters his course. Now, the perfect hit is turning into the perfect nightmare for everyone involved, because the word is out: Cool killer Tom is no longer targeting Castro...he's gunning for Kennedy."

Dark Matter: The Private Life of Sir Isaac Newton: A Novel

Philip Kerr

2002

"In 1696, Christopher Ellis, a young, hot-tempered gentleman, is sent to the Tower of London, but not as a prisoner. A sudden twist of fate has led him there to assist the renowned scientist Sir Isaac Newton, who as Warden of the Royal Mint has accepted an appointment to hunt down counterfeiters who threaten to topple the shaky, war-weakened economy. Armed with Newton's superior intellect and Ellis's skill with a sword, the new partners seem primed to solve the case. But when their investigation leads them to a mysterious coded message on a corpse hidden in the Lion Tower, they realize that something more sinister is afoot. In the heat of their pursuit, Newton and Ellis's suspicions become all too real as the body count rises and the duo uncovers a menacing far-reaching plot that might lead to the collapse of the government--and cost them their very lives."

Hitler's Peace

Philip Kerr

2005

"Autumn 1943. Since Stalingrad, Hitler has known that Germany cannot win the war. The upcoming Allied conference in Teheran will set the ground rules for their second front-and for the peace to come. Realizing that the unconditional surrender FDR has demanded will leave Germany in ruins, Hitler has put out peace feelers. (Unbeknownst to him, so has Himmler, who is ready to stage a coup in order to reach an accord.) FDR and Stalin are willing to negotiate. Only Churchill refuses to listen. ... With his sure hand for pacing, his firm grasp of historical detail, and his explosively creative imagination about what might have been, Philip Kerr has fashioned a totally convincing thinking man's thriller in the great tradition of Eric Ambler and Graham Greene."

The One From the Other

Philip Kerr

2006

A Bernie Gunther novel.

"Munich, 1949: Amid the chaos of defeat, it is home to all the backstabbing intrigue that prospers in the aftermath of war. A place where a private eye like Bernie Gunther can find a lot of not-quite-reputable work: cleaning up the Nazi past of well-to-do locals, abetting fugitives in the flight abroad, sorting out rival claims to stolen goods. It is work that fills Bernie with disgust - but it also fills his sorely depleted wallet. Then a woman seeks him out. Her husband has disappeared. She's not looking to get him back - he's a wanted man who ran one of the most vicious concentration camps in Poland. She just wants confirmation that he's dead. It is a simple enough job. But in post-war Germany, nothing is simple."

A Quiet Flame

Philip Kerr

2008

A Bernie Gunther novel.

"Posing as an escaping Nazi war-criminal Bernie Gunther arrives in Buenos Aires and, having revealed his real identity to the local chief of police, discovers that his reputation as a detective goes before him. A young girl has been murdered in peculiarly gruesome circumstances that strongly resemble Bernie's final case as a homicide detective with the Berlin police. A case he had failed to solve. Circumstances lead the chief of police in Buenos Aires to suppose that the murderer may be one of several thousand ex Nazis who have fetched up in Argentina since 1945. And, therefore, who better than Bernie Gunther to help him track that murderer down?"

If The Dead Rise Not

Philip Kerr

2009

A Bernie Gunther novel.

"Berlin is preparing to host the 1936 Olympics, and Jews are being expelled from all German sporting organisations. Bernie Gunther, forced to resign as a homicide detective with Berlin's Criminal Police, is now house detective at the famous Adlon Hotel. Two bodies are found - a businessman and a Jewish boxer, and Bernie is drawn into the lives of various hotel guests. One, beautiful left-wing journalist, is intent on persuading America to boycott the Olympiad. The other, a Chicago gangster, wants to use the Olympics to enrich himself and the Chicago mob. As events unfold, Bernie uncovers a vast network of corruption and racketeering, led by those who want a slice of the fortune the Nazis are spending to showcase Germany to the world."

Field Grey

Philip Kerr

2010

A Bernie Gunther novel.

"'A man doesn't work for his enemies unless he has little choice in the matter.' So says Bernie Gunther, when he finds himself working for French Intelligence - it was either that or hang for murder. His job is to meet and greet POWs returning to Germany, and to find a French war criminal and member of the French SS who has been posing as a German Wehrmacht officer. The French are anxious to catch up with this man and deal with him in their own ruthless way. But Bernie's past is about to catch up with him - in a way he could never have foreseen."

Prague Fatale

Philip Kerr

2011

A Bernie Gunther novel.

"September 1941: Bernie Gunther returns from the horrors of the Eastern Front to find his home city of Berlin changed, and changed for the worse. Now back at his old desk on Homicide in Kripo HQ, Alexanderplatz, Bernie starts to investigate the death of a Dutch railway worker, while starting something - of an entirely different nature - with a local good-time girl. But he is obliged to drop everything when his old boss, Reinhard Heydrich of the SD, the new Reichsprotector of Bohemia and Moravia, orders him to Prague to spend a weekend at his country house. The weekend turns sour almost immediately when a body is found, in a room that was locked from the inside. Now the spotlight falls on Bernie to show off his investigative skills and solve this seemingly impossible mystery. If he fails to do so, he knows what is at stake - not only his reputation, but also that of Reinhard Heydrich, a man who does not like to lose face."

A Man Without Breath

Philip Kerr

2013

A Bernie Gunther novel.

"It is winter, 1943. Bernie Gunther has left the Criminal Police and is working for the German War Crimes Bureau based in Berlin. Reports have been circulating of a mass grave hidden in a wood near Smolensk. The grave's whereabouts are uncertain until, deep in the Katyn Forest, a wolf digs up some human remains. Rumour has it that the grave is full of Polish officers murdered by the Russians - a war crime that is perfect propaganda for Germany. But it needs a detective of subtle skill to investigate this horrific discovery."

Prayer

Philip Kerr

2013

"A chilling modern horror story in which the source of the horror is totally unexpected - and utterly terrifying. Special Agent Gil Martins investigates domestic terrorism for the Houston FBI. Once a religious man, now his job makes him question the existence of a God who could allow the violence he sees every day. Gil is asked to investigate a series of unexplained deaths of victims known for their liberal views. When a woman tells Gil that these men have been killed by prayer, he questions her sanity. Yet the evidence mounts that there might be something in what she says, even more so when Gil finds that his own life is on the line."

January Window

Philip Kerr

2014

A Scott Manson novel.

"Everyone knows football is a matter of life and death. But this time, it's murder. Scot Manson is the team coach for London City FC and an all-round fixer for the lads. Players love him, bosses trust him. But now the team's manager has been found dead at their home stadium. Even Scott can't smooth over murder ... but can he catch the killer before he strikes again?"

Research

Philip Kerr

2014

"If you want to write a murder mystery, you have to do some research...In a luxury flat in Monaco, John Houston's supermodel wife lies in bed, a bullet in her skull. Houston is the world's most successful novelist, the playboy head of a literary empire that produces far more books than he could ever actually write. Now the man who has invented hundreds of best-selling killings is wanted for a real murder and on the run from the police, his life transformed into something out of one of his books. And in London, the ghostwriter who is really behind those books has some questions for him too."

The Lady From Zagreb

Philip Kerr

2015

A Bernie Gunther novel.

"Summer 1942. When Bernie Gunther is ordered to speak at an international police conference, an old acquaintance has a favour to ask. Little does Bernie suspect what this simple surveillance task will provoke . . . One year later, resurfacing from the hell of the Eastern Front, a superior gives him another task that seems straightforward: locating the father of Dalia Dresner, the rising star of German cinema. Bernie accepts the job. Not that he has much choice - the superior is Goebbels himself. But Dresner's father hails from Yugoslavia, a country so riven by sectarian horrors that even Bernie's stomach is turned. Yet even with monsters at home and abroad, one thing alone drives him on from Berlin to Zagreb to Zurich: Bernie Gunther has fallen in love."

Hand of God

Philip Kerr

2015

A Scott Manson novel.

"The beautiful game just got deadly. London City is playing in Athens, and football manager Scott Manson is keeping his team on a tight leash. He needs them home in one piece for a crucial match at Silvertown Docks. But Scott didn't plan for death on the pitch. As the Greek authorities are mounting a murder investigation, Scott must find the truth – and fast – to get his boys home in time."

False Nine

Philip Kerr

2015

A Scott Manson novel.

"Just because football is a game, it doesn't mean you have to play fair. Football manager Scott Manson needs a new job, but finding one in the star-studded world of international football isn't easy. A new position in Shanghai turns out to be part of an elaborate sting operation – and in Barcelona, he's not hired as a football manager, but as a detective. Barca's star player is missing, and Scott has a month to track him down. As Scott follows the trail from Paris to Antigua, he encounters corrupt men, wicked women, and the rotten heart of the beautiful game."

The Other Side of Silence

Philip Kerr

2016

A Bernie Gunther novel.

"The French Riviera, 1956. Bernie is missing his old detective life when his past walks through the door in the shape of Harold Hennig, a former captain in the Nazi security service .... Hennig now enjoys a lucrative career as a blackmailer. Hennig's target on the Cote d'Azur is a famous resident with a dark past and plenty to hide - the writer, Somerset Maugham. A shared love of bridge draws Bernie to Maugham's magnificent villa, where Maugham tells him of the existence of a very compromising photograph. Hennig has the photograph and is demanding $50,000 for its release. Bernie is reluctant to become Maugham's agent but his former life has made him as vulnerable to blackmail as Maugham himself. Not only that - he has a massive score to settle with Hennig."

Prussian Blue

Philip Kerr

2017

A Bernie Gunther novel.

"France, 1956. Bernie Gunther is on the run. If there's one thing he's learned, it's never to refuse a job from a high-ranking secret policeman. But this is exactly what he's just done. Now he's a marked man, with the East German Stasi on his tail. Fleeing across Europe, he remembers the last time he worked with his pursuer: in 1939, to solve a murder at the Berghof, Hitler's summer hideaway in the Bavarian Alps. Hitler is long dead, the Berghof now a ruined shell, and the bizarre time Bernie spent there should be no more than a distant memory. But as he pushes on to Berlin and safety, Bernie will find that no matter how far he thinks he has put Nazi Germany behind him, for him it will always be unfinished business. The Berghof is not done with Bernie yet."

Greeks Bearing Gifts

Philip Kerr

2018

A Bernie Gunther novel.

"1957, Munich. Bernie Gunther's latest move in a string of varied careers sees him working for an insurance company. It makes a kind of sense: both cops and insurance companies have a vested interest in figuring out when people are lying to them, and Bernie has a lifetime of experience to call on. Sent to Athens to investigate a claim from a fellow German for a sunken ship, Bernie takes an instant dislike to the claimant. When he discovers the ship in question once belonged to a Greek Jew deported to Auschwitz, he is convinced the sinking was no accident but an act of vengeance. And so Bernie is once again drawn inexorably back to the dark history of the Second World War."

Metropolis

Philip Kerr

2019

A Bernie Gunther novel.

Due for publication in 2019.

Berlin Noir

Philip Kerr

1993

Combines the first three Bernie Gunther novels: March Violets; The Pale Criminal; and A German Requiem.

The Penguin Book of Lies

Editor: Philip Kerr

1991

"In this anthology of "terminological inexactitudes", "economies with the truth" and whopping untruths, Philip Kerr has come up with examples of the art of lying from the era of the Bible and Plato through to slippery government spokesmen in modern Britain and America .... Throughout history, Kerr shows, atrocities have been invented, statistics rigged, enemies smeared and orgasms faked."

The Penguin Book of Fights, Feuds and Heartfelt Hatreds: An Anthology of Antipathy

Editor: Philip Kerr

1992

"In this anthology, Philip Kerr takes the reader on a tour of some of the famous and infamous fights, feuds and heartfelt hatreds which have peppered history from the time of Caesar to the present .... Reasons rational and irrational have provided the spark that ignites the fuel of hatred, from religion to a fear of insects. The weapons chosen have been as innocuous as scorn, as devastating as genocide. Some antipathies have lasted lifetimes, others only moments, but all illuminate a darker side of human nature. "