Kerr, Philip

(British, 1956– )

Philip Kerr's early novels are exciting, unconventional thrillers which transpose the Deighton/Le Carré territory into new contexts. The Berlin Noirtrilogy (1993) explores Nazi Germany from within, while Detective Grushko pursues the Mafia in the new Russia in Dead Meat (1993). These novels are fully researched and convincing in their detail as much as in their plots. Kerr's later novels seem to be pitching as Hollywood film-scripts, often set in the future with much less complex adventure plots. The best of them is Gridiron (1996) in which, although the characters are undeveloped, the building where everything is computer controlled is a brilliant and malevolent invention.

John Grisham, Michael Crichton.

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