The Calling: A John Luther Novel
Aug 2011 · Simon and Schuster
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29 reviews
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368
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About this ebook
***Read where it all began before watching Luther: The Fallen Sun, now on Netflix***
Meet DCI John Luther in the prequel to the epic series Luther, starring Golden Globe winner Idris Elba.
He's a murder detective. A near-genius. He's brilliant; he's intense; he's instinctive. He's obsessional. He's dangerous.
DCI John Luther has an extraordinary clearance rate. He commands outstanding loyalty from friends and colleagues. Nobody who ever stood at his side has a bad word to say about him. And yet there are rumours that DCI Luther is bad – not corrupt, not on the take, but tormented. Luther seethes with a hidden fury that at times he can barely control. Sometimes it sends him to the brink of madness, making him do things he shouldn't; things way beyond the limits of the law.
The Calling takes us into Luther's past and into his mind. It is the story of the case that tore his personal and professional relationships apart and propelled him over the precipice.
Beyond fury, beyond vengeance. All the way to murder . . .
Praise for The Calling:
‘Gripping, taut fiction by a new master in the genre’ Guillermo del Toro
‘Quite literally bloody brilliant’ Metro
'Cross delivers a brooding piece of back-story for fans of the character inhabited by Idris Elba on screen. However, if you’re not already a DCI Luther convert, it also serves as a good jumping off point into his tortured world' Shortlist, top 20 crime novels of the year
‘Unsettling, lyrical . . . Cross has always dealt in darkness and been so adept at conjuring bogeymen from the catacombs of mythology that you start to see them everywhere’ Guardian
‘This story shares the editing technique and visual power of the screen version . . . Unapologetic, brutal and stunning – in the very real sense of that word... Cross is an amazing writer, capable of lyricism and pathos as well as some of the most traumatising scenes you're ever likely to experience in a mainstream crime novel’ Eurocrime
‘Luther, who is intelligent and almost freakishly intuitive, thus belongs not only to the Sherlock Holmes tradition but also to the newer crime-fiction model elaborated by Thomas Harris in his novels Red Dragon, The Silence of the Lambs and Hannibal’ New York Times
‘Gripping . . . eviscerating’ Observer
Meet DCI John Luther in the prequel to the epic series Luther, starring Golden Globe winner Idris Elba.
He's a murder detective. A near-genius. He's brilliant; he's intense; he's instinctive. He's obsessional. He's dangerous.
DCI John Luther has an extraordinary clearance rate. He commands outstanding loyalty from friends and colleagues. Nobody who ever stood at his side has a bad word to say about him. And yet there are rumours that DCI Luther is bad – not corrupt, not on the take, but tormented. Luther seethes with a hidden fury that at times he can barely control. Sometimes it sends him to the brink of madness, making him do things he shouldn't; things way beyond the limits of the law.
The Calling takes us into Luther's past and into his mind. It is the story of the case that tore his personal and professional relationships apart and propelled him over the precipice.
Beyond fury, beyond vengeance. All the way to murder . . .
Praise for The Calling:
‘Gripping, taut fiction by a new master in the genre’ Guillermo del Toro
‘Quite literally bloody brilliant’ Metro
'Cross delivers a brooding piece of back-story for fans of the character inhabited by Idris Elba on screen. However, if you’re not already a DCI Luther convert, it also serves as a good jumping off point into his tortured world' Shortlist, top 20 crime novels of the year
‘Unsettling, lyrical . . . Cross has always dealt in darkness and been so adept at conjuring bogeymen from the catacombs of mythology that you start to see them everywhere’ Guardian
‘This story shares the editing technique and visual power of the screen version . . . Unapologetic, brutal and stunning – in the very real sense of that word... Cross is an amazing writer, capable of lyricism and pathos as well as some of the most traumatising scenes you're ever likely to experience in a mainstream crime novel’ Eurocrime
‘Luther, who is intelligent and almost freakishly intuitive, thus belongs not only to the Sherlock Holmes tradition but also to the newer crime-fiction model elaborated by Thomas Harris in his novels Red Dragon, The Silence of the Lambs and Hannibal’ New York Times
‘Gripping . . . eviscerating’ Observer
***Read where it all began before watching Luther: The Fallen Sun, now on Netflix***
Meet DCI John Luther in the prequel to the epic series Luther, starring Golden Globe winner Idris Elba.
He's a murder detective. A near-genius. He's brilliant; he's intense; he's instinctive. He's obsessional. ...
Discover more
Ratings and reviews
29 reviews
Dean Pallister
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September 3, 2015
Very good book if you're just getting back into reading again. Dissent follow the TV series character.
Dan Cross
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September 26, 2014
Novel seems to lack apostrophes and quotation marks, making it incredibly frustrating to read.
Patrick Messadieu
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November 13, 2014
Dive deeper in the psyche of John Luther.... Must read for fans of the series.
About the author
Neil Cross is a novelist, screenwriter and show-runner best known as the creator and sole writer of the multi-award-winning crime thriller Luther, starring Idris Elba, for which he has twice been nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing.
Other screen credits include the international hit horror movie Mama, the acclaimed BBC spy drama Spooks, Doctor Who, Hard Sun, Mosquito Coast for Apple TV+ and The Sister for ITV and Hulu, as well as the 2023 feature film Luther: The Fallen Sun for Netflix.
Neil is the author of eight novels including Always the Sun, which was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize, and Luther: The Calling, winner of the Ngaio Marsh Best Crime Novel Award. His bestselling memoir Heartland was shortlisted for the PEN/Ackerley Prize.
Other screen credits include the international hit horror movie Mama, the acclaimed BBC spy drama Spooks, Doctor Who, Hard Sun, Mosquito Coast for Apple TV+ and The Sister for ITV and Hulu, as well as the 2023 feature film Luther: The Fallen Sun for Netflix.
Neil is the author of eight novels including Always the Sun, which was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize, and Luther: The Calling, winner of the Ngaio Marsh Best Crime Novel Award. His bestselling memoir Heartland was shortlisted for the PEN/Ackerley Prize.
Neil Cross is a novelist, screenwriter and show-runner best known as the creator and sole writer of the multi-award-winning crime thriller Luther, starring Idris Elba, for which he has twice been nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing.
Other screen credits include the international ...
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