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    Luther: The Calling
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    Luther: The Calling
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    Luther: The Calling
    Audiobook11 hours

    Luther: The Calling

    Written by Neil Cross

    Narrated by David Bauckham

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    Don't miss this prequel to the hit crime series and Netflix film Luther: The Fallen Sun starring Idris Elba. Written by the Edgar Award-winning creator and sole writer of the show!

    Meet Detective Chief Inspector John Luther. He's a murder detective. He's brilliant; he's intense; he's instinctive. And yet there are rumours that DCI Luther is bad - not corrupt, but tormented.

    Hailed by The Guardian as "Britain's own Stephen King," this is the story of the serial killer case that tore Luther's personal and professional relationships apart and propelled him over the precipice, beyond fury, beyond vengeance, all the way to the other side of the law.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherW. F. Howes Ltd
    Release dateOct 1, 2011
    ISBN9781407489896
    Author

    Neil Cross

    Neil Cross is the creator and sole writer of the critically acclaimed BBC America crime series Luther, and the film Luther: The Fallen Sun, available on Netflix. In 2011, Cross was awarded the Edgar Award for Best Teleplay for episode one of Luther. He is the author of the thriller Burial and lives with his family in Wellington, New Zealand. Visit him online at Neil-Cross.com.

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    Reviews for Luther

    4/5

    93 ratings13 reviews

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    • 5/5
      The ease with which Cross conjures the image and voice of John Luther is nothing short of awe-inspiring. I've read a lot of very high quality tie-in products to movies and TV shows where, as here, the creator is personally the author of the spin-off product as well. Usually, when they're done well, if I read a line of dialogue conscious of the character's voice and mannerisms in my head, I can hear and see the character in my mind's eye, as though played by the on-screen actor.With "The Calling", I never had to try. John Luther was voiced and played by Idris Elba for me when reading this, in every line, every move, every thought. To say this adds to the experience is an understatement ... but the book really doesn't need nor rely on this. The plotting is exciting -- albeit horrific in typical Luther fashion -- and impressingly able to shed lights on the backstory immediately preceding the first series of the TV show. Somehow, it does this without undermining the weight of its own narrative, and I'd be very surprised if people uninitiated to the TV series would not also find this crime thriller very enjoyable.The writing is sparse and efficient, conveying more vivid behaviours and character insights in clipped, short phrases than most authors manage in a half-page of florid descriptions. A particular strength here is Cross' ability to have the reader learn not only about the character speaking, but also the character listening, in nearly any given scene.If you like the TV series at all, you positively must read this book. And if you haven't watched the TV series, this book takes place before it, so if a tortured but brilliant London detective chasing a horrible murderer for 340ish pages sound at all appealing, there's no reason not to jump in right here.
    • 5/5
      If you've enjoyed Luther on TV Luther Season 1, this is required reading. Fairly standard crime thriller, but well done, and with all the back story you need: this novel is basically the prequel to episode 1. Brilliant.
    • 5/5
      The ease with which Cross conjures the image and voice of John Luther is nothing short of awe-inspiring. I've read a lot of very high quality tie-in products to movies and TV shows where, as here, the creator is personally the author of the spin-off product as well. Usually, when they're done well, if I read a line of dialogue conscious of the character's voice and mannerisms in my head, I can hear and see the character in my mind's eye, as though played by the on-screen actor.With "The Calling", I never had to try. John Luther was voiced and played by Idris Elba for me when reading this, in every line, every move, every thought. To say this adds to the experience is an understatement ... but the book really doesn't need nor rely on this. The plotting is exciting -- albeit horrific in typical Luther fashion -- and impressingly able to shed lights on the backstory immediately preceding the first series of the TV show. Somehow, it does this without undermining the weight of its own narrative, and I'd be very surprised if people uninitiated to the TV series would not also find this crime thriller very enjoyable.The writing is sparse and efficient, conveying more vivid behaviours and character insights in clipped, short phrases than most authors manage in a half-page of florid descriptions. A particular strength here is Cross' ability to have the reader learn not only about the character speaking, but also the character listening, in nearly any given scene.If you like the TV series at all, you positively must read this book. And if you haven't watched the TV series, this book takes place before it, so if a tortured but brilliant London detective chasing a horrible murderer for 340ish pages sound at all appealing, there's no reason not to jump in right here.
    • 5/5
      Quite simply, this is an excellent book that I'd recommend to any crime fan.
    • 5/5
      “Closure may never come. And if it does come, it may not be what you were hoping for.”

      Zoe, when referring to Luther: “So I tell him this, all about myself. Then I ask him about himself, and he tells me about books. As if he's made up of all these books he's read, or was going to read.”

      My first Neil Cross, and it won’t be my last.

      I’m not familiar with the TV Series. This book, I’m told, works as prequel to the series. I’m going to rectify soon the fact that I’ve never seen it.

      I was not prepared for it. There was a lot of gore, including the deaths of animals and children. The book is ghastly, gory and not for the faint of heart. Would I still recommend it? Without a shadow of a doubt. It’s a solid Crime Fiction (Horror?) novel that manages to be a great addition to the genre with no pretensions or designs to be anything other than being a piece of wonderful Crime Writing.

      You can read the rest of this review on my blog.
    • 4/5
      This is a really good book this if you liked the programme Luther then the book wont disappoint. John Luther is on the hunt for a killer in London he has killed several people and abducted a little girl. Its a race against time. Luther doesnt always do things by the book. Neil Cross is becoming one of my favourite writers.
    • 5/5
      For anyone who hasn't seen the British police drama "Luther" I highly recommend it. It's available on Netflicks and possibly other venues. This is a prequel. The series stars Idris Elba, the wonderful actor who portrays Nelson Mandela in the new movie. Luther is a London cop, an early-Davenport type, so he doesn't have much regard for rules when it comes to finding the bad guy. In this book, written by the creator/screenwriter of the series, Luther leads the investigation into the brutal and graphic murder of a "perfect couple" and the theft of their 8-month old fetus, and his actions lead to the 7-month suspension from which he's returning at the beginning of the series. Luther is brilliant and unorthodox, but extremely violent when he is frustrated in getting information. His beloved wife is about to leave him, which he hasn't quite caught on to, but she continues to be his rock when he is at his darkest. Now I think I'll go watch the series again.
    • 5/5
      Loved this prequel and background read of 'John Luther!' I hope there are more books in the series and I also love the show on BBCA.
    • 4/5
      Fast-paced. Intense. You hit the ground running and don't really stop until it's all over.The style of writing is very tight and immediate -- you can tell the person who wrote it is used to writing teleplays because all the sentences are very lean, full of concise details designed to give maximum information with minimum description. The last chapter in particular has an urgent intensity to it... things are happening and they're happening fast so hold on!The spine of the story is that Detective Chief Inspector (DCI) John Luther is beginning to unravel around the edges, he's seen too much and he takes it all personally, to the point that he has been functioning in a kind of suspended something... rage... pain... anguish... for so long that he doesn't quite realize that it's all starting to leak out until long past the point where he can stop it. He's involved in a difficult case, everyone is counting on him to bring it all together even as they begin to realize that he's passing the point of keeping himself together.As others have mentioned there is sexual content and extreme violence but I didn't find either to be particularly graphic or sensationalized beyond what was necessary to tell the story. There's a certain kind of nuance to the way the more violent parts of the story are told, you think it's being more explicit than it actually is as a result of that streamlined writing style (I really LOVED the style this book was written in).I'm not familiar with the TV show. I have no previous knowledge of John Luther or the people in his world but I had no trouble following the story. A (very) minor quibble is that there are a few places where the UK slang and police shorthand were unfamiliar to me. I suspect it's as common to Brits as something like the term C.S.I. or APB is to most Americans and it was only momentarily distracting.I enjoyed this novel. I would absolutely recommend it to anyone who has a taste for the police/detective/suspense genre.
    • 3/5
      Originally posted on A Reader of Fictions.

      If you're a regular reader of this blog, you probably already know that mysteries just aren't really my thing. They can be good, but they're all so similar in their plot arc, and I just don't feel compelled to read many. As such, I usually reject review requests for mysteries. However, I made an exception for this one, because it's based on a BBC series, one I haven't seen actually, but still! The allure of British programming is irresistable to me!

      The Calling is a prequel to the the British Series, which is supposedly wonderful. Though I know nothing about it, I can see this book setting up Luther as he must be in the show. His married life falls apart, so that he can be the typical single, gruff detective and free, presumably, for hookups and romantic entanglements later on in the show. Happy husbands are not generally assumed to make compelling television. In The Calling, he also steps outside the bounds of what is allowable for police work, possibly for the first time, another thing that I assume sets up the plot of the show.

      My favorite aspects of the novel, though, were those that do not fit into the detective stereotype. While Luther's marriage breaks up in the typical way, through her frustration over his workaholic nature, he cares more than most of the hard-boiled detective types. John Luther is a romantic; he loves his wife wholly and completely, and neglects her during cases, because he simply cannot rest (literally) until the case is solved. His need to resolve cases seems almost pathological. On top of his deep love and respect for his wife, Luther also loves to read and is a rather quiet, nerdy guy outside of the office.

      Of course, when he's working, Luther is, without a doubt, a freaking badass that you really do not want to be messing with. He will stop at nothing to catch the bad guy and save a life. I had the most trouble with these aspects because I really cannot imagine him getting away with most of the things that he does. Of course, vigilante justice is much more entertaining than the way 'justice' would really work, with trials and evil men going free, but it just didn't seem believable to me at times.

      This book is pretty graphic, so the faint of heart, those who like their mysteries to be of the cozy variety, should pass this one buy with a quickness. Also, even if you like graphic violence in your books, I want to warn that there are brutal scenes of animal violence (even worse than Origin) and crimes perpetrated against children. If you have young children, you might not want to read this, unless you're really good at not imagining fictional circumstances happening to your own kids.

      All in all, The Calling did follow along with pretty standard mystery tropes, but I did enjoy it a bit more than usual. If you like dark, gritty mysteries, this should please you.
    • 5/5
      John Luther is a no nonsense Deputy Chief Inspector in London.He is called to a gruesome scene where a killer has murdered a young couple and stolen their infant.Luther is a workaholic who puts himself so much into his investigations that it's affecting his marriage. His wife sees that he's acting irrationally and not getting any sleep. She wants things to be the way they were when they were first married and asks him to take time off...but there's always another victim to save.The characters are described to perfection with Luther being easy to feel empathy for and hope he can solve the case and save his marriage. The protagonist is a sociopath who doesn't care what the effect of his crimes are to others. Seeing him in action would have most readers check the locks on their doors.The plotting is clever and this is an extremely enjoyable read.
    • 5/5
      This is a book about the paranoid fears of the urban individual. I imagine that it is a book and not, as previously, a television show, because it would be very difficult to get past the censors. Wonderfully gruesome but balanced with a patina of psychological determinism that provides comfort for demons. Beautifully structured and paced. A page-turner that fits cleverly as a prequel to series one of the television show. Reads like a screenplay in a good way. Impossible not to imagine Idris Elba as lead.
    • 5/5
      Upside, Neil Cross has written some fantastic recent books. Downside, LUTHER THE CALLING has a connection with a TV series which I've never seen. So interesting to see if a fabulous author has written a fabulous book, regardless of whatever's been going on over on the small screen. Especially as, I believe, this has been a reverse adaptation with the TV series coming before the book.The most important thing about any of this author's books is that, particularly as he has such a name as a scriptwriter, there's nothing filmic or screen treatment about the books. These are fully fleshed out stories, with strong characters, really good plots and whilst there's nothing staid about the books, there's nothing obviously "treatment" about them either. This factor is a particular relief for this reader who has ploughed through way too many film scripts loosely disguised as novels over the years to be at all comfortable. What is particularly worthwhile about this book is the character of DCI John Luther, a moody, difficult, man with a volatile personality and absolute tunnel vision when it comes to getting the bad guy. Rules are broken, lines aren't just crossed - they are obliterated and bridges go up in smoke as Luther strides through the world that Cross builds in LUTHER. Despite the moodiness, despite the intensity of this character, Cross is also able to pull off a fantastic storytelling style. Crisp, pointed yet descriptive, Luther and the world he occupies come vividly to life.So in a poor attempt to take a leaf from the author's own book: LUTHER's a fantastic character. LUTHER THE CALLING is brutal, in your face, fabulous.