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A review by clarks_dad
The Calling by Neil Cross
4.0
Disclaimer: I'm a huge fan of the Luther television series and while I usually don't go in for these sorts of adaptations, Neil Cross, the author of this prequel to the television series, was the writer for all three seasons of the BBC drama. That type of consistency led me to believe that the book would be good - at least on the plotting level - and that the author would get the characters just right because, well, they're his characters.
John Luther is one part Sherlock Holmes and one part Dirty Harry; brawny as well as cerebral and full of insights and brilliance, Luther is the rising star of the Serious Crime Unit in London. Obsessive and sometimes violently fixated on doing his job, Luther's relationships are in a rut and as a serial killer and child abductor is running rampant and pressure mounting to stop him, Luther embarks on a downward spiral of rage, depression and frustration that leads him into the predicament we find him at the beginning of the show. Luther exists in a thin gray area between right and wrong and regularly bends procedure to do what he sees as the right thing. Ultimately, the first season of the show, and this prequel novel, shows how a life of working with violent crime (even on the good side) is not without repercussion. It shows the nobility and personal sacrifices of law enforcement agents in characters you truly sympathize with.
Unfortunately, as a standalone, this novel is not very character-driven. My general rule about prequels is that they're not a great idea, but if you're going to watch or read them, you should generally read the series in the order it was published. The Calling is no different. One of the great things about this novel is the blanks it fills in. For viewers of the television series, we already know and love these people, so all Cross has to do is build connections. The reason we react so strongly to it is that we know where these people, making these decisions they believe to be right will ultimately lead. It gives the novel a gravitas and a sense of tragedy that it wouldn't have without having watched the show. We know the Henry Madsen case is the one that pushed John over the edge and cost him everything. We know that Ian is shady, but we don't know the extent or motivation behind his initial plunge into the world of corruption. We know about Zoe's relationship with Mark, but we don't know exactly how it began. These questions are all answered, and answered very satisfactorily by Cross in The Calling. Generally, I don't like television or film adaptations ruining my own conceptions of the characters and their appearance, but I guess since my attachment to the tv show characters came first, I had no problem just picturing them ideally just as they appeared on the show.
The plot is gripping and the story follows the inverted detective story format - the "howcatchem" where we get a glimpse into Madsen's motives and we see his actions with the main story revolving around Luther and the Serious Crimes Unit trying to piece together enough clues to identify and find Madsen. Usually I'm a pretty big critic of this format and I think that revealing too much about the killer and seeing his POV usually removes some of the mystery and danger from them. Villains tend to be much more ominous when they're unknown, and I generally like the feeling of trying to figure out and solve a crime with the investigators - limited to their POV and the things that they see. Luther, both in this novel format, and in the show, seems to be the exception to this rule. For some reason, I not only don't mind the format, but I find the villains created by Cross to be terrifically creepy and scary. Madsen is no exception. A eugenics driven, far-right Nazi sympathizer with a ridiculous sadistic streak, a suppressed pedophile, manipulator and breeder of fighting dogs, pretty much every terrible trope is combined in a single man and it doesn't seem forced. Cross makes the character a logical product of his environment and past, revealed mainly through Luther's detective work as we see first hand the products of his psychology.
Sometimes the narration can be a bit crude, which I expect from characters living in the seamy underbelly of these large cities and it's generally okay with me as an expression of dialogue or thoughts, but not from objective narrators. Call me prudish, but it sets me outside the narrative a bit.
My recommendation: WATCH THE SHOW BECAUSE IT'S ABSOLUTELY AMAZING. I was looking for a great detective story to fill the True Detective void, and this was it! Finish at least through season two, then read this book. It'll be satisfying, engaging and satiate your desire for more Luther!
John Luther is one part Sherlock Holmes and one part Dirty Harry; brawny as well as cerebral and full of insights and brilliance, Luther is the rising star of the Serious Crime Unit in London. Obsessive and sometimes violently fixated on doing his job, Luther's relationships are in a rut and as a serial killer and child abductor is running rampant and pressure mounting to stop him, Luther embarks on a downward spiral of rage, depression and frustration that leads him into the predicament we find him at the beginning of the show. Luther exists in a thin gray area between right and wrong and regularly bends procedure to do what he sees as the right thing. Ultimately, the first season of the show, and this prequel novel, shows how a life of working with violent crime (even on the good side) is not without repercussion. It shows the nobility and personal sacrifices of law enforcement agents in characters you truly sympathize with.
Unfortunately, as a standalone, this novel is not very character-driven. My general rule about prequels is that they're not a great idea, but if you're going to watch or read them, you should generally read the series in the order it was published. The Calling is no different. One of the great things about this novel is the blanks it fills in. For viewers of the television series, we already know and love these people, so all Cross has to do is build connections. The reason we react so strongly to it is that we know where these people, making these decisions they believe to be right will ultimately lead. It gives the novel a gravitas and a sense of tragedy that it wouldn't have without having watched the show. We know the Henry Madsen case is the one that pushed John over the edge and cost him everything. We know that Ian is shady, but we don't know the extent or motivation behind his initial plunge into the world of corruption. We know about Zoe's relationship with Mark, but we don't know exactly how it began. These questions are all answered, and answered very satisfactorily by Cross in The Calling. Generally, I don't like television or film adaptations ruining my own conceptions of the characters and their appearance, but I guess since my attachment to the tv show characters came first, I had no problem just picturing them ideally just as they appeared on the show.
The plot is gripping and the story follows the inverted detective story format - the "howcatchem" where we get a glimpse into Madsen's motives and we see his actions with the main story revolving around Luther and the Serious Crimes Unit trying to piece together enough clues to identify and find Madsen. Usually I'm a pretty big critic of this format and I think that revealing too much about the killer and seeing his POV usually removes some of the mystery and danger from them. Villains tend to be much more ominous when they're unknown, and I generally like the feeling of trying to figure out and solve a crime with the investigators - limited to their POV and the things that they see. Luther, both in this novel format, and in the show, seems to be the exception to this rule. For some reason, I not only don't mind the format, but I find the villains created by Cross to be terrifically creepy and scary. Madsen is no exception. A eugenics driven, far-right Nazi sympathizer with a ridiculous sadistic streak, a suppressed pedophile, manipulator and breeder of fighting dogs, pretty much every terrible trope is combined in a single man and it doesn't seem forced. Cross makes the character a logical product of his environment and past, revealed mainly through Luther's detective work as we see first hand the products of his psychology.
Sometimes the narration can be a bit crude, which I expect from characters living in the seamy underbelly of these large cities and it's generally okay with me as an expression of dialogue or thoughts, but not from objective narrators. Call me prudish, but it sets me outside the narrative a bit.
My recommendation: WATCH THE SHOW BECAUSE IT'S ABSOLUTELY AMAZING. I was looking for a great detective story to fill the True Detective void, and this was it! Finish at least through season two, then read this book. It'll be satisfying, engaging and satiate your desire for more Luther!