I just finished this prequel to Luther the TV series. Neil Cross wrote it after he wrote the TV series so there aren’t any inconsistencies between book and TV. This is very pleasing to me. One of the reasons I will never watch the film of One Day is that Anne Hathaway could never be a convincing Northern girl in my eyes. But The Calling’s characters are partly built on their TV portrayals – NC says as much in the acknowledgements – so it’s all good.

The Calling is the story of Henry, the guy whom Luther lets fall in the brewery in the very first scene. I love how the book explains everything, letting the story unfold darkly to its climax. I’d forgotten that scene in the brewery so reading the ending was just as tense for me as if I hadn’t seen it. I had to watch those first few minutes again straight after I finished the book.

The book’s style is edgy and sharp, occasionally bordering on OTT, but certainly nowhere near as ridiculous as Dan Brown. There are some very tense passages and some very, very dark subject matter. We’re talking babies, kids, dogs, that kind of thing. I was shocked. It would be wrong to say I enjoyed the book, but it is an excellent, gripping read.