Meet Detective Chief Inspector John Luther.

He’s a murder detective. A near-genius. He’s brilliant; he’s intense; he’s instinctive. He’s a maker of connections; a whirlwind. 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. Except sometimes – when coppers have gathered to drink; when it’s grown late and hushed. When tales emerge in low murmurs. They’re never first-hand, these rumours: they always relate a “true story” that happened to a friend of a friend; an old colleague; a retired boss. But they all whisper the same tale: that DCI Luther is bad. Not corrupt. Not on the take. Just tormented. Luther seethes with a hidden fury that, at times, is barely under control. Sometimes it sends him over the brink of madness. Sometimes it makes him do things he shouldn’t. Things way beyond the limits of the law. Or anyway. That’s what they say.

Luther: The Calling is the first in a new series of novels featuring DCI John Luther.