Neil Cross discusses LUTHER: THE CALLING - his prequel novel to his hit TV series

It's been a pretty terrific past year plus for Wellington-based crime novelist and screenwriter Neil Cross. The first season of the cop drama he created and wrote, Luther, earned Golden Globe and Emmy nominations for its star, Idris Elba, and secured Cross a prestigious Edgar Award. Cross was also a finalist for the inaugural Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime novel, for his 2009 novel BURIAL, and then in the past fortnight he was named amongst the finalists for the 2011 Ngaio Marsh Award, for his novel CAPTURED.

On top of that the recent second season of Luther was received very well in the UK, with big ratings and plenty of positive reviews - moreso than the first season, which divided critics and viewers a little, despite the overall acclaim. Cross has also been working on a number of other projects for TV and film, and then in the past couple of days his latest novel, inspired by his TV series, has been released in the UK - LUTHER: THE CALLING. Here's the blurb:

"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 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.

Luther: The Calling, the first in a new series of novels featuring DCI John Luther, 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."
 
I really enjoyed the TV show (see my review of the award-winning first season here), and I've really enjoyed Cross's novels previously, so I am looking forward to reading LUTHER: THE CALLING.
 
You can watch a short clip of Cross discussing the novel, above.
 
Comments welcome.

Win a full set of the Ngaio Marsh Award finalists!

In celebration of the fact that they publish or distribute all three of the finalists for the inaugural Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Novel, Penguin Group (NZ) are "giving you the chance to win a set of these three chilling titles . . ."

Unfortunately for Crime Watch's international readers, the Penguin competition is only open to New Zealand residents - but never fear, I will have a new giveaway for you to enter soon! In the meantime, New Zealand readers should get their names into the draw to win a full set of these cracking crime novels, and international readers should head along to Amazon etc to pick up their own copies.

TO ENTER THE PRIZE DRAW:

• Step 1: Sign-up to Penguin NZ's online newsletter, Penguin Post, so they can keep you up to date with their latest books, news and chances to win even more great prizes.
• Step 2: Email your name, address and phone number to web@penguin.co.nz with the subject line 'CRIME' and you're in the draw!

Entries close 5pm 31st August. Winner drawn 1st September. Terms & conditions.

As I noted earlier, the three finalists for the inaugural Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Novel are:

• CUT & RUN by Alix Bosco (Penguin);
• BURIAL by Neil Cross (Simon & Schuster); and
• CONTAINMENT by Vanda Symon (Penguin)

The winner of the inaugural Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Novel will be announced at a ceremony at the conclusion of the “Setting the Stage for Murder” event at the Festival on the evening of Friday 10 September 2010.

The international judges said CUT & RUN was “complex and suspenseful” and had “scenes and incidents which are jaw-droppingly good”, that BURIAL “maintained the tension and the atmosphere from beginning to end, keeping the atmosphere creepy”, and that CONTAINMENT had “an attractive series heroine (feisty but vulnerable)” while starting with a “superb” opening scene that by itself would make the judge “want to read more Vanda Symon”.

Finalists for inaugural Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Novel announced today

THE THREE finalists for the inaugural Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Novel, which will be presented at a ceremony at the upcoming The Press Christchurch Writers’ Festival in September, have now been confirmed. The award is made for the best crime, mystery, or thriller novel written by a New Zealand citizen or resident, published in New Zealand during 2009.

A panel of seven local and international judges has been considering the best of locally written crime and thriller fiction published last year.

The three finalists are:

• CUT & RUN by Alix Bosco (Penguin);
• BURIAL by Neil Cross (Simon & Schuster); and
• CONTAINMENT by Vanda Symon (Penguin)

The winner of the inaugural Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Novel will be announced at a ceremony at the conclusion of the “Setting the Stage for Murder” event at the Festival on the evening of Friday 10 September 2010.

The international judges said CUT & RUN was “complex and suspenseful” and had “scenes and incidents which are jaw-droppingly good”, that BURIAL “maintained the tension and the atmosphere from beginning to end, keeping the atmosphere creepy”, and that CONTAINMENT had “an attractive series heroine (feisty but vulnerable)” while starting with a “superb” opening scene that by itself would make the judge “want to read more Vanda Symon”.

“There were a number of high-quality crime novels published last year, and it has been a tough decision for the judges,” said Judging Convenor Craig Sisterson. “It is fantastic to see crime writing of this quality being produced by New Zealand writers, and great that the Award recognises both the best of our current authors, while also honouring the memory of one of our country’s true literary legends, who we have perhaps underappreciated in the past.”

The Awards namesake, Dame Ngaio Marsh, is renowned worldwide as one of the four “Queens of Crime” of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction, having published 32 novels featuring Inspector Roderick Alleyn between 1934 and her death in 1982. With sales in the millions, and her books still in print to this day, Dame Ngaio is possibly New Zealand’s bestselling author, ever.

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So, what do you think of the three finalists for the first-ever Ngaio Marsh Award? Have you read any of them? Do you agree with the judges? Which is your favourite? Thoughts and comments welcome.