It hasn’t officially aired on BBC America for those of us in the USA (although, I’m sure if you looked hard enough, you’ll find each episode online), but season 2 of the critically-acclaimed Idris Elba BBC drama Luther has already ended in the UK.

And if you’re already anxious for a season 3, or, better yet, a Luther big screen adaptation, which Idris himself said he’d love to see happen, maybe this’ll keep you occupied until then… or maybe not.

A prequel to the TV series will be released soon. Although, it’ll be in the form of a paperback novel! That’s right, Neil Cross, the creator of the series, has penned a 368-page prequel novel titled Luther: The Calling, which is being published by Simon & Schuster.

So, what’s the story here?

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’m guessing the case being referred to here that tore his personal and professional life apart was the one that we saw the end of in the beginning of the first episode of season 1 last year.

Something else that stands out here is that this will be “the first in a new series of novels,” so expect more to come.

Might one of these paperbacks (and maybe hardcovers eventually) be the source for the Luther movie that so many fans of the series are hoping for?

Maybe… maybe not.

Amazon.com shows an August 1st publish date, although I’m not sure if that’ll just be for the UK folks – at least, at first, before it travels the globe.

You’ll know when we know.

So who’ll be buying a copy?