The Trail (Paperback or Softback)

A British crime thriller featuring a Manchester detective, an international kidnapping investigation, and a deadly trail stretching from England to the mountains of Nepal.

One missing man leads to a deadly trail across two continents.

Manchester. DCI Rick Castle is inspecting his bees when his boss calls. A minor cannabis dealer has been reported missing, and his father is a decorated war hero demanding answers.

Castle follows the trail to Nepal, through villages of staring children and fluttering prayer flags, beneath brilliant blue skies and snow-capped mountains.

Then he finds a body.
Then another.

Nothing about the case is straightforward. To uncover the truth, Castle must put himself in the firing line and make a decision that could cost lives.

The Trail is Book 1 in the DCI Castle series. Perfect for readers who love British crime fiction in the style of J.D. Kirk, Ian Rankin, and Peter James.

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Praise for the DCI Castle Series:

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ A fresh take on the crime genre.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ One of the best crime fiction novels I have read.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Well paced, nice character development… I would definitely read more by Ellson.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Fast paced, enjoyable, hard to put down.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Wonderful descriptions of the Nepalese trail that stay with you.

James Ellson was a police officer in the UK for 15 years, starting in London and finishing as a Detective Inspector at Moss Side in Manchester. When he left the police he started writing, and has been writing ever since. James’s debut novel The Trail was published in 2020, and the sequel Cold Dawn in 2022. Cold Summer will be published in November 2023. He also writes short stories, and was runner up in the 2021 Bay Tales Christmas short story competition with Roisin's Christmas Party. His story The Translator was published in a 2022 anthology (To Serve, Protect, and Write) of former police officers, now writers. James is a keen climber and mountaineer, and has visited Nepal many times. In 2004 he climbed 6,812 metre Ama Dablam, and in 2008 soloed the Matterhorn. He lives in the Peak District with his wife, and manages their smallholding, which includes bees and an orchard. James can be followed on Twitter @jamesellson3 And on Facebook: james.ellson.98