To the best of our knowledge, however, debutant author Bill Hodson is the first person to mix in some Burnden Park folklore with the murky world of organised crime, and the results are very readable indeed.
Lawyer Sarah Curtis returns to Bolton to close down her late father’s business and immediately gets mixed up in the case of a former Wanderers footballer who has gone missing, seemingly linked to another who was murdered in cold blood in his home.
With the help of a down-on-his-luck private investigator she gradually uncovers a dark and dangerous story which quickly takes over and threatens her own life.
Tracking Back gives a sporting nod in its title and scatters just enough references to the Burnden days to keep a modern-day supporter’s interest. Of more significance, though, is the way the book reflects the role of the club within the town and its fortunes on those who work and live around it.
Football is woven into the plot but there is also enough substance to interest any reader who likes their whodunnits to come with a bit of dark humour and a distinctly local flavour.
There are Lancastrian signposts planted throughout the plot by the Tonge Moor born author, whose nostalgic, homely tone is aided by a split timeline, which harks back to Wanderers’ hey-day in the fifties and sixties.
As someone with a background in writing plays, it is no surprise that there is a theatrical feel about some of the dialogue. Once the characters are established the plot moves at a nice pace, building towards an intense finale which leaves open the potential that this world can be further explored in the future.
In all, Tracking Back is a strong debut novel suitable for anyone wanting to satisfy their nostalgic side, or something darker still.
Tracking Back is now available in paperback from the BWFC club shop and all good retailers priced at £9.99 and also stocked by Amazon as a Kindle edition (£3.99).