COMING soon to a bookstore near you, a gripping tale of murder, disappearance, organised crime… and Bolton Wanderers!

Lifelong Whites supporter Bill Hodson has penned his first novel “Tracking Back” which will be available as a paperback and e-book from July 28.

Born in Bolton and raised in Tonge Moor, Mr Hodson previously had a monologue performed at The Octagon as part of their 60th anniversary celebrations, which had centred on the last game at Burnden Park.

His upcoming book also has footballing overtones. A crime mystery set in Bolton centred on a lawyer, Sarah Curtis, who returns to her hometown to deal with her late father’s affairs and becomes embroiled in the case of a missing ex-Wanderers player who had fallen on hard times. When Sarah learns that another ex-Bolton star had been shot dead at his home, she finds herself dragged into a murky underworld in her efforts to help a family friend.

Mr Hodson, who now lives in York where he worked as the director of housing and social services, explained that the book examines the complex underpinning relationship between the town and its football club, one he first felt after Wanderers beat Charlton to win the First Division title in 1997. “I’d never been on the pitch before but as I stood there thinking ‘fantastic, we won the game, won the league,’ it suddenly dawned on me that when I walked out of the ground I could never go back,” he said. “We couldn’t take that feeling of euphoria either, it stayed in the ground.

“I had that in my mind and during lockdown when I wrote some plays. I made the connection between the Burnden Park monologue and a crime mystery and thought what I really wanted to do was write about the importance of football in people’s lives.

“It is a curse more than a blessing, sometimes, but it is something deep inside you.

“At the end of the Ken Anderson regime, when we thought the club could go out of existence, that was different to losing a game or getting relegated. I was upset at the idea that what happened to Bury could easily have happened to us, and it got me thinking about the relationships we have with football and the club.

“I wanted to write about Bolton specifically because I think it gets a bad press, nationally, and is often ridiculed.

“And I wanted to write about the club and its importance to the town, because as one of the characters says: ‘When it is doing well everyone feels a bit bigger.’

“Football is a bit of a barometer for the morale of a town, and once I reflected on all that I realised I really wanted to write this story.”

The book has split narratives, told in the present through Sarah’s story, and then in flashbacks through the career of former footballer, Gerry.

“It is a crime mystery but hopefully it has elements to the story which will make it more appealing,” Mr Hodson explained.

“I wanted to write about footballers as well because if someone is 30 years old or less, they might think they have always been rich, living in great houses, but when I started supporting in the sixties and seventies that certainly wasn’t the case.

“A lot of famous players – even those who won the World Cup - went back to being undertakers and road hauliers, then suffered with disabilities and dementia.

“I wanted to write a story about someone in that era and what happened in his life.”

Mr Hodson read many biographies of the era to research Gerry’s character but assures us that he is not based on any particular ex-Wanderer.

He wanted to keep the football as true-to-life as possible, though, and use the club as a central pillar in the plot.

“I could have chickened out and done a ‘Ted Lasso’ and created Richmond FC but I wrote to Sharon Brittan a couple of months ago to explain I’d be writing this book but that there was nothing detrimental to the club,” he said. “I have been paranoid about using an actual footballer’s name too.

“But the research I did was generally about footballers of that era and the challenges and difficulties they had in life.

“My dad supported Bolton from the 1920s and his dad supported them from back in the 19th century, so for working class families like the one I came from you don’t have detailed family histories but these football milestones map out people’s lives.

“My dad went to the 1953 cup final and never got over it. In 1958 my mum was out on the streets with everyone celebrating.

“If you follow Manchester United you are part of a global community, there is no focus, but for a club like ours I think it makes a big difference.”

Tracking Back has been published by The Book Guild and will be available at all good stockists and online platforms from July 28 priced at £9.99. An e-book version is also available at £4.99.