James was a police officer for 15 years, finishing as a Detective Inspector at Moss Side in Manchester. Really, Moss Side finished him.
When he left the police he started writing, and has been writing ever since. Firstly, a memoir From Cop to Coppicer, and finally after 10 years and an MA in Creative Writing, his debut novel The Trail was published.
"an intelligent and pacy thriller" (Paula Hawkins)
In this talk, James discusses how and why it took so long, and the influences of his police career on the narrative.