Brutal Country is the third collection of Kate Ellis short stories, set in the Leicestershire countryside of the early 2000s. Now a Detective Sergeant on the Soar Valley Murder Squad, Kate faces the sharp learning curve of high-stakes cases and a new team whose trust must be earned.

The work is relentless: fresh killings, cold cases, and the rural crimes that hide behind postcard views. From isolated farms to quiet village greens, the countryside proves as dangerous and unpredictable as any city backstreet. Investigations drag up decades-old lies, breed new grudges, and force Kate into uneasy alliances with colleagues and strangers alike.

Not all the challenges wear a villain’s face. The job exposes fault lines in friendships, ambition in rivals, and the slow, disquieting realisation that leadership does not always mean loyalty. Each case leaves its mark, shaping a detective who is learning to fight harder, trust less, and read the silences between words.

The ten stories which make up this composite novella are about the collision of violence and landscape, about unfinished business and debts that can only be paid in blood. 

Cold Welcome


The First Cut

Breaking Point

Loose Dogs

The Long Echo

House Rules

Lead And Leather

Thirty

The Weakest Link

Drop Zone
Brutal Country will be published in Spring 2026