SIMON RITCHIE finds the latest detective novel from the pen of a York writer will not endear him to the county set.

YORK-BASED crime writer John Baker may be wise to avoid the Malton area in the coming weeks after his character assassination of its inhabitants in his latest novel, Shooting In The Dark. Arriving in Malton on an assignment, Baker's main character, private eye Sam Turner, admits to being fascinated "by the lack of identifiable life forms" in the market town.

Baker goes on: "A red-nosed toff dressed from head to foot in checks came out of the pub. Sam shot him dead, but the guy didn't notice, went on to his next drink with a neat hole between his eyes, tiny trickle of blood running into his eyebrows. Next time Sam felt like dying, it wouldn't be a problem: he'd come here. Wouldn't take long."

But compared to the nearby Ryedale village of Skewsby, where Turner has to interview the husband of a missing woman, Malton was "Belgrade on a Saturday night."

He describes the village as a place "which has never recovered from Dutch elm disease."

In Shooting In The Dark, Turner, a recovering alcoholic, womaniser and thorn in the side of the local police force, is asked by an enigmatic and beautiful blind woman, Angeles Falco, to tail a man she believes is stalking her and her sister, Isabel.

Turner, and his associates, are only too happy to help, but when Isabel is found murdered on the North York Moors they begin to wonder what they've let themselves in for.

To cap it all Turner, who wouldn't look out of place in a Humphrey Bogart flick, begins to get romantically involved with the damsel in distress.

After reading countless detective stories set in places such as New York, Los Angeles and London it's refreshing to read a thriller set in the city where you live.

You can easily follow Turner and the killer (who interestingly writes in the first person) through the streets and snickleways of York, stopping at pubs, cafs and shops you know well.

The Evening Press is even mentioned once or twice, together with its fictitious crime editor Sly Beaumont.

Readers also get to see a seedier side of York, a side which includes prostitution, drug use and murder.

Baker's latest Sam Turner tale is a gritty and engaging story of courage, determination and revenge. It's extremely well written with a strong cast of characters and a healthy dose of humour.

It should shoot Baker into the premier league of British crime writers.

For more information on John Baker click on to his website, www.johnbakeronline.co.uk

- Shooting In The Dark by John Baker is published by Orion, price £9.99