On Dangerous Ground

Bradford is a city notorious for several reasons, most notably the riots.

Fictionally it has fallen a long way behind Glasgow, Edinburgh, London or Oxford in the criminal hall of infamy.

Until now, for Keighley's own Lesley Horton is making the city a worthy backdrop for her gritty crime novels.

She captures the seediness, deprivation and violence on the mean streets of Bradford well in her assured but frill-free prose.

Yet it's her characters and subject matter as much as her sense of place that gives the books such a credible grounding.

Released this week, the novel has murdered teenage prostitutes, vicious villains of various cultures, policemen with secrets and politicians who may or may not be corrupt.

Lesley's focus is a serial killer stalking the streets of Bradford: her hero the thoroughly decent Inspector John Handford.

He stumbles into the case after finding the third victim and a photo in her purse showing his boss. Handford is ordered to investigate his superior, leaving deputy Sgt Ali to probe the apparent suicide of a schoolboy.

The cases collide in a captivating story that kept me rivetted for more than 300 pages.

Lesley isn't quite in the same league as crime masters like Ian Rankin but this is a near faultless offering nonetheless.

David Knights