A CRIME writer from Dorchester has swapped dark novels for lighthearted guides offering a new take on car workshop manuals.

Boris Starling has written Haynes Explains, a spin on Haynes’ inimitable style based on a strip-down and rebuild of a particular ‘model’, with the first four titles in the series focusing on Babies, Teenagers, Marriage and Pensioners.

The series is pitched as ‘the perfect stocking filler’ and uses classic Haynes illustrations and contains everything readers familiar with the manuals would expect to see, including exploded views, flow charts, fault diagnosis and the occasional wiring diagram.

Boris is perhaps best known for his novel Messiah, about the hunt for a serial killer, which was turned into a BBC TV series.

He said: “I became involved, because like all the best ideas in our house, it was my wife’s idea.

“She said to me, ‘you should do some humorous stuff’.

“I knew some people at Haynes and live quite near their Somerset HQ, so we met up, talked things through and found we were all thinking on pretty much the same lines.

“We wanted to create something universal which everyone could relate to, hence the choice of the four life stages in a compact format. We also wanted to make them funny as well as helpful and even poignant in places.”

This is the first time that Boris has turned his hand to writing comedy. He hopes that people will be familiar with Haynes manuals, which have been helping motorists do their own repairs and maintenance for more than 55 years.

He said: “I’ve never written comedy before, I’m a thriller writer by trade so it was quite a change.

“The ideas I get for writing seem to come to me at odd times. I could be out walking the dogs or I could wake up at three in the morning and need to write down some text.

“I’ve experienced all of the guides I’ve written apart from teenagers because my children are still young.

“They’re not supposed to be nasty, sneery stuff, they’re done with real affection for the subject.

“With the pensioners book I found it hard getting the balance right. The first draft came out slightly snarky.

“I went back and made it more affectionate, which is what they’re supposed to be.”

Dorset even gets a special mention in the pensioners book with Boris mentioning some humorous made-up statistics from Dorset Police concerning delinquent elderly folk: Dennis Pearce (88) – drunk in charge of a mobility scooter, Peverell Avenue West, Leonard Gratton (83) – reckless tee drive on the 15th hole, Osmington Mills Golf Club, Ethel Carlisle (84) – attempted BASE jump from the Hardy Monument, Portesham.

Marriage looks at all stages of married life. Chapters include That New Car Smell – the honeymoon period, Depreciation – how endearing habits become annoying, Crash Test Ratings – arguments and how to handle them, and the essential Pillow Torque – sex and romance.

It also features top pointers on Backseat Drivers – when the in-laws come to stay, and Aerodynamics and Drag – keeping the marriage fresh.

Boris’s sparky copy marries cleverly with the Haynes illustrations.

He said: “The detail that has gone into it is amazing. Some of them were easier to fit with the illustrations, others a little harder.

“They have been really good fun to write and I hope they’re really good fun to read.

“They’re coming out this month in time for Christmas and I hope that people see them at the point of sale in shops and are interested. I think they’re good value for money, there’s a lot of text and a few chuckles along the way.”

Boris, who lives in Frampton with his wife and children, works out of an office in Poundbury.

He said: “People always think a writer has to work from an office from which they have a view of something like a loch in Scotland.

“If I had that I would spend all my time looking out of the window. I’m very happy with my office in Poundbury. I have a decent view of other people’s gardens.”

If the titles prove popular, Boris hopes to produce some more Haynes Explains manuals.

Until then he is continuing to work on more film and television projects.

*The Haynes Explains manuals are priced at £6.99 and are now on sale at all good bookshops and online, including haynes.

co.uk, WHSmith, Waterstones and Amazon.