The Corrector, Kim Hunt

Set in a small seaside town with its fair share of outsiders, Evin Hart leads a quiet, orderly life restoring classic motorcycles, living partially in her van with her beloved dog. Next door are Genna and her young son and unfortunately, not too far away Hickson lives with his wife and kids. He's a drug dealer, wife abuser, and much to Evin's horror a paedophile. All in all an evil, nasty piece of work, who, after Evin witnesses him abusing a mentally handicapped teenage boy - an act she reports to the police  - decides to go after her, her friends and the whole damn neighbourhood if necessary. Given the police seem totally disinterested in doing anything about the drug dealing, or the abuse of the young boy, and Hickson is proving to be a nasty adversary, stopping him is down to Evin.

Combining a distinct reluctance to take on the role of action hero to do this, but physically capable and mechanically very skilled, Evin has to find a way to stop this situation before life becomes unbearable. Along the way there will be moments when you worry about all of them - her friends, neighbours, the dog, and Evin herself.

Follower's of Hunt's work will know from her Cal Nyx series that she writes strong, capable, real female characters, with a great sense of place and plot momentum. This new series is no slouch in all of those aspects, although this time her central character seems even more of a loner, more self-sufficient and reserved. Perhaps the change is the friendships that surround Hart, as opposed to the more family orientated connections of Nyx. Not sure, either way Hart came across as incredibly capable, almost vulnerable at points. Of course that could also be down to the rapid escalation of events, and the increasing darkness of the situation Hart finds herself in during this story of resilience and sheer guts.

I've always really liked the way that Hunt creates the worlds that her characters inhabit, and the characters themselves - women living lives with physical and mental toughness that is both admirable and believable. Hopefully this series will continue to expand, along with the Nyx series. As a fan of both of these characters I'm not asking for a lot...