Ranger (Quinn Colson) by Ace Atkins

As a fan of the Nick Travers series I was excited to hear Ace Atkins had a new series coming out.
In this first novel of the series we follow Ranger Quinn Colson as he returns to his hometown because of his uncle's death. What he encounters is a large cast of redneck villains and some great Southern Belles. He's aided by one-armed sidekick Boom and deputy sheriff Lillie. Especially Lillie is a great, likable character. Quinn is a cool, cigar-smoking tough guy but not the superman Jack Reacher is.
There's a strong subplot about a teenage girl who got herself pregnant by a piece white trash that comes to a violent conclusion in the end.
It all reminded me a bit of Lori Armstrong's No Mercy and people who enjoyed that one will surely enjoy this one. More Southern noir than a straight mystery novel Ace shows how to make the best use of a setting.

Mercy Kill (Mercy Gunderson) by Lori Armstrong

Mercy Gunderson is back! After the events of No Mercy she's trying to put her life in Dakota in order when an old friend from her military days shows up. He's trying to get people to back up Titan Oil, a company that wants to put a pipeline through Eagle River County. When he ends up being murdered Mercy sets out to investigate, clashing with her secret lover, the local sheriff. She even decideds to campaign for the position of sheriff, following in her dad's footsteps.
Mercy is a pretty tough chick, and she'll need to be because there's some very evil criminals involved.
Mercy is a great character, way tougher than girls like Warshawski or Milhone, wilder than even moste male characters and still with a soft side. The way she deals with her family and her military past is just as important as the crime stuff. Because Mercy is so hardboiled a character though it never gets too sappy or too much like chicklit.
Lori really outdoes herself this time with the army flashbacks which make you feel you're transported over to the battlefields along with Mercy.
More excellent stuff from an already excellent series.