The Dead Hour, by Denise Mina

I've read a lot of mysteries series over the years, and Denise Mina's featuring young, female reporter Paddy Meehan is turning into one of my favorites. She's fat and querulous, and how often do you see that in a crime protagonist? Mina has the gift of interesting yet plausible plotting, and she writes compelling scenes and showdowns; you can't predict how they go, but every step feels right when it happens. The scene of Paddy at the review board investigating police conduct in The Dead Hour is perfect. I like too how these stories are small. She's not bringing down the country's biggest multinational or the vice president, so her courage feels even greater and more necessary.