Hunting the Demon is the sequel to Surviving Demon Island in “Demon Hunter,” a series about a group of people, part of the Realm of Light, who fight against demons (led by the Sons of Darkness) in a traditional fight between good and evil. The first thing about this book to note is that it isn't necessary to have read Surviving Demon Island. In fact, the backstory is delivered very well in this book, not feeling clunky as can happen and not patchy so that the reader gets confused. I haven't read the first book but I always knew what was going on while reading this one, which is unusual.

Secondly, in this crowded genre of paranormal romance, it seems that sex is usually more important than plot in the recent releases. Fortunately, this book focuses far more on plot (although there is of course some sex) and, to some extent, on characterization. Our heroine, Shay Pearson, is part of the demon-hunting team and is sent to get close to the improbably-named Nic Diavolo to find out whether he, a half-demon, is evil or good. His brother, Derek, is a member of the demon-hunting group, but he and Nic were separated when Nic was eight, and Nic was subsequently raised by his demon father. Ben. Shay and Nic get on well, but within a day she has to lure him to be kidnapped, which of course means Nic feels betrayed by her. He does his own bit of betraying subsequently, which hurts Shay, and from these two significant experiences they begin to form some kind of a relationship of trust.

There's a little more to Shay than meets the eye: she's been having visions her whole life which tend to come true. Shay has visions of Nic becoming head of the demons with the help of the Black Diamond, something for which the demon hunters and the demons are both searching. Nic's colossally rich family owns a diamond mine in Australia, and it's to this mine that the group goes, once Nic has accepted the existence of demons, to search for the diamond and try to stop the demons' plans.

There's an introduction to another romance in this story (one which I expect will appear in a future installment in this series) between Tyler, the demon hunter, and Angelique, an archaeologist tasked to find the black diamond. There are plenty of fight scenes overall and crawling around caves and in dark tunnels. It's a reasonably written story, and the setting in Northern Australia makes a welcome change. The characterization is a little lightweight, but it's a pleasant enough read and rather better than a lot of the books being released in this genre at the moment.

• The Darkest Touch