Zoë SharpRezensionen

It was a pleasant read, but lagged in places. I would recommend it as a fun book to read, but it definitely didn't make my list of top action thriller novels.

This was crazy intense and it was actually pretty funny. Charlie had a wry sarcastic humour that I loved. The plot was interesting and the action had me on the edge of my seat. I did find the romance stupid but it was a minor part and it didn't affect the rest of the book too much.

Charlie was fascinating - she was such a mess of contradictions. I liked her a lot and I felt sorry for the ordeals she had to go through. Particularly when the cops ignore her because they're under the impression she's the girl who cried wolf. But also her strength to overcome her past and the horrible betrayal she suffered from people who should've had her back.

I do wish she had more good friends and a better support network. It made me feel sad that she didn't. I did like that she was violent but advocated for the first rule of engagement to always be to not engage. I think it's important to know your limitations and to always try to avoid such situations where possible and to defuse them if able to.

That said, I didn't like that she always held back. She got hurt a lot more than she ever should've been. The thing is, yes you should avoid fighting but the fact is if you do engage you have to go in, hard and fast and put them down. Any half-hearted measures will just make a person angrier and more likely to hurt you worse.

What made it worse was she had the skill but lacked the confidence to judge when she should or should not use her skills. For instance the fight she breaks up on the dance floor between the two guys - the second he picked up the glass bottle she should've been aiming to incapacitate. A weapon always ups the danger level.

When she gets jumped in her apartment, she hesitates to break bones. I mean they jumped her in her home - that should've been the first move. Instead she let them off easy and got ridiculously beaten up. Realistically, no one that has studied that much self-defence and martial arts would let those situations go as far as she did. But all that said, it didn't affect my enjoyment of the book. It was just a minor thing that bugged me.

Overall it was a really strong read. Complicated plot, great action, well written and a badass main character. 4.5 stars. Will definitely pick up the next one.

Not going to continue. I don't like the change of narrator and it will just ruin the series which I enjoyed up to now. Pest.

This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
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WHAT'S THE LAST TIME SHE DIED ABOUT?
I'm feeling pretty paranoid about what I'm going to write in this post, I don't want to give anything away. It'd be really easy to do with this one, so I'll just borrow this from Sharp's website:

She came back on the day of her father’s funeral, ten years after she vanished. But she can’t be who she says she is…

When Blake disappeared as a teenager, on a cold dark night, her father never reported her missing. She is presumed dead.

Now, ten years later, a young woman with white-blonde hair sits comfortably in the family living room and smiles at the shocked faces around her.

“Don’t you recognise me?” she says. “I’m Blake.”

Detective John Byron isn’t sure whether she’s telling the truth. But as he investigates, he soon realises no one is happy to see her.

And the people who should be welcoming her back with open arms know she can’t be Blake. Because they killed her the night she vanished…

Didn’t they?

LILY

‘I’m Lily. Does this mean you’re sort of my sister? I’ve always wanted a sister. Well, I really wanted a kitten, but a sister would be nearly as good.’

At the root of everything in this novel are some deep and dark secrets—many of which will be brought out of the shadows--but there are several moments of light throughout. The brightest beam of light comes from Gideon Fitzroy's twelve-year-old step-daughter, Lily.

She's adorable—it jumps off of the page. She feels neglected by her mother and uncle, her older brother's at that stage of adolescence where the last thing he wants to do is spend time with his little sister. So the prospect of having a brand-new, adult, sister? Lily's awed by her. And then when Blake's friendly with her, spends time with her? Lily's devoted.

She doesn't understand what's going on—and is largely kept in the dark by her family. But she's Blake's biggest fan, no matter what that might mean for her family. There's a sweetness to her that makes her future and welfare as important to the reader (at least this one) as Blake's and Byron's.

BYRON +
Byron, considered solely, is an intriguing character—and I have a note or two about wanting to write about his psychology a bit. But I don't think we have quite enough information yet to do the deep(ish) dive that I want to. Sure, not having that information is part of what makes him intriguing.

Where we really learn about him is from other characters and from his interactions with others. For example, PC Jane Hudson knew him as a trainee, and gained certain impressions of him, and shares them with her superiors, predecessor, and others (including the reader).

But it's in his interactions with others that you really get to like him. With the pub's skittish cleaner. He's great at winning her over and getting her to talk. He's got this wonderful banter with his superior that speaks to a long association/friendship and liked their conversations enough that I'd pay for a novella featuring them just meeting for tea and chatting. It's probably there that I decided that I liked him as a person.

But in his conversations and interactions with Blake (and the way they both respond after each encounter) is where he really stands out. The two "get" each other in a way that just makes you want to read more, just to watch their verbal dance (and the choreography of what they don't say is just as agile). We're talking Poe and Tilly, Spenser and Hawk, Cormoran and Robin levels of chemistry here. It's almost like there should be a series based on the pair.

Oh, wait...

SO, WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT THE LAST TIME SHE DIED?
I've been reading Sharp's Charlie Fox for over a decade, but I hadn't read anything else by her. I've always suspected that was an error in judgment, and this certainly suggests that I'm right.

How many times since Martin Guerre* has the story of someone presumed dead come back and had to prove they weren't an impostor? How many times have we read about a police detective with emotional and physical scars doing some off the books work because they can't do anything else? How many stories of small-town secrets being exposed have been written? How many...well, you get the idea. This novel is full of ideas we've all seen more times than we can count. But Sharp shuffles them, remixes them, and presents them to the readers in a way that could almost convince you that you've never read/seen anything like it before.

* Sure. before that story, too.

How good is Sharp? The series is called Blake & Byron Thrillers—and yet you will wonder on more than one occasion if she's actually Blake. And you may keep wondering after you finish the book.

So many of the characters really popped and will linger in the back of my mind for quite a while. I'm already impatient about getting answers to how Blake and Bryson will have another adventure together. I wouldn't mind an update on some of the other characters, either—although it appears that Bryson's new job will be taking him to a different part of the country.

The Last Time She Died is entertaining, twisty, tense, with just enough wit to keep you grinning. This is going to be a series to watch, readers, get started now.

This is the first of what is to be a “Blake and Byron” series. The plot was decent, though
I thought it progressed slowly at times. There are certainly red herrings and twists. While the readers do eventually learn a little bit about Byron’s background, I hope that in the next book (which I will read) more is revealed as he remained a bit of a mystery.

Charlie Fox is asked to go undercover at a bodyguard school in Germany by her ex-lover Sean Meyer to discover the suspicious death of a former Special Forces colleague. Charlie still has strong feelings for Sean, but cannot bring herself to tell him that she was raped by four other SF colleagues, with the dead one having saved her life, but balking at telling the truth during the investigation. Bodyguard boot camp is awful, and instructors start getting killed to cover up a kidnapping and a reprisal. Good taught thriller, with Charlie's usual ass-kicking, in-your-face persona.

An early Charlie Fox thriller. Virtually impossible to find in the U.S. While housesitting in a marginal neighborhood, Charlie becomes embroiled in a series of escalating violence with racial overtones designed to catalyze urban renewal. Charlie rescues a young thug from a beating at the hands of hired peacekeepers, only to discover he is the young brother of her ex-lover, Sean Meyer, who quit Special Forces. Charlie has to face him and her past in order to deal with the present. A lot of solid ass-kicking, as usual, in Zoe Sharp's books.

When one of the four men who altered Charlie Fox's life and ended her military career is found brutally tortured to death in Iraq where he was working as a private security contractor, Charlie and the head of the private security company fear that her boss and former lover Sean Meyer may be pursuing justice for Charlie. Sean was shot in the head in an earlier novel, which changed his personality, creating doubts about what he might be capable of doing. Charlie spends most of the book trying to catch up to him, and the other three men, finding a trail that leads back to criminal activity, and several former acquaintances: one with a sense of honor, and the rest with none. I liked the feel for the various Middle Eastern countries and the mountainous area in Bulgaria, and Charlie's new sidekick, Luisa Dawson. 4.5 stars.

Charlie is deeply depressed as her partner Sean remains in a coma from a near-fatal head shot. Her boss Parker asks her to become a bodyguard to the daughter of a wealthy Hampton's socialite after a series of unreported kidnappings/ransoms. Things quickly turn deadly as the wealthiest ends up dead. Charlie is able to detect that the victims are not so innocent, but her charge (Dina) is grabbed and Charlie races against the clock to save her life. End of the book has a couple of surprises, relating back to the prior book, Fourth Day.

Charlie Fox is hired to protect Blake Dyer at a benefit in New Orleans to raise money for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Her ex-lover Sean Meyer is still recovering from being shot in the head and is confused about his supporting role in the assignment. After nearly being killed by a SAM flying over New Orleans to survey the damage, the benefit party does badly wrong when the riverboat is hijacked and Charlie/Sean cross paths with one of the Army guys who raped Charlie. Sean's memory lapses also play a central role in the book as the primary celebrity and he have a history together. Zoe Sharp has written another tight, suspenseful, action-packed thriller.

A female Jack Reacher (for those of you who read Lee Child). Finally a woman who kicks ass and takes names!! Looking forward to reading next one.

Charlie Fox's close friend, Clare, is severely injured in a motorcycle riding double where the driver was killed. It appears they were intentionally targeted. Clare asks Charlie to look out for her step-son, Jamie, who is planning to go with a motorcycle group on a trip to Ireland. When Jamie's mother is found searching her estranged husband Jacob's and Clare's house, her boyfriend attacks Charlie, who discovers money has gone missing. Boyfriend Sean Meyer and Charlie join the trip to discover what shenanigans are afoot. Plenty of action, but the plot is significantly over-the-top and there is too much motorcycling for the average reader.

Kelly Jacks was a "blood whisperer ... someone who seemed to be able to coax evidence out of the most unpromising of scenes" a crime scene investigator until she was sent to prison, supposedly for killing an informant. Now, she is a clean-up specialist, who is troubled by the suicide of a wealthy socialite. Her inquiries are not appreciated so her boss is badly beaten, and then her partner killed, putting Kelly on the run. Sharp is once again at her best, with a bad-ass heroine, who battles against the odds to expose the bad guys. Some very good twists.

Somehow I missed this one by Zoe Sharp. Charlie Fox goes to Colombia after an earthquake to provide security for a search and rescue team, when her predecessor died under unexplained circumstances. The primary job is to protect a very young woman and her rescue dog as they seek survivors. One such survivor is the owner of a jewelry story, with two dead clients, but something is not right, but Charlie has a tough time working with the rescue team and the local police, despite her usual bravado and bravery. Like all Fox stories, this one moves along fine, but the ending is too abrupt and unexplained for 4 stars.

Finally, publishers decided to bring Charlie Fox's early books to the U.S. Charlie is teaching self-defense and gets caught in the middle of a nightclub, where drugs are being sold. She gets beaten up a bit too regularly in this book though, but exacts her revenge in the end.

A Charlie Fox prequel. Charlie is serving in Afghanistan, and as a woman, is not supposed to be on the front line; however, her unit witnesses a helicopter being shot down and they quickly move to rescue any survivors. As it turns out, on board is a Special Forces unit on a secret mission to free some hostages and try to capture a high value enemy target. With some personnel dying in the crash, the Special Forces team requests volunteers, including the rescue unit's best marksman, which, of course, is actually a markswoman (Charlie.) Charlie goes along, and has to make a number of critical, split-second decisions to kill/save lives. My favorite part is that the Special Forces team will not even provide their names to Charlie and the other volunteers from her unit so they dub them the Spice Girls: Scary, Sporty, Ginger and Posh.

Charlie Fox and Sean Meyer are part of a team used to extract someone from an alleged cult called Fourth Day although things go awry when the client appears to be the U.S. government and the "rescued" member is kidnapped and tortured to death. Against everyone's better judgment, Charlie does undercover to get to the truth -- once again putting herself directly in harm's way.

Jobless, Charlie Fox is housesitting in a rural area in NJ when she comes upon an attempted kidnapping scene and rescues the victim without a gun, using her honed skills and improvising, as she always does. Charlie remains a kick-ass heroine, who will do whatever the job takes. Skeptical, the victim's husband hires Charlie to replace a gravely injured bodyguard. The husband is involved in some very shady business, and Charlie faces daunting challenges as she cannot even determine whether her foes are competitors, customers, or insiders. Despite being banged up more than once, Charlie shows her mettle again and again. There is no shortage of action as Zoë Sharp only knows one speed -- balls to the walls. The constant uncertainty over who the wife needs to be protected from, especially the possibility of a traitor within the core group, is what makes this newest book excellent. 4.5 stars.

Not as fast paced as Single Drop, but I liked the ending.

Charlie Fox thriller, involving her parents. Fast paced, adding depth and insight into the main characters of the series. Wish the earlier books were available in the U.S.

This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
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“OK, let’s talk weapons. You got any preference?”

I shrugged. “I like the SIG P226, if you have one, but as long as it goes bang when I press the trigger, I’m not too fussy.”

WHAT'S BAD TURN ABOUT?
Charlie's left her job—which costs her her home, he guns, and leaves her working security on the sort of drinking establishment that she'd never have walked into. She's about 6 minutes away from making Jack Reacher look financially stable.

She stumbles into a house-sitting gig out in the country at a really nice place. It's the answer to a whole lot of problems. Until she's driving nearby and comes across a gunfight in the middle of a country road. As you do. She intervenes and comes to the aid of the group that's apparently under attack, and ends up saving the life of a woman and one of her bodyguards.

Overcome with gratitude and impressed with her abilities, the woman's husband offers her a job. His business has some pretty important things happening and he's worried for her safety during that. You see, he's an arms dealer (one who sells to both sides of legality) and there's reason to believe that his wife is being targeted by a competitor/angry ex-customer.

The whole shootout on a public road would be an indicator that, yeah, she's in danger.

Charlie signs on for the protection duty and finds herself in the middle of a scheme featuring international gun runners/dealers, organized crime (in multiple countries), and some messy family drama in multiple countries. There are multiple gunfights, a little bit of hand-to-hand combat, a lot of treachery and a little betrayal.

BAD TURN AND THE CHARLIE FOX SERIES
This felt like a transition from Charlie's typical work for Parker's firm to self-employment. And as such, it feels a little different to me. She's used to having Parker or his staff ready for logistical, research, or equipment help. Now she's on her own—and Bad Turn shows how ill=prepared she is to be independent of all of Parker's resources. Sure, she spent a lot of time without the possibility of checking in with Parker/the company, and it caused problems. But her assumption in the past was that there was a team ready to help. That's gone now.

Assuming there are more Charlie Fox books coming down the line, I trust that Sharp will get us through these waters and put Charlie back in a situation she can more easily predict, and one not so infested by rats.

SO, WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT BAD TURN?
I really don't know. I liked the story, and enjoyed watching Charlie navigate these treacherous waters—but the whole time I felt like something was off. I think it's just whatever made me start thinking of this as a transition novel, good action, but it just didn't feel right.

Still, even an "off" Charlie Fox adventure is pretty fun. I'm glad I read this and think that new or established readers will enjoy it, but I'm hoping for something more next time.

Read-alike for Lee Child's Jack Reacher series

I read this book on two plane trips as I had run out of my own reading matter - this one was packed in my OH's material. It is classic, classy, and very very well written. Well-paced and easy to follow despite interruptions and confusing time zones in my own life, LOL! Plus it all made perfect sense by the end, so that's a bonus - I don't like it when loose ends are let lie, or there is too easy an out. Thouch I wouldn't choose this for myself, I did enjoy it for the purpose. Plus, I might even look out more Zoe Sharp books because this introduction shows me that I like her style, even if I'm not wrapt in bloody murders as a basis for fiction :-)
Four stars because I prefer more depth to my characters, but if you're into murder mysteries, you would probably give it a resounding 5

Charlie Fox is a great action hero in a male-dominated genre. Former special forces soldier who was forced out after she was brutally raped by members of her own unit, she has moved on and become a successful private security operative. When one of the men who assaulted her is tortured to death in Iraq, it appears that her ex-lover and current boss, Sean Meyer, is involved. Charlie can’t believe he would be so brutal, but a recent bullet to the head has left Sean changed, and Charlie unsure of what he might truly be capable of.

Charlie is tasked with finding and stopping Sean. In order to do so, she must figure out what he is after and follow the same trail. This trail leads her across the middle east and Europe. Along the way she runs into middle eastern thugs, Russians with shady agendas and American agents pursuing their own agenda which may or may not parallel Charlie’s. What follows is a combination of detective work, fist fights, gun fights and general mayhem.

Sharp has created an exciting character in Charlie Fox and her action scenes are second to none. Sharp’s style keeps the action flowing and the pages flying by. There’s a lot of backstory that might be missing if you are not familiar with earlier entries in the series, but not so much that new readers can’t jump in with this book. This is a solid action-adventure story that is sure to please any thriller fan. Highly recommended.

I was fortunate to receive an advance copy of this book from the publisher.½

Good grief. What a boring book. Cliches, predictable plot, bad writing, pointless rambling, wasted words, lack of perception and insight, flat characters with nothing interesting to say and do and characters I don't care about. (Notice I didn't say 'characters I don't like', ie, I don't have to like characters to care about what happens to them).

On top of that, I hate it when a character in the begininng of a book is just the same at the end of it..."