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Charlie Fox Thriller #1
Killer Instinct
'Susie Hollins may have been no great shakes as a karaoke singer, but I didn't think that was enough reason for anyone to want to kill her.'
This opening book in the series introduces Charlie Fox, a tough new heroine who can very definitely take care of herself. Charlie makes a living of sorts teaching self-defence to women. It's a skill she picked up out of necessity having been kicked out of the army for reasons she prefers not to go into.
So, when Susie Hollins is found dead after she mistakenly tussles with Charlie at the New Adelphi Club, Charlie knows it's only a matter of time before the police come calling. What they don't tell her is that the unlucky Hollins is the latest victim of a homicidal rapist stalking the local area.
Charlie finds herself inadvertently drawn into the investigation when the New Adelphi's enigmatic owner, Marc Quinn, offers her a job. Viewed as an outsider by the existing all-male security team, her suspicion that there's a link between the club and the serial killer doesn't exactly endear her to anyone. Charlie has always taught her students that it's better to run away than to stand and fight. But, when the killer starts taking a very personal interest, it becomes clear that he isn't going to give her that option.
This opening book in the series introduces Charlie Fox, a tough new heroine who can very definitely take care of herself. Charlie makes a living of sorts teaching self-defence to women. It's a skill she picked up out of necessity having been kicked out of the army for reasons she prefers not to go into.
So, when Susie Hollins is found dead after she mistakenly tussles with Charlie at the New Adelphi Club, Charlie knows it's only a matter of time before the police come calling. What they don't tell her is that the unlucky Hollins is the latest victim of a homicidal rapist stalking the local area.
Charlie finds herself inadvertently drawn into the investigation when the New Adelphi's enigmatic owner, Marc Quinn, offers her a job. Viewed as an outsider by the existing all-male security team, her suspicion that there's a link between the club and the serial killer doesn't exactly endear her to anyone. Charlie has always taught her students that it's better to run away than to stand and fight. But, when the killer starts taking a very personal interest, it becomes clear that he isn't going to give her that option.
352 pages, Hardcover
First published August 30, 2001
218 people are currently reading
1747 people want to read
About the author
Zoë Sharp
70 books490 followersZoë Sharp spent most of her formative years living aboard a catamaran on the northwest coast of England. She opted out of mainstream education at the age of twelve and wrote her first novel at fifteen. She became a freelance photojournalist in 1988 and started writing her Charlie Fox crime thriller series after receiving death-threats in the course of her work.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 238 reviews
October 17, 2022
"I was never going to be more than a mildly interesting diversion for him." - protagonist Charlotte 'Charlie' Fox, providing her thoughts (but also my candid opinion of the book), page 161
The foreword by author Lee Child - creator of the long-running Jack Reacher series - as well as a cover blurb by him that states "If Jack Reacher were a woman, he'd be Charlie Fox" do an incredible disservice to series opener Killer Instinct. This suspense/mystery novel was not particularly involving - it took me over a week to complete it - and did not rise above the style or level of those once-ubiquitous made-for-cable-TV or straight-to-DVD movies (and I wasn't a fan of that rape/murder subplot - a serious matter, whether in fiction or real life - seemingly being handled as a mere plot contrivance), and by the violent conclusion it leaned too heavily on movie critic Roger Ebert's trusty 'Law of Economy of Characters' rule, in which it is obvious that there are no unneccesary players in the narrative. Charlie Fox - a disgraced former British military operative loner-type now teaching self-defense tactics victims of domestic abuse, and who has a troubled relationship with her distant and uppity parents - was not a bad lead character, but with this book she is not an apt comparison to Reacher. Give her a more lively storyline and less spouting about the minutiae of motorcycles!
The foreword by author Lee Child - creator of the long-running Jack Reacher series - as well as a cover blurb by him that states "If Jack Reacher were a woman, he'd be Charlie Fox" do an incredible disservice to series opener Killer Instinct. This suspense/mystery novel was not particularly involving - it took me over a week to complete it - and did not rise above the style or level of those once-ubiquitous made-for-cable-TV or straight-to-DVD movies (and I wasn't a fan of that rape/murder subplot - a serious matter, whether in fiction or real life - seemingly being handled as a mere plot contrivance), and by the violent conclusion it leaned too heavily on movie critic Roger Ebert's trusty 'Law of Economy of Characters' rule, in which it is obvious that there are no unneccesary players in the narrative. Charlie Fox - a disgraced former British military operative loner-type now teaching self-defense tactics victims of domestic abuse, and who has a troubled relationship with her distant and uppity parents - was not a bad lead character, but with this book she is not an apt comparison to Reacher. Give her a more lively storyline and less spouting about the minutiae of motorcycles!
July 31, 2012
I accidentally followed some author I’d never heard of simply because her tweets tended toward humor. After reading a few of her clever observations, I picked up Killer Instinct, her first book. Wow. What a great book. And don’t I feel dim for not having heard of her before? Yes. (But I’m used to that feeling.)
The best part about discovering an established author is: No wait for the next book!
What makes an author like Ms. Sharp stand out from others is her skill. The writing is exceptional. Not just the metaphors and similes, but even the conjunctions. The little bits that hold a story together. Frank Lloyd Wright once said, “Take care of the unions and the rest will take care of itself.” He referred to union of beam and joist. Architecture and writing are parallel arts. Like architecture, writing requires detailed unions, a firm foundation, a plot with a view, and above all, it must be livable. Frank Lloyd Wright’s attention to all those elements, right down to the unions, made his the most sought after architecture in history. Likewise, Zöe Sharp’s attention to design elements both strategic and tactical make hers not just exciting thrillers, but beautiful as well.
The unions in writing are the transitions from suspense to explosive excitement. Often characters stumble from point A to point B with tiresome clichés. Ms. Sharp addresses these droll details with passages like this:
Into the quiet that followed came the raucous squeal of children at war. Somewhere upstairs, a baby cried relentlessly.
An important plot point followed that transition. A plot point involving children in a book about nightclubs and rapists. And it’s not what you’re thinking. It was such a clever transition and exceptional point that the reader is unwittingly drawn ever deeper into a tangled and fascinating web of character motivations.
The foundation in writing is the plausibility. Where women protagonists are concerned, this is too often swept under the ‘oh just go with it’ principle. My favorite example of failure in plausibility is the Angelina Jolie movie, SALT. She beats up steroid-fed giants left and right despite having a height, weight, and reach disadvantage. Unreal. Completely. Not so with Ms. Sharp. She lays the ground work for a woman who can beat up big men and explains how. Not just using the right leverage, which is possible with a little luck, but in avoiding the unnecessary fight and outright fleeing when appropriate. Charlie Fox knows when to stand and when to run. Even more important to a believable character is what happens in her head. Ms. Sharp makes Charlie Fox come alive with thoughts like this:
If it's touched you personally, you look at other people taking risks with a sense of anger, as though they're belittling your own experience.
Even out of context, you know what she’s talking about. These small but important pieces build a solid foundation on which a sympathetic character can stand.
A writer’s plot is a threaded rope that a mystery/thriller fan like me can usually unravel by halfway through. If you read enough, red herrings are easy to spot. What keeps jaded readers like me both distracted and involved is the subplot. A well-placed subplot is like a garden a picture window’s foreground. In Ms. Sharp’s case, the subplot is heartbreaking and real. With only this passage, you can almost feel the tension between Charlie Fox and her parents:
I tried that out for size on the twisted corner of my psyche that had been feeding on my bitterness and hostility towards them for the last couple of years. It had been leaching acid into my mind like a perforated ulcer.
A good writer can make a passage like that seem real. Ms. Sharp is better than good, she binds you to the character so tightly that you’ll clench your fist while reading. That’s what makes it livable. I was not surprised to see someone bragging on Facebook just yesterday that she’d just acquired an original edition of Killer Instinct at considerable cost.
I’m looking for one myself.
Bottom line: Run right out and buy this book! Or any of Ms. Sharp’s other books.
Peace, Seeley James
NOTE: After reading the book, I added Charlie Fox to a poll asking “Who is Your Favorite Heroine?” She won. Ahead of Katniss Everdeen. Ahead of Tempe Brennan and Kay Scarpetta. Obviously, she has a lot of fans. So… if you are one of those fans, and right now you’re gloating because you knew about Ms. Sharp years ago, tell me this: How come you didn’t tell me about Charlie Fox? Huh? Yeah. See how you are? And I thought we were friends.
The best part about discovering an established author is: No wait for the next book!
What makes an author like Ms. Sharp stand out from others is her skill. The writing is exceptional. Not just the metaphors and similes, but even the conjunctions. The little bits that hold a story together. Frank Lloyd Wright once said, “Take care of the unions and the rest will take care of itself.” He referred to union of beam and joist. Architecture and writing are parallel arts. Like architecture, writing requires detailed unions, a firm foundation, a plot with a view, and above all, it must be livable. Frank Lloyd Wright’s attention to all those elements, right down to the unions, made his the most sought after architecture in history. Likewise, Zöe Sharp’s attention to design elements both strategic and tactical make hers not just exciting thrillers, but beautiful as well.
The unions in writing are the transitions from suspense to explosive excitement. Often characters stumble from point A to point B with tiresome clichés. Ms. Sharp addresses these droll details with passages like this:
Into the quiet that followed came the raucous squeal of children at war. Somewhere upstairs, a baby cried relentlessly.
An important plot point followed that transition. A plot point involving children in a book about nightclubs and rapists. And it’s not what you’re thinking. It was such a clever transition and exceptional point that the reader is unwittingly drawn ever deeper into a tangled and fascinating web of character motivations.
The foundation in writing is the plausibility. Where women protagonists are concerned, this is too often swept under the ‘oh just go with it’ principle. My favorite example of failure in plausibility is the Angelina Jolie movie, SALT. She beats up steroid-fed giants left and right despite having a height, weight, and reach disadvantage. Unreal. Completely. Not so with Ms. Sharp. She lays the ground work for a woman who can beat up big men and explains how. Not just using the right leverage, which is possible with a little luck, but in avoiding the unnecessary fight and outright fleeing when appropriate. Charlie Fox knows when to stand and when to run. Even more important to a believable character is what happens in her head. Ms. Sharp makes Charlie Fox come alive with thoughts like this:
If it's touched you personally, you look at other people taking risks with a sense of anger, as though they're belittling your own experience.
Even out of context, you know what she’s talking about. These small but important pieces build a solid foundation on which a sympathetic character can stand.
A writer’s plot is a threaded rope that a mystery/thriller fan like me can usually unravel by halfway through. If you read enough, red herrings are easy to spot. What keeps jaded readers like me both distracted and involved is the subplot. A well-placed subplot is like a garden a picture window’s foreground. In Ms. Sharp’s case, the subplot is heartbreaking and real. With only this passage, you can almost feel the tension between Charlie Fox and her parents:
I tried that out for size on the twisted corner of my psyche that had been feeding on my bitterness and hostility towards them for the last couple of years. It had been leaching acid into my mind like a perforated ulcer.
A good writer can make a passage like that seem real. Ms. Sharp is better than good, she binds you to the character so tightly that you’ll clench your fist while reading. That’s what makes it livable. I was not surprised to see someone bragging on Facebook just yesterday that she’d just acquired an original edition of Killer Instinct at considerable cost.
I’m looking for one myself.
Bottom line: Run right out and buy this book! Or any of Ms. Sharp’s other books.
Peace, Seeley James
NOTE: After reading the book, I added Charlie Fox to a poll asking “Who is Your Favorite Heroine?” She won. Ahead of Katniss Everdeen. Ahead of Tempe Brennan and Kay Scarpetta. Obviously, she has a lot of fans. So… if you are one of those fans, and right now you’re gloating because you knew about Ms. Sharp years ago, tell me this: How come you didn’t tell me about Charlie Fox? Huh? Yeah. See how you are? And I thought we were friends.
October 12, 2021
3.5 ☆ rounded up for a promising debut novel with a standout character
Killer Instinct was my first encounter with Charlie Fox and I am fascinated by her. I first read this last year and have decided to re-read the series prior to the Sept. 2019 release of #13 Bad Turn .
I’ve read crime fiction for most of my life. Amongst all of those detective mysteries, police procedurals, and amateur sleuth stories, Charlie stands out as an actual original. Maybe the closest comparable heroine is Lisbeth Salander, once you strip away the antisocial personality disorder, the need for vengeance, and the computer hacker skills. Hey, they’re both lethal, resourceful, and ride motorcycles.
So why do I find Charlie so compelling to me? Her backstory from her time in the military generated empathy because she had been grievously wronged by multiple parties. Yet she has rebounded far better than I would expect most people could have managed. Charlie is more than a survivor. She is the fighter that her selection into the Special Forces training had acknowledged. She is a smart thinker on her feet, observant, and reckless. She’s human. I don’t deny that she did a couple of dumb things in the story but even her bitterness exhibited a witty turn of phrase. And thankfully, she isn’t depicted as some comic book superhero. The fight scenes were believable because she explained how she could gain a tactical advantage against bigger and stronger opponents and that retreat is sometimes the best option of all. (Thanks, Zoe, for the self-defense tips!).
In Killer Instinct, Charlie is the accidental sleuth who has a crime mystery thrust upon her. A rapist serial killer is on the loose and he eventually sets his sights on terrorizing and killing Charlie because he recognizes that she’s a worthy opponent. The homicidal rapist is not the only threat, however, for violence abounds in this story. It’s neither gratuitous violence nor is it depicted in graphic, gory detail. There’s a strong theme of violence against women in the story. This isn’t surprising but reflects a sad truth - for instance, when you look at the USA, rapes outnumber murders by a factor of at least 5 to 1 and to make things worse, the homicide rate in the USA also outstrips that of the UK by 5 to 1.
I didn’t give this story a higher rating because of my main criticism, which is that there are too many red herrings. Indeed, this is a story which has few good men who are trustworthy or who are entirely free of criminal activity. All this sets up too much of a vibe of women versus men.
By the end of the book though, I was intrigued enough to make sure that I had the next few books in the series available for ready consumption since I’m a binge reader. Killer Instinct is a really promising debut novel for an intriguing new heroine on the scene.
0) Trial Under Fire 4.5 ☆
1) Killer Instinct 3.5 ☆
2) Riot Act 4 ☆
3) Hard Knocks 4.5 ☆
4) First Drop 4 ☆
5) Road Kill 4.5 ☆
6) Second Shot 5 ☆
7) Third Strike 5 ☆
8) Fourth Day 4 ☆
9) Fifth Victim 4 ☆
10) Die Easy 4.5 ☆
11) Absence of Light 4 ☆
12) Fox Hunter 5 ☆
13) Bad Turn 5 ☆
Killer Instinct was my first encounter with Charlie Fox and I am fascinated by her. I first read this last year and have decided to re-read the series prior to the Sept. 2019 release of #13 Bad Turn .
I’ve read crime fiction for most of my life. Amongst all of those detective mysteries, police procedurals, and amateur sleuth stories, Charlie stands out as an actual original. Maybe the closest comparable heroine is Lisbeth Salander, once you strip away the antisocial personality disorder, the need for vengeance, and the computer hacker skills. Hey, they’re both lethal, resourceful, and ride motorcycles.
So why do I find Charlie so compelling to me? Her backstory from her time in the military generated empathy because she had been grievously wronged by multiple parties. Yet she has rebounded far better than I would expect most people could have managed. Charlie is more than a survivor. She is the fighter that her selection into the Special Forces training had acknowledged. She is a smart thinker on her feet, observant, and reckless. She’s human. I don’t deny that she did a couple of dumb things in the story but even her bitterness exhibited a witty turn of phrase. And thankfully, she isn’t depicted as some comic book superhero. The fight scenes were believable because she explained how she could gain a tactical advantage against bigger and stronger opponents and that retreat is sometimes the best option of all. (Thanks, Zoe, for the self-defense tips!).
In Killer Instinct, Charlie is the accidental sleuth who has a crime mystery thrust upon her. A rapist serial killer is on the loose and he eventually sets his sights on terrorizing and killing Charlie because he recognizes that she’s a worthy opponent. The homicidal rapist is not the only threat, however, for violence abounds in this story. It’s neither gratuitous violence nor is it depicted in graphic, gory detail. There’s a strong theme of violence against women in the story. This isn’t surprising but reflects a sad truth - for instance, when you look at the USA, rapes outnumber murders by a factor of at least 5 to 1 and to make things worse, the homicide rate in the USA also outstrips that of the UK by 5 to 1.
I didn’t give this story a higher rating because of my main criticism, which is that there are too many red herrings. Indeed, this is a story which has few good men who are trustworthy or who are entirely free of criminal activity. All this sets up too much of a vibe of women versus men.
By the end of the book though, I was intrigued enough to make sure that I had the next few books in the series available for ready consumption since I’m a binge reader. Killer Instinct is a really promising debut novel for an intriguing new heroine on the scene.
0) Trial Under Fire 4.5 ☆
1) Killer Instinct 3.5 ☆
2) Riot Act 4 ☆
3) Hard Knocks 4.5 ☆
4) First Drop 4 ☆
5) Road Kill 4.5 ☆
6) Second Shot 5 ☆
7) Third Strike 5 ☆
8) Fourth Day 4 ☆
9) Fifth Victim 4 ☆
10) Die Easy 4.5 ☆
11) Absence of Light 4 ☆
12) Fox Hunter 5 ☆
13) Bad Turn 5 ☆
December 11, 2012
If it hadn’t been for Lee Child’s glowing recommendation, I might not have picked up Zoe Sharp’s debut novel at all. While the action doesn’t paint the page the way a Jack Reacher novel does, it still managed to hold my attention, although it did take me more than a quarter of the novel to become fully invested in the story. But once I did, I was more than curious to see where Charlie Fox took me next.
Charlotte “Charlie” Fox rivals most men in her strength of character, love of motorcycles, and propensity toward violent situations, yet she has heart, a tendency to give back to her fellow women, and holds back just a touch, until she truly does find her KILLER INSTINCT.
I never realized Lancaster, England could be such a violent, turbulent place, but I bought the act like a one-woman show. And I’m certainly curious enough to read the sequels I’ve already purchased. I have a feeling Charlie will come into her own, just as the author will in future iterations of this series. Charlie has more than a suitcase full of baggage, yet there’s more to her than what’s hovering on the surface, and this makes her a rather compelling character.
Charlotte “Charlie” Fox rivals most men in her strength of character, love of motorcycles, and propensity toward violent situations, yet she has heart, a tendency to give back to her fellow women, and holds back just a touch, until she truly does find her KILLER INSTINCT.
I never realized Lancaster, England could be such a violent, turbulent place, but I bought the act like a one-woman show. And I’m certainly curious enough to read the sequels I’ve already purchased. I have a feeling Charlie will come into her own, just as the author will in future iterations of this series. Charlie has more than a suitcase full of baggage, yet there’s more to her than what’s hovering on the surface, and this makes her a rather compelling character.
August 9, 2010
Puzzled? Yes I was puzzled when I saw that this novel was available. There are eight, count them eight, novels thus far in the Charlotte “Charlie” Fox series, Killer Instinct being the first. What took them so long to cross the ocean is anyone’s guess, but I am glad someone had the sense to bring it over here. Busted Flush Press has been nice enough to get them into our hands and I for one am very happy.
I read all the praise from Zoe Sharp’s fellow authors and many comparisons of everyone’s characters are bandied around, but I wanted to form my own opinions. I enjoyed everything about the novel before I even cracked page one. The size and structure of the novel makes it easy to handle and read; I like that. It is a mid-size shape and fit easily in my hand, excellent. The content though was what I was I was most interested in. How could something penned almost a decade ago be so good yet lay dormant and unavailable to us the American reader? Mysterious. The Brits were trying to pull one over on us.
Killer Instinct was everything that the authors said and more. Once I got beyond the language, by that I mean the British terms for different things, and feeling like the BBC was narrating it for me, I totally got a groove on it and it was difficult to put down. The characters, the settings, all came to life for me as her narrative was concise and richly descriptive enough to give me a feel and taste for somewhere I have never been. I felt I was just a visitor to the United Kingdom, thanks to Zoe Sharp.
Charlie Fox is an excellent heroine and someone I am hoping to follow for quite a while. Sharp has created a microcosm filled with motorcycles, relentless speed, action, and a take no prisoners, take charge attitude that is endearing and refreshing. Killer Instinct is just, exactly what the title says. Zoe Sharp has crafted a debut novel that contains that killer instinct, and I for one am grateful to have been able to have taken the journey into Charlie Fox’s life for the first time. I can’t wait to get to the other adventures, bummer there are only seven more. If you are like me and enjoy this genre of novels, you should get this on your Goodreads or Shelfari -to read- list and move it to the top.
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November 18, 2013
First in the Charlie Fox thriller series based in Lancaster, England, and revolving around Charlie, a self-defense instructor.
My Take
I can see why Lee Child is impressed with Zoë Sharp. She’s good. It’s even more amazing that this is her first book. The only quibbles I could come up with was why didn’t she figure out the bit about seven a whole lot earlier? And WHY would she stay in her flat?? Why doesn’t she pick up on what Gary’s up to? Why would she go back to work at the Adelphi after the lack of support about that fight she broke up? If Marc is the one without the fancy education and Charlie has had one, why is it that he knows about Bacchus and Charlie doesn’t?
In some ways, Charlie reminds me of Reacher---they both assess the situation and decide ahead of time how they’re going to take out the bad guy, and they’re comfortable---not happy---with realizing they’re going to get hurt. I do like that Charlie emphasizes leaving a scene rather than wading into the fight. A very realistic approach. Wait till you read the scene in which Len is trying to provoke her into fighting. She handles it so well! However, she’s not so good at the unexpected.
Although, she did make up for it right quick with her assessment of Marc. Wow.
Oh, I do want her flat. I’ve always fantasized about living in a warehouse…
I’m with Charlie about her mother. Bitch. It’d be a cold year in Hell before I forgave her.
I don’t understand why Ailsa “didn’t feel it was appropriate for [Charlie] to continue her classes at the Lodge”.
Oh, don’t let my whinging keep you from picking this up. It really is a good story with an intriguing tension. I’m curious to find out what will happen with Ailsa and the ladies. Does MacMillan climb off his high horse? Does Charlie’s relationship with her parents start to change? What does Charlie do next? What will Tris do? How does Clare handle her own trauma...
The Story
It’s Susie Hollins’ objection to Clare’s sweet voice that brings Charlie to Marc Quinn’s attention. That and Charlie’s assessment of his club’s security measures. The lack thereof, anyway.
Things might have been okay, except a friend is operating a little too below the belt and the laptop he asks Charlie’s help in cracking is much hotter than either of them realize. It doesn’t help that women are being brutally raped and murdered.
The Characters
Charlotte “Charlie” Fox has her own past traumas, which have set her on the path she follows now: instructing helpless women in self-defence techniques. Sam Pickering is a computer geek at the university and a fellow rider, a 750cc Norton Commando, who’d like to be a lot more. Charlie’s parents. The Foxcrofts. Well, they stopped being interested in her when her twin brother died. At birth.
Clare Elliot is a friend of Charlie’s who rides a Ducati 851 Strada and works at the local paper. Jacob is Clare’s hot and sexy boyfriend, who sells antiques. Bonneville and Beezer are their two dogs.
Marc Quinn is smooth with an instinct for just what to say to Charlie, to help her past the issues in Killer Instinct. To care for her. He owns the New Adelphi Club, a new nightclub in town. Gary Bignold is the bar manager and a friend of Charlie’s. Len and Angelo Zachary are Quinn’s main muscle and handle bouncer duties. Charlie reckons these boys are the wrong choice. Dave Clemmens is the club DJ who is too full of himself. Victoria is the cute little waitress seeing Angelo.
Susie Hollins is an enthusiastic and winning karaoke singer. Her boyfriend Tony is proud of her, as long as she’s winning.
Terry Rothwell operates the mobile side of his and Paul’s video shop (he rides a black Kawasaki GPZ900R). They’re both friends of Charlie’s.
The people at Schelseley Lodge Women’s Refuge include:
Mrs. Schelseley, Tristam’s mother, turned the family home into the refuge when Tristan’s father died. Tristam Shelseley, a masseuse who’s trained in reflexology and aromatherapy married Ailsa, a trainee solicitor who took to the counseling life like a duck to water. The ladies include Nina, Joy, and Pauline.
The filth, er, I mean, the police...
Tommy is a young officer whom everyone seems to know. Detective Superintendent MacMillan is too quick in too many ways, and he doesn’t believe a word that Charlie says. WPC Wilks is the female constable they have protecting Charlie.
The Scouser and the smoker are hurtin’ after that night.
Donalson, Hackett, Morton, and Clay were fellow squaddies of Charlie’s when she was in the army. Sean is the army instructor with whom she was having an affair. Kirk Salter is the soldier who saved her. At first.
The Cover
The cover is Charlie on her Suzuki, cruising down a cobblestoned street in Lancaster at night. It’s almost exactly what she’s telling her students to be wary of.
The title is what Charlie discovers about herself, whether she has that Killer Instinct.
My Take
I can see why Lee Child is impressed with Zoë Sharp. She’s good. It’s even more amazing that this is her first book. The only quibbles I could come up with was why didn’t she figure out the bit about seven a whole lot earlier? And WHY would she stay in her flat?? Why doesn’t she pick up on what Gary’s up to? Why would she go back to work at the Adelphi after the lack of support about that fight she broke up? If Marc is the one without the fancy education and Charlie has had one, why is it that he knows about Bacchus and Charlie doesn’t?
In some ways, Charlie reminds me of Reacher---they both assess the situation and decide ahead of time how they’re going to take out the bad guy, and they’re comfortable---not happy---with realizing they’re going to get hurt. I do like that Charlie emphasizes leaving a scene rather than wading into the fight. A very realistic approach. Wait till you read the scene in which Len is trying to provoke her into fighting. She handles it so well! However, she’s not so good at the unexpected.
Although, she did make up for it right quick with her assessment of Marc. Wow.
Oh, I do want her flat. I’ve always fantasized about living in a warehouse…
I’m with Charlie about her mother. Bitch. It’d be a cold year in Hell before I forgave her.
I don’t understand why Ailsa “didn’t feel it was appropriate for [Charlie] to continue her classes at the Lodge”.
Oh, don’t let my whinging keep you from picking this up. It really is a good story with an intriguing tension. I’m curious to find out what will happen with Ailsa and the ladies. Does MacMillan climb off his high horse? Does Charlie’s relationship with her parents start to change? What does Charlie do next? What will Tris do? How does Clare handle her own trauma...
The Story
It’s Susie Hollins’ objection to Clare’s sweet voice that brings Charlie to Marc Quinn’s attention. That and Charlie’s assessment of his club’s security measures. The lack thereof, anyway.
Things might have been okay, except a friend is operating a little too below the belt and the laptop he asks Charlie’s help in cracking is much hotter than either of them realize. It doesn’t help that women are being brutally raped and murdered.
The Characters
Charlotte “Charlie” Fox has her own past traumas, which have set her on the path she follows now: instructing helpless women in self-defence techniques. Sam Pickering is a computer geek at the university and a fellow rider, a 750cc Norton Commando, who’d like to be a lot more. Charlie’s parents. The Foxcrofts. Well, they stopped being interested in her when her twin brother died. At birth.
Clare Elliot is a friend of Charlie’s who rides a Ducati 851 Strada and works at the local paper. Jacob is Clare’s hot and sexy boyfriend, who sells antiques. Bonneville and Beezer are their two dogs.
Marc Quinn is smooth with an instinct for just what to say to Charlie, to help her past the issues in Killer Instinct. To care for her. He owns the New Adelphi Club, a new nightclub in town. Gary Bignold is the bar manager and a friend of Charlie’s. Len and Angelo Zachary are Quinn’s main muscle and handle bouncer duties. Charlie reckons these boys are the wrong choice. Dave Clemmens is the club DJ who is too full of himself. Victoria is the cute little waitress seeing Angelo.
Susie Hollins is an enthusiastic and winning karaoke singer. Her boyfriend Tony is proud of her, as long as she’s winning.
Terry Rothwell operates the mobile side of his and Paul’s video shop (he rides a black Kawasaki GPZ900R). They’re both friends of Charlie’s.
The people at Schelseley Lodge Women’s Refuge include:
Mrs. Schelseley, Tristam’s mother, turned the family home into the refuge when Tristan’s father died. Tristam Shelseley, a masseuse who’s trained in reflexology and aromatherapy married Ailsa, a trainee solicitor who took to the counseling life like a duck to water. The ladies include Nina, Joy, and Pauline.
The filth, er, I mean, the police...
Tommy is a young officer whom everyone seems to know. Detective Superintendent MacMillan is too quick in too many ways, and he doesn’t believe a word that Charlie says. WPC Wilks is the female constable they have protecting Charlie.
The Scouser and the smoker are hurtin’ after that night.
Donalson, Hackett, Morton, and Clay were fellow squaddies of Charlie’s when she was in the army. Sean is the army instructor with whom she was having an affair. Kirk Salter is the soldier who saved her. At first.
The Cover
The cover is Charlie on her Suzuki, cruising down a cobblestoned street in Lancaster at night. It’s almost exactly what she’s telling her students to be wary of.
The title is what Charlie discovers about herself, whether she has that Killer Instinct.
July 11, 2012
Being somebody that buys more than I read, I have that nagging feeling that I am missing out when people get excited over authors I have never read. Yes I know, I have issues; don’t get me started! When I saw on my lovely Facebook page that people were excitedly chattering about Zoe Sharp I immediately Googled her and realised that she has been writing for the best part of ten years. How dare I not know about this crime author, especially being a British female author? I immediately ordered her first release in the series featuring Charlie Fox and eventually got around to it.
Charlie Fox is an ordinary sort of woman and within the first few chapters I decided that I liked her very much. Charlie teaches women self-defence, prefers to dress in jeans and had a passion for riding motorbikes. Charlie was kicked out of the army for reasons unknown to the reader early on and although she is certainly not without issues I loved her no-nonsense attitude. When Charlie is offered a job working for the security at the New Adelphi club she has no idea that a few hours after her tussle with Susie Hollins in the club, that she would be found dead a few hours later.
This is the catalyst for a string of events that put Charlie’s life on the line. There are many authors and books out there in this genre and although this wasn’t necessarily one that stood out by a mile, it certainly whets my appetite for Charlie and her life. The characters are easy to read and the plot twisted enough to hold your interest well into the early hours. I realised at around the halfway mark that were many more layers to the story than I originally thought.
I realised pretty early on that this would be a series I would stick with. After a slower paced beginning, the second half flew by and I found myself racing to find out who is involved and to what degree. By the end of the book I made sure I went online and got part 2. It may well take me a while to get to but I will certainly be looking forward to it. Now I know why people were talking about Zoe Sharp and I will be among them next time, although as ever I like to read a series in order and it may take me a while to catch up. Overall, I am dead chuffed that I can now add another female British crime writer to my list of must reads. Fantastic start to a series (and what planet have I been on having only just started reading ZS???!). Recommended!
Charlie Fox is an ordinary sort of woman and within the first few chapters I decided that I liked her very much. Charlie teaches women self-defence, prefers to dress in jeans and had a passion for riding motorbikes. Charlie was kicked out of the army for reasons unknown to the reader early on and although she is certainly not without issues I loved her no-nonsense attitude. When Charlie is offered a job working for the security at the New Adelphi club she has no idea that a few hours after her tussle with Susie Hollins in the club, that she would be found dead a few hours later.
This is the catalyst for a string of events that put Charlie’s life on the line. There are many authors and books out there in this genre and although this wasn’t necessarily one that stood out by a mile, it certainly whets my appetite for Charlie and her life. The characters are easy to read and the plot twisted enough to hold your interest well into the early hours. I realised at around the halfway mark that were many more layers to the story than I originally thought.
I realised pretty early on that this would be a series I would stick with. After a slower paced beginning, the second half flew by and I found myself racing to find out who is involved and to what degree. By the end of the book I made sure I went online and got part 2. It may well take me a while to get to but I will certainly be looking forward to it. Now I know why people were talking about Zoe Sharp and I will be among them next time, although as ever I like to read a series in order and it may take me a while to catch up. Overall, I am dead chuffed that I can now add another female British crime writer to my list of must reads. Fantastic start to a series (and what planet have I been on having only just started reading ZS???!). Recommended!
May 18, 2018
It was an ok sorta book. I most like will read the second in this series to give it a chance. I wish I could say that I liked it a lot, but at times I was bored....but I kept on reading .....I liked the idea of the character just after a while I just wanted the book to hurry up and be done. Not much of a review, but my best guess for now is giving book number two a shot. One day....
January 11, 2016
I have to admit, at first I couldn't see how you could write a thriller series about a young woman who teaches self defence. It started a little slow but did improve somewhat later in the book. I'm not sure about Charlie's reluctance to involve the police though, it was nearly her undoing. Given this an early work by this author I'm inclined to check out another book or two.
Read
July 25, 2015This book to me was a let down for me it took way to long to get into the story & at times brought in romance between Charlie & Mark which bores me i'm afraid i like fast paced novels something that grabs your attention straight away am probably picky but its just my thoughts
January 23, 2012
Count me in for this series. I like Zoe Sharp's heroine, Charlie Fox: she's skilled in the martial arts; she takes care of her friends; and she refuses to back down from an opponent. At the same time, she thinks about the consequences of beating someone down, and--at least in this, the opening installment of the series--she hesitates before using lethal force. This compassion is refreshing, as most protagonists who know a thing or two about bare-handed fighting go through a moral crisis along these lines:
1. This person wants to hurt me.
2. I can kill this person with my bare hands.
3. Killing is bad.
4. But what else can I do?
5. Skadoosh.
There were some instances where I thought that Sharp was applying the inner conflict stuff in overly thick amounts, and some of the transitions from present narrative to flashback infodumping are choppy, like sitting in a five-speed with a novice driver. Overall, though, I enjoyed getting to know Charlie Fox and watching her learn about her limits and abilities in mortally dangerous situations. The last 20% (thank you Kindle for changing the way I track my progress in a book) of the book really pulled me in, and despite acute fatigue and a post-midnight hour (why, yes, it was a Saturday--and for some reason, it's getting harder to wile away the wee hours) I kept on trucking to the final showdown.
Major ratings to ebooks, as this format allows Sharp to keep her worthy work available to the reading public.
1. This person wants to hurt me.
2. I can kill this person with my bare hands.
3. Killing is bad.
4. But what else can I do?
5. Skadoosh.
There were some instances where I thought that Sharp was applying the inner conflict stuff in overly thick amounts, and some of the transitions from present narrative to flashback infodumping are choppy, like sitting in a five-speed with a novice driver. Overall, though, I enjoyed getting to know Charlie Fox and watching her learn about her limits and abilities in mortally dangerous situations. The last 20% (thank you Kindle for changing the way I track my progress in a book) of the book really pulled me in, and despite acute fatigue and a post-midnight hour (why, yes, it was a Saturday--and for some reason, it's getting harder to wile away the wee hours) I kept on trucking to the final showdown.
Major ratings to ebooks, as this format allows Sharp to keep her worthy work available to the reading public.
November 22, 2019
Date read:
November 17-November 21, 2019
Actual Rating: 3.00 STARS
Cheers to all the story with a strong and tough female character. It was always fascinating to read about women with the ability to level themselves with men, or even proved them how capable and even more competent they are compared to the opposite sex. It felt refreshing and reassuring. Though there are elements and parts of this story that didn't sit with me well, I still think I will continue with this series and blessed myself with more of this bad-ass female character. Maybe not instantly because I think I have more urgent reads (LOL), but I definitely will in the future.
Actual Rating: 3.00 STARS
Cheers to all the story with a strong and tough female character. It was always fascinating to read about women with the ability to level themselves with men, or even proved them how capable and even more competent they are compared to the opposite sex. It felt refreshing and reassuring. Though there are elements and parts of this story that didn't sit with me well, I still think I will continue with this series and blessed myself with more of this bad-ass female character. Maybe not instantly because I think I have more urgent reads (LOL), but I definitely will in the future.
August 28, 2017
3.5 Stars. Nice debut novel. Good storyline, likable lead, eminently readable. It took a bit of time for the story to get going, and Charlie made a few pretty dumb mistakes; but I liked the writing style and how the story flowed. For all the imperfections, I was never bored, never tempted to skim.
Charlie is quirky, flawed, and all too human...I'm looking forward to what happens next.
Charlie is quirky, flawed, and all too human...I'm looking forward to what happens next.
December 26, 2013
I've actually read maybe half this series, but I'm only really going to review this one (and it's going to be short because I finished it a month or more ago). The series actually does a good job both keeping the flow going forward (so you know more or less what you're in for with the next based on what you know from the previous) and building a history and reasonable consequences creating a broader narrative for the course of Charlie's life and career. This is a fantastic element of the series beyond simply the first (and one reason I fell in love with the books and devoured them one after the other in such quick succession.*)
The books are great mysteries with more than a little feeling of "noir" about them. They're gritty and you can't always trust what you think you know and the hero(ine) sometimes moves forward by taking a knock or two and shaking things up until something interesting falls out. Charlie is a great protagonist and my heart went to her right from the beginning. She's had some horrible things happen to her in the past, but I like how she has responded to them--both allowing them to shape her while still deciding how she is going to internalize them at the same time. That's such a tricky line to walk and I love how Sharp makes it work so well.
This first book is something of an origin story as she starts out as merely an instructor for women's self defense classes. She gets pulled into a job as a bouncer and into investigating some grisly murders and this changes her life rather significantly on a path to becoming a involved with "close protection" work later on (aka bodyguard).
* Another reason I fell so in love with the series is that it looks like the author reacquired the copyright to the books in order to make them available electronically. I say this based mostly on the fact that they are so reasonably priced and so recently (and readily) available. Sharp has done a great service to her fans with this decision, and created a new fan (in me) in the process.
The books are great mysteries with more than a little feeling of "noir" about them. They're gritty and you can't always trust what you think you know and the hero(ine) sometimes moves forward by taking a knock or two and shaking things up until something interesting falls out. Charlie is a great protagonist and my heart went to her right from the beginning. She's had some horrible things happen to her in the past, but I like how she has responded to them--both allowing them to shape her while still deciding how she is going to internalize them at the same time. That's such a tricky line to walk and I love how Sharp makes it work so well.
This first book is something of an origin story as she starts out as merely an instructor for women's self defense classes. She gets pulled into a job as a bouncer and into investigating some grisly murders and this changes her life rather significantly on a path to becoming a involved with "close protection" work later on (aka bodyguard).
* Another reason I fell so in love with the series is that it looks like the author reacquired the copyright to the books in order to make them available electronically. I say this based mostly on the fact that they are so reasonably priced and so recently (and readily) available. Sharp has done a great service to her fans with this decision, and created a new fan (in me) in the process.
March 3, 2012
Entertaining read, interesting main character, reasonably believable 'tough girl' type. The plot is fairly predictable, with the nightclub being the focal point for various illegalities, wrapped up with a serial killer, but moves along well.
My personal issue with this book was the main character. Presented as a 'tough girl', well trained through the military and currently running her own business as a self-defense instructor, she made too many 'dumb' mistakes, things she would not have done if the characterization was consistent. Not once but several times, she was depicted doing things that you see in bad "B" movies ... the ditzy blonde that's told never to go in the basement and of course that's the first thing she does. That happens to be a personal 'hot button' for me and it seemed to clash even more with the type of personality she was supposed to be.
It was readable and while I would not run out and buy more of this series, if I find them in the library or a used book store, would like to read another one or two in the hopes the author (this was a first book) manages to pull the character together and finds another way to deal with the storyline.
My personal issue with this book was the main character. Presented as a 'tough girl', well trained through the military and currently running her own business as a self-defense instructor, she made too many 'dumb' mistakes, things she would not have done if the characterization was consistent. Not once but several times, she was depicted doing things that you see in bad "B" movies ... the ditzy blonde that's told never to go in the basement and of course that's the first thing she does. That happens to be a personal 'hot button' for me and it seemed to clash even more with the type of personality she was supposed to be.
It was readable and while I would not run out and buy more of this series, if I find them in the library or a used book store, would like to read another one or two in the hopes the author (this was a first book) manages to pull the character together and finds another way to deal with the storyline.
February 13, 2012
With not only a nice blurb, but a forward written by Lee Child, I was expecting a lot from Ms. Sharp. Unfortunately, I was less than impressed. I found her writing clumsy and amateurish at times, and the pace often way too slow as the heroine got bogged down internalizing or going off on unnecessary tangents. I'm going to chalk this up to freshman inexperience and give another of her novels a chance. But based on this book, Zoe Sharp is no Lee Child.
January 29, 2021
A fast paced thriller where Charlie Fox (pronouns she/her) endures past attacks on her person and reputation in this debut novel. It is set in Lancaster which should give me some understanding about regional mores and attitudes but doesn’t—but it doesn’t matter (some reviewers mention that it is pronouncedly accurate). If I cast this movie, I would find some kind of female Tom Cruise as Charlie because she obviously does her own stunts (teaches defense and stuff).
August 31, 2012
I was lent the 6th book in this series with the comment that it's about "the female Jack Reacher". Intrigued, I looked the series up and read enough reviews to realize I wanted to read them in order. Luckily I found the ebooks going cheap on amazon and snapped up the first 5. I've got various other paperbacks on the go but being able to read the iPad when I wake up too early (jet lag) without waking the hubby was a good excuse to start this, then of course I had to keep going.
I'm not sure about the Reacher comparison, maybe that comes later - Charlie is softer and more vulnerable, and not just because of her size and gender, her past is a lot darker. She has friends and a life in one place, at least as it begins.
This is about how she takes a job working security in a nightclub in Morecambe, a rather decrepit seaside town on the Northwest coast of England. Coincidentally, we spent a night there recently en route to Scotland. I had never heard of it but was curious to have a look, it was by the sea (but not Blackpool) and not far off our route. We drove through Lancaster, which is where Charlie lives in the book, so it helped being able to picture the place as she rides her bike through it. It's a smart looking town by day, but the descriptions of the seedy side were totally believable.
The plot was a little clumsy, and the denouement predictable, including the baddies, but I enjoyed the characters and look forward to reading the rest.
I'm not sure about the Reacher comparison, maybe that comes later - Charlie is softer and more vulnerable, and not just because of her size and gender, her past is a lot darker. She has friends and a life in one place, at least as it begins.
This is about how she takes a job working security in a nightclub in Morecambe, a rather decrepit seaside town on the Northwest coast of England. Coincidentally, we spent a night there recently en route to Scotland. I had never heard of it but was curious to have a look, it was by the sea (but not Blackpool) and not far off our route. We drove through Lancaster, which is where Charlie lives in the book, so it helped being able to picture the place as she rides her bike through it. It's a smart looking town by day, but the descriptions of the seedy side were totally believable.
The plot was a little clumsy, and the denouement predictable, including the baddies, but I enjoyed the characters and look forward to reading the rest.
January 21, 2013
Loved the mystery from a different angle. Fell in love with the characters and I can't wait to read the rest of this series. Zoe Rocks! I didn't expect to be so emotionally involved with her characters. Shocking, tough subject matters and a realism that we don't know... what really goes on behind doors of even our own friends. I'm so glad I didn't start with the American's first book of the series. Meeting Zoe was amazing at the Mayhem mystery event in Omaha and seeing her in action before I read her first book gave me a visual of her tough character within the pages. Thanks for showing us how to defend ourselves and double thanks for continuing to write your series. Hope I get caught up this year, since I now have all except maybe a new one just out. ;o) My number one female author from the UK!!!
September 20, 2010
I actually completely stumbled onto this book online by accident, with Charlie being a self-defense instructor catching my eye. So I reserved it at my library.
I really enjoyed this, and can't wait to read others in the series! It's nice to see a strong female character who knows how to take care of herself, but at the same time isn't some super-psycho machine with no faults or failures.
As a martial artist, I found almost all (but not all) of the techniques and the situations believable, including Charlie using situational / environmental awareness to her benefit and even implementing verbal de-escalation to avoid an imminent physical confrontation.
Sharp did an outstanding job creating Charlie Fox, and I'm putting the others in the series on my hit list.
I really enjoyed this, and can't wait to read others in the series! It's nice to see a strong female character who knows how to take care of herself, but at the same time isn't some super-psycho machine with no faults or failures.
As a martial artist, I found almost all (but not all) of the techniques and the situations believable, including Charlie using situational / environmental awareness to her benefit and even implementing verbal de-escalation to avoid an imminent physical confrontation.
Sharp did an outstanding job creating Charlie Fox, and I'm putting the others in the series on my hit list.
April 30, 2021
4 STARS - I REALLY LIKED IT
AUDIOBOOK
Yes! This was good. I will definitely be continuing this series.
AUDIOBOOK
Yes! This was good. I will definitely be continuing this series.
July 12, 2017
Killer Instinct by Zoe Sharp. It was lucky that I pushed through my initial irritation with the story because it didn’t give anything away until the very end. Oooohhhh, it’s been a while since I’ve read a good mystery/thriller.
Charlie Fox teaches self-defence and likes to think she is doing a good job helping other women. Then again, maybe not when three women are violently raped and two of them murdered. And now the killer has his sights on her. Not only that, she accepts a job working security for a night club and things aren’t going smooth there; work colleagues hate her guts, the boss is way too attractive, and someone is dealing drugs.
My initial irritation was with the victim blaming attitude of Charlie. Yeah, that didn’t sit well with me when she said that the first girl hadn’t been smart enough to take a taxi home (not that taxis are all that safe, the drivers can be predators). I honestly wanted to stop right then and there because the only person to be blamed for rape is the rapist. Nothing a woman does or doesn’t do is an excuse to rape.
But then a pretty big part of Charlie’s back story is revealed; she was a victim. So maybe that changed my opinion, I wondered what a survivor would think about other girls becoming victims, how they would change their mindsets… that sort of thing.
And it’s good I continued. But only good. It wasn’t an amazing story, more of a bulk standard sort of thriller unfortunately. Though that didn’t stop me from wanting to know who did it or how all the little pieces came together. That kept me reading, powering through until I finally reached the end and could step away from the book and get back to work. Oh yeah, I have been escaping reality on the boss’s dime again. Oops.
Seriously, push through the start. The victim blaming was my gripe, other people would probably find the writing style and the little useless details (yeah, there are several things mentioned that have no point to the story what so ever, like her having breakfast or the detailed description of what the kitchen use to be) as tedious and just uping the word count. And then add in there being way too many characters to keep straight throughout the entire thing and yeah, it’s rather flawed. But it’s part of our human nature to want to know what happened and we’re conditioned to want to have everything fixed at the end with justice. That’s my reason for reading.
It is an easy read.
And Charlie is a strong and flawed character and well developed, in my opinion. She has her moments of weakness and isn’t sure all the time. A couple of times she was frustrating (come on, some of the mystery was easy to work out). But I loved her strength and independence.
Not sure I want to go and find the author again, though if another book was to come into my possession I’m not going to say no to it.
This review was posted on my blog www.aprilklasenauthor.com/blog five minutes ago.
Charlie Fox teaches self-defence and likes to think she is doing a good job helping other women. Then again, maybe not when three women are violently raped and two of them murdered. And now the killer has his sights on her. Not only that, she accepts a job working security for a night club and things aren’t going smooth there; work colleagues hate her guts, the boss is way too attractive, and someone is dealing drugs.
My initial irritation was with the victim blaming attitude of Charlie. Yeah, that didn’t sit well with me when she said that the first girl hadn’t been smart enough to take a taxi home (not that taxis are all that safe, the drivers can be predators). I honestly wanted to stop right then and there because the only person to be blamed for rape is the rapist. Nothing a woman does or doesn’t do is an excuse to rape.
But then a pretty big part of Charlie’s back story is revealed; she was a victim. So maybe that changed my opinion, I wondered what a survivor would think about other girls becoming victims, how they would change their mindsets… that sort of thing.
And it’s good I continued. But only good. It wasn’t an amazing story, more of a bulk standard sort of thriller unfortunately. Though that didn’t stop me from wanting to know who did it or how all the little pieces came together. That kept me reading, powering through until I finally reached the end and could step away from the book and get back to work. Oh yeah, I have been escaping reality on the boss’s dime again. Oops.
Seriously, push through the start. The victim blaming was my gripe, other people would probably find the writing style and the little useless details (yeah, there are several things mentioned that have no point to the story what so ever, like her having breakfast or the detailed description of what the kitchen use to be) as tedious and just uping the word count. And then add in there being way too many characters to keep straight throughout the entire thing and yeah, it’s rather flawed. But it’s part of our human nature to want to know what happened and we’re conditioned to want to have everything fixed at the end with justice. That’s my reason for reading.
It is an easy read.
And Charlie is a strong and flawed character and well developed, in my opinion. She has her moments of weakness and isn’t sure all the time. A couple of times she was frustrating (come on, some of the mystery was easy to work out). But I loved her strength and independence.
Not sure I want to go and find the author again, though if another book was to come into my possession I’m not going to say no to it.
This review was posted on my blog www.aprilklasenauthor.com/blog five minutes ago.
June 22, 2018
I'm going to count this book even though I read only the first 100 pages and then the last 100 pages. Good premise but there was too much going on with this book.
(1) The FMC had so much backstory and trauma. It was too much for the first hundred pages.
(2) Shut up about the stupid motorcycles. We get it. Charlie rides a motorcycle and so do all her friends. I don't really care what type they rode, or how it handled, if it needed to be warmed up, or anything else. It's just transportation to the next interesting plot point.
(3) Super strange typos through out the book. Just as an example, one of the characters drove a BMW and then for the next twenty pages whenever it was mentioned it became ... "Charlie climbed into Marc's BM." Then magically at the end of the book it was referred to as a BMW again. *shrug*
It wasn't a bad book. If this is your thing though I've seen it done much better in the Lacey Flint series by Sharon J. Bolton.Now You See Me
(1) The FMC had so much backstory and trauma. It was too much for the first hundred pages.
(2) Shut up about the stupid motorcycles. We get it. Charlie rides a motorcycle and so do all her friends. I don't really care what type they rode, or how it handled, if it needed to be warmed up, or anything else. It's just transportation to the next interesting plot point.
(3) Super strange typos through out the book. Just as an example, one of the characters drove a BMW and then for the next twenty pages whenever it was mentioned it became ... "Charlie climbed into Marc's BM." Then magically at the end of the book it was referred to as a BMW again. *shrug*
It wasn't a bad book. If this is your thing though I've seen it done much better in the Lacey Flint series by Sharon J. Bolton.Now You See Me
May 29, 2023
Excellent page turner. Lean and well-researched.
June 20, 2017
Airplane read.
August 4, 2012
Being interested in reading series mystery/detectives I ran across Zoe Sharp during my aimless wandering through book worlds online. I admit, reading the reviews I was skeptical as to whether or not I'd like this book for the simple reason that I'm interested in a particular type of hero (principled but tempted by physical violence, alone in the world by choice but always tempted to abandon this lifestyle). Female main characters usually do not fit this model if my previous reads are any indication. And so I considered that books written from the viewpoint of Charlie Fox, a female protagonist, might or might not interest me.
Having said that, the character of Sean Meyer did interest me. And so I dove into the Charlie Fox mystery/thrillers.
Ms. Sharp did a nice job of incorporating my particular interest, not just in the character of Sean Meyer, but also in the female protagonist. Charlie Fox is in the business of security, protection, and self-defense. That too went a long way into my choosing to read this series. Constantly weighing her principles against Sean Meyer vs. the various antagonist you will encounter in this series, Charlie Fox comes across has both hard boiled and vulnerable, hero and unwilling victim, intelligent and driven by desire.
As with all series books, read them in order! And if you've read this review of Charlie Fox than you've read them all. Ms. Sharp remains consistent in terms of interesting plots, depth of character to warrant a blanket review of the entire series.
Having said that, the character of Sean Meyer did interest me. And so I dove into the Charlie Fox mystery/thrillers.
Ms. Sharp did a nice job of incorporating my particular interest, not just in the character of Sean Meyer, but also in the female protagonist. Charlie Fox is in the business of security, protection, and self-defense. That too went a long way into my choosing to read this series. Constantly weighing her principles against Sean Meyer vs. the various antagonist you will encounter in this series, Charlie Fox comes across has both hard boiled and vulnerable, hero and unwilling victim, intelligent and driven by desire.
As with all series books, read them in order! And if you've read this review of Charlie Fox than you've read them all. Ms. Sharp remains consistent in terms of interesting plots, depth of character to warrant a blanket review of the entire series.
September 3, 2007
KILLER INSTINCT (Amateur Sleuth-London-Cont) – G-
Sharp, Zoe – 1st in series
Piatkus, 2001- Hardcover
Self-defense instructor, Charlie Fox, takes a job as security in at the hot new nightclub, The New Adelphi after one of the clubbers has been raped and murdered. A friend of hers brings her a laptop computer given to him by an employee of the club in exchange for adult videos, but didn't give him the password. It soon becomes clear someone wants the laptop back and there's more than music going on at the club.
*** I like the character of Zoe, she's smart, tough, independent and has been through a rough time. Unfortunately, she's the only really developed character is the book. She's also supposed to be in her mid-40's, but seemed about 10 years younger than that. The story itself is good, but I had two major problems. First, it's not hard to figure out who's behind the crimes and, second, the author way overuses the "had I but known" device at the end of chapters. But it's the first book of the series, so I'll hope the subsequent books are better. Still, it's a decent first book.
Sharp, Zoe – 1st in series
Piatkus, 2001- Hardcover
Self-defense instructor, Charlie Fox, takes a job as security in at the hot new nightclub, The New Adelphi after one of the clubbers has been raped and murdered. A friend of hers brings her a laptop computer given to him by an employee of the club in exchange for adult videos, but didn't give him the password. It soon becomes clear someone wants the laptop back and there's more than music going on at the club.
*** I like the character of Zoe, she's smart, tough, independent and has been through a rough time. Unfortunately, she's the only really developed character is the book. She's also supposed to be in her mid-40's, but seemed about 10 years younger than that. The story itself is good, but I had two major problems. First, it's not hard to figure out who's behind the crimes and, second, the author way overuses the "had I but known" device at the end of chapters. But it's the first book of the series, so I'll hope the subsequent books are better. Still, it's a decent first book.
February 10, 2013
Despite Lee Child's glowing intro, I didn't think Charlie Fox was anything like Jack Reacher. Other than the obvious ex-military connection, there really isn't anything similar in the two characters. I liked Charlie but I she over-estimated her ability to defend herself against musclebound creeps. Oh yeah, she won in the end but that was to be expected as she is the heroine of the series. IMHO the plot was an over-used one and very predictable.
This book had the feel of something translated into English as the sentence structures just weren't right. Regardless of the British slang (of which I understood little), there was just something off about the writing itself which was distracting. It won't keep me from reading the next in the series though.
This book had the feel of something translated into English as the sentence structures just weren't right. Regardless of the British slang (of which I understood little), there was just something off about the writing itself which was distracting. It won't keep me from reading the next in the series though.
November 26, 2017
PROTAGONIST: Charlie Fox, self-defense instructor
SETTING: UK
SERIES: #1
RATING: 4.25
WHY: Discharged from the Army after a terrible incident, Charlotte “Charlie” Fox has become a self-defense instructor. Her strategy is to first try to defuse situations before resorting to force. After defusing an attack at a club she has gone to with her friend, she accepts an offer as a bouncer but is not readily accepted by the rest of the security team. There are various nefarious activities going on at the club, and Charlie faces a lot of danger. This first book in the series is well done. Charlie exhibits a lot of insecurities that you don’t see in the later books in the series and her hesitancy to react is a weakness. An interesting and unique protagonist.
SETTING: UK
SERIES: #1
RATING: 4.25
WHY: Discharged from the Army after a terrible incident, Charlotte “Charlie” Fox has become a self-defense instructor. Her strategy is to first try to defuse situations before resorting to force. After defusing an attack at a club she has gone to with her friend, she accepts an offer as a bouncer but is not readily accepted by the rest of the security team. There are various nefarious activities going on at the club, and Charlie faces a lot of danger. This first book in the series is well done. Charlie exhibits a lot of insecurities that you don’t see in the later books in the series and her hesitancy to react is a weakness. An interesting and unique protagonist.
May 28, 2012
I really enjoyed this book. Zoë Sharp has created a believable hero in Charlie Fox. Although she's tough and resourceful, she has flaws and self doubt, which stop her from being an invincible super-woman.
I discovered this book by accident, and only downloaded it out of curiosity because of Charlie's surname, but I am so glad I did. Reading this book gave me the same feeling I got when I read my first Jack Reacher novel, and that was delight at discovering a serial character I liked to read about. I will definitely be devouring the rest of the series.
I discovered this book by accident, and only downloaded it out of curiosity because of Charlie's surname, but I am so glad I did. Reading this book gave me the same feeling I got when I read my first Jack Reacher novel, and that was delight at discovering a serial character I liked to read about. I will definitely be devouring the rest of the series.
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