Saturday Again

Six word Saturday button

How quickly the weeks pass and it’s already Saturday again and time for Six Word Saturday.  If you would like to participate please either click on the picture above or click this link.

PLEASE DO NOT DISTURB – I’M READING.

I awoke to a grey Saturday morning and decided that the best thing to do was to take my tea and toast back to bed with a good book.  And this set the rest of the day in train.

I had planned to meet with my French speaking buddies for lunch but that plan was quickly discarded after I had a long telephone conversation with my friend who recently found the huge lump in her breast.  While she didn’t want me to visit, she did want to talk.  After hanging up I realised that it was too late for the proposed lunch and so I stayed home.

I had started a Zoe Sharp book this morning in bed and after making a quick sandwich for lunch settled down to read more.  Have you come across this English writer?  Her protagonist is a feisty woman  called Charlie Fox.  I read the first book in the series after reading somewhere that Lee Childs thought her one of the best thriller writers to emerge in recent times.  High praise indeed.

Are you, like me, a trifle bored with all the macho male heroes protagonists that litter the current crop of best sellers?  If so Charlie Fox is a breath of fresh air.  Feisty as I said and not always charming, she takes life full on and faithfully stands by her friends and in this case, her charge even when it looks as if she is facing death herself.

So I settled down to read this book – First Drop.  Charlie Fox is a British ex-soldier, has taught self-defence  and now is a Bodyguard.  In this novel she is tasked with minding the 15 year old Trey, son of a computer programmer.  What starts out as a disappointing assignment for her, rapidly turns into a fight for her life, the life of her charge and her lover.  Swift page turning and I couldn’t put it down.

I had almost finished the book when I realised it was getting dark (around 5pm) and Lotte hadn’t had a walk yet.  So reluctantly I left the book at page 343 of 373 pages and did what any self-respecting dog owner does, I took my dog out for her walk.  And her delight more than compensated for the fact that I hadn’t finished the book.  But of course, once I returned, I finished it. 

I understand that there are 8 9 Charlie Fox mysteries and while I can’t quite work out the order in which they were written, it is clear that each one stands alone and so one can start reading anywhere in the series.  However, I read Killer Instinct first and this is the book that gives Charlie’s background and in some way, helps to understand why she does what she does.  I certainly recommend this author to you if you are looking for something a little different.

“You know you’ve read a good book when you turn the last page and feel a little as if you have lost a friend.”
Paul Sweeney

Footnote – Can you believe that I received a comment from Zoe Sharp (see below) and she has linked back to this post from her website.

34 responses to “Saturday Again

  1. I’ll look out for Zoe Sharp next time I’m in a bookshop. I’m a bit obsessive about reading books in order and I get fed up when the writer doesn’t make it obvious.
    But right now I’ve got a dog that needs walking too!

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    • Thanks Susan. I too like to know the order the books are written but in this case it doesn’t seem to matter. I hope you and your dog enjoyed the walk. We did, 🙂

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  2. Sounds like you had a realy relaxing day. I’ve googled to try and find you a publishing list, and sort of come up with the book order for you … http://www.elizabethawhite.com/2012/03/06/meet-charlie-fox-by-zoe-sharp/
    It’s a blog interview but I’m still not sure how to put a link into a comment so I hope it works by the copy and paste method. 🙂

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  3. sounds like a marvelous day indeed. Well, except for the deep concern for your friend. I’m going to check out this series of books. I’ve become quite bored with my fiction choices lately. Thank goodness I download from library and haven’t paid money for the last couple of months!

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    • Thanks Joss. Follow Sallyann’s link above to find out the sequence of the books and a little more about Zoe and her protagonist Charlie Fox. I too am getting my books from the library. No cost and now I have little space to store books so it is a win win situation.

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  4. I agree with the Sweeney quote. I usually read about a dozen pages a day as I am busy with other things so it takes a while. The characters become a part of your life and I too feel like there is something missing in my day when I finish the book. .

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  5. Charlie Fox sounds like a wonderful protagonist. I love strong, feisty female characters. Glad you ahd lovely day reading in bed. (Glad Loti got her walk too!) Love the quote and will borrow it. Hugs from Canada. XO

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  6. Love your description of this book, and “swift page turning.” Sounds good. Glad Lotte got her walk. 🙂

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    • We both enjoyed our walk and yesterday I took another Charlie Fox book from our library. Will start it tonight. 🙂
      And I have just caught up with Andy’s travels. I will look forward to seeig how he does in Iowa. 🙂

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  7. Great 6WS!

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  8. Since I like Lee Childs, I think I might like these mysteries. I’ll have to try them. Thanks for the recommendation, Judith.

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    • Look at Sallyann’s comment above. The link she posted gives you the order in which the books were written. But in any event start with Killer Instinct if you can. 🙂

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  9. Hi Judith
    Thank you so much for a fabulous review of FIRST DROP. I’m delighted that you enjoyed the book. There is a full list of the Charlie Fox books, in order, on my website – http://www.zoesharp.com – and I’ve tried to include the order of the books as part of the titles on Amazon. Sorry for the confusion – it’s a long story. Thank you to everyone who’s commented, too, and I hope you’ll give Charlie a whirl.
    Pass on my apologies to Lotte and I hope she enjoyed her belated walk 🙂

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    • Thank you so much for reading and commenting Zoe. I am in total awe of somebody who can write as you do. I have now read only two of the books but have taken another 2 from the library – Hard Knocks and Road Kill, As I have downsized to a very small house I have little room to store books and our library is great.
      And thanks for the list. As I said each book is stand alone but I quite like to read them in order. Looking forward to a long, lovely read. 😛

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  10. Hi Judith

    Thank you for the kind words! I’m also looking to downsize and am having to be ruthless with my library, sadly. I do hope you enjoy the other books – I’m a huge supporter of libraries. One of the characters in FIRST DROP (the FBI agent Andrew Till) is actually one of the librarians from the library in Lancaster, UK. They were so enthusiastic when KILLER INSTINCT first came out that I wrote Andrew into the book as a thank you.

    Give Lotte a hug from me 🙂

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    • Hello again Zoe. And thanks for linking back to my blog from your website.
      I love libraries and can spend hours just browsing around looking for new authors. I think that one of the librarians had placed Killer Instinct in the librarians choice area. I am so glad that she did.
      Lotte is a black Tibetan Spaniel, my companion and friend. As she weighs only 4.5 kgs she can go most places with me and does. She appreciated the hug, thank you. 😛

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      • Zoe’s comment about her appreciation for libraries to the point of including a librarian in one of her stories is wonderful. I appreciate her generosity, and I will definitely pick up a book (or two) of hers to enjoy.

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  12. Wow Judith, not only a perfect day (reading something you love) but actually hear from the author! Zoe’s books sound delicious so I am off to find and read!

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  13. This is very true: “You know you’ve read a good book when you turn the last page and feel a little as if you have lost a friend.”
    Paul Sweeney

    I am impressed you finished the book in one day, Judith. Sometimes, if the book pulls me in and I love it, I have a hard time finishing it, because I do not want it to end. Just as Paul noted, I would be saying goodbye to a friend.

    I look forward to reading Zoe’s books.

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    • Well it was a nothing day with nothing else planned and so I took the opportunity offered. I know how yu feel about ending a book but there are others still to be read in the series, and others I am sure still to be written by Zoe. 🙂

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  14. Thank you again everyone for your lovely comments. It was such a delight to discover Judith’s blog.

    And I’m writing as fast as I can, btw! I’ve just finished a standalone supernatural thriller that’s been pestering me for years; have another standalone to edit before that goes out this summer; edits are now returned for the next Charlie Fox, DIE EASY, which is out in October, and I’m currently planning the first in a trilogy with a character I used in a short story a little while ago.

    Sleep, I’ve found, is very overrated …

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