Hard Knocks

I introduced you all to Zoe Sharp and her feisty protagonist Charlie Fox a few days ago.  My addiction to Charlie is growing and I found that I was still reading at 1.15am this morning.  Far too late when at this late stage in my life I need all the beauty sleep I can get!

Anyway, I finished Hard Knocks on Sunday night but wanted to think on it before writing a review.  So here goes –

In this, the third in the series, Charlie is reluctantly spending Christmas with her disapproving parents as her apartment was trashed in a fire.  Into the strained atmosphere comes a call for help from her friend and lover Sean Meyer.  He sends his assistant to tell Charlie that an ex army “buddy” has been killed while on a mission for Sean.  Charlie doesn’t care about the dead “buddy” but for various reasons, not the least to get away from her parents, she agrees to go to Germany to discover how he died.

To do this she has to enrol in a course in close protection work in Germany; this is where Kirk (the dead ex soldier) was prior to his death.    The school is run by a Major Gilby and various (rather dodgy) instructors and it is soon clear to Charlie that they are hiding something.  She of course, sets out to discover what.  She eventually of course, discovers that they are involved in a series of kidnappings with somewhat disastrous results as stronger, more powerful forces are at work here also.

As the novel progresses we learn more about the various characters that people the story and some more about the mysterious Sean to whom Charlie is strongly attracted but whom she also knows is a danger to her.

So more rapid page turning to an unexpected ending.  If you want to know about motor bikes, close protection work, the workings of convoluted minds, then this is a book for you.  Enjoy!

I have started the next in the series – Road Kill and have two more patiently waiting for me to get to them.  So expect my addiction to keep turning up in these blogs.

“A good book should leave you slightly exhausted at the end.  You live several lives while reading it.”
William Styron, interview, Writers at Work, 1958

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A new friend

I love making friends, either in person or more often recently, in the blogosphere.  And this happened earlier this week.

In Six Word Saturday last week, I wrote about Charlie Fox,  Zoe Sharp’s leading lady/protagonist.  Charlie Fox is a British ex-soldier, has taught self-defence  and in this book,  is a Bodyguard.  I reviewed the book “First Drop” telling how riveting the story was and how I sat all day reading.

Imagine my surprise and delight when one of those commenting on my blog was Zoe Sharp herself!  How cool is that? And after I responded to thank her she then posted another comment.  I am blown away that an author of this calibre would read my blog and also take the trouble to comment.  Oh I know she probably has a reader and a search tool or person for anything that mentions Charlie Fox or Zoe Sharp but still… You can read the post and Zoe’s comments by clicking here.

And as further icing on the cake, Zoe mentions my blog on her website – http://www.zoesharp.com/homepage.htm.  Thank you, thank you. 

Also on Zoe’s homepage is a snippet – “Word of the Week.  This week’s is anchorite, or anchoret, which means a man or woman who has withdrawn from the world especially for religious reasons; a recluse, from which we get anchorage, a recluse’s cell or a place to withdraw from the world.”  I haven’t come across this word before so not only have I a new friend, but also have learned a new word.  Thank you again Zoe.

And I am currently reading “Hard Knocks” so expect a review of this book very soon.

Temper is never the best thing to wear to a confrontation.  It has a nasty habit of disintegrating into tatters just when you need its protection most and the colour has never suited me.
Charlie Fox in Hard Knocks by Zoe Sharp

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