Publishers Weekly
In Sharp’s nail-biting ninth Charlie Fox thriller (after 2011’s Fourth Day), businesswoman Caroline Willner hires bodyguard Charlie to protect Dina, her 20-year-old daughter. Three young people from the same posh Long Island community as Dina have been held for ransom over the past year, with their wealthy parents paying the demands each time. Dina insists on mingling with the victims, who’ve formed a tight group, as well as with the brash Torquil Eisenberg, “the son and heir to a vast transportation empire,” despite Charlie’s suggestion of laying low. When another kidnapping attempt goes awry and yet another turns fatal, Charlie realizes there’s more going on than rich kids getting grabbed for money. As always, Sharp injects the plot with enough adrenaline to keep the pages flipping while maintaining the suspense over Charlie’s state of mind and the fate of her partner, Sean Meyer, who’s still in a coma three months after the shootout in Fourth Day. Agent: Jane Gregory. (Jan.)
From the Publisher
Anyone with a brain wants Charlie Fox for the girl next door. Funny, compassionate, and with moves that can--and do--kill, Charlie is the indelible creation of the remarkable Zoë Sharp. A kick-ass great read that will keep you riveted from page one.--Gayle Lynds, best-selling author of The Book of Spies
As action-packed and streamlined as the Suzuki the main character rides. Another sleek, sharp thriller.--David Morrell, best-selling author of First Blood and The Shimmer
Must reading for fans of action-packed, hard-edged thrillers.
Lee Goldberg
What you've got in your hands is a rare and special treat. Don’t let anyone tear it from your hands without drawing their blood.
Booklist (starred review)
Must reading for fans of action-packed, hard-edged thrillers.
Lee Child
Charlie Fox is the real deal.
David Morrell
Zoë Sharp has an apt last name. She delivers yet another sleek, sharp thriller.
Gayle Lynds
Anyone with a brain wants
Charlie Fox for the girl next door. Funny, compassionate, and with moves that can—and do—kill, Charlie is the indelible creation of the remarkable Zoë Sharp. A kick-ass great read that will keep you riveted from page one.
Booklist
Must reading for fans of action-packed, hard-edged thrillers.
Library Journal
Charlie Fox is a female bodyguard for hire. Her latest adventure (after Fourth Day) finds her tasked with protecting Dina, the daughter of a wealthy Long Island family and the target of a kidnapping ring preying on rich kids. As the list of kidnapping victims steadily grows longer, Charlie begins to realize that Dina and her friends may not all be innocent victims. As she struggles to figure out who is behind these crimes, she receives shocking news about her lover, Sean. The man who shot Sean and put him in a coma is on the loose. Charlie is suddenly faced with one of the toughest decisions of her life—go after Sean's shooter or remain loyal to her duties in protecting Dina. VERDICT Given the somewhat predictable story line, Sharp's novel falls short of expectations. Fans of the series will likely find this thriller appealing, but new readers unfamiliar with the recurring characters may be bored.—Amy M. Davis, Parmly Billings Lib., MT
MARCH 2012 - AudioFile
Someone is kidnapping the children of Long Island’s super-rich, all of whom are snotty, shallow, poorly educated, and without purpose. This is already a hard sell, plus Zoë Sharp’s idea of how Americans, even the very rich, talk and behave seems derived from bad television rather than from observation or actual thought about human nature. To overcome such deficits, the enterprise would have needed taut and persuasive plotting and a winning performance from the narrator to succeed, but both are lacking. The protagonist, Charlie Fox, girl bodyguard, is English, and Eyre’s British accent wavers from fake Belgravia to hints of Cockney but never gets the vowels right. Plus, Eyre’s delivery is without energy, a problem in a thriller. This is a pretty empty calorie. B.G. © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
The fifth entry in the Charlie Fox thriller series, Sharp delivers solid action and a nicely conflicted main character set against the backdrop of the extravagant world of the obscenely wealthy. Charlie Fox spent time in the British Army and underwent Special Forces training, but ended up in the Manhattan offices of a private security firm specializing in close personal protection. Her boyfriend, Sean, sustained grave injuries, chronicled in Sharp's previous novel, Fourth Day (2011), and remains in a coma. Charlie visits him every day, hoping to spark him into waking from his three-month sleep, but doctors aren't optimistic. In the meantime, there's a building attraction to another man that's worrisome. Meanwhile, Charlie has been assigned to guard a rich young woman named Dina. Dina lives in the Hamptons with her wealthy mother and spends her days riding her champion horses and attending social functions where people like the billionaire Eisenberg family throw down. Charlie's only one of many bodyguards who shadow the spoiled and shallow progeny of the very rich; a recent spate of kidnappings has made everyone jumpy and even more security conscious than ever. The kidnappers started with one young girl and worked their ways through the younger set, finally cutting off half the finger of one young heir. Now it looks like Dina may be next and her mother is determined that she remain safe, but Charlie's finding this one difficult. Between Dina's stubborn refusal to remain on her guard and the bad behavior of the crowd she wants to hang around with, Charlie must try and figure out who wants to snatch her young charge and when they will try. Sharp's fifth entry is as gritty and unapologetically dark and violent as her others, although the author tends to spout statistics that sound derived straight from a reference book. But Charlie is a likable-enough character, and while readers won't be surprised by the turn of events, they should be interested enough to want to stay until the end. A taut, dark thriller with plenty of action.
