Crime Report by Donna Moore (Mystery Women)

Published in the April 2006 edition of Mystery Women magazine
and reproduced with kind permission.

We first meet the series heroine, Charlie Fox, in Killer Instinct. Charlie has a rather chequered past as an ex Special Forces trainee in the army. She and the army parted company on a not particularly amicable basis, and when we meet her Charlie is a part-time self-defence instructor.

In Killer Instinct, Charlie accompanies her friend Clare to a karaoke night at the New Adelphi Club. When Clare demonstrates that she is a far better singer than the reigning champion, Susie Hollins, Susie starts a fight. Charlie gets involved and, when Susie is found murdered only hours later, the police want to interview Charlie. It becomes clear that Susie was raped before she was murdered, and there may be a link with a previous brutal rape in the area. When Charlie is offered a job at the New Adelphi as a bouncer she becomes drawn into the investigation.

By book three Charlie has taken up bodyguarding and close protection work, where her military training is invaluable and her temperament is suited to the rather violent, tense, adrenaline rush of the job. She is adept at both armed and unarmed combat and rides a big-ass motorbike. She’s a fighter, in all senses of the word, but she doesn't rush headlong into trouble, and is extremely capable of resolving a situation without violence - having a quick brain and a ready wit.

But Charlie has her troubles and is somewhat of an outsider - in the army, in the mostly male working environment she finds herself in, and she is isolated from the lives of people going on around her. She suffered a horrendous experience in the army. She may be strong, independent, and a survivor, but the scars - both mental and physical - are still there. She has a vulnerable side, which Zoë Sharp reveals little by little throughout the series. Charlie is most definitely a character who grows and develops as the series progresses. She knows her own weaknesses, but it doesn't stop her making mistakes. Despite her prickly side, Charlie is a character who it is a pleasure to get to know. She can be one of the lads, and is more likely to worry about whether her handbag will hold a gun than her make-up bag (if she even possesses such a thing), yet there is also something very feminine about her. She would make a good friend who would watch your back, tell you the truth, and be there as a shoulder to cry on or for a good laugh. A truly original character.

The books are pacy thrillers with plenty of action and the changing settings are always interesting.

Zoë is currently working on the sixth book in the series, Second Shot, which is partly set in New Hampshire and Boston. Next up is a non-Charlie Fox book - a police procedural set in the Lake District.

Her website is: http://www.zoesharp.com
where, as well as information on the series, Zoë blogs at home and on tour.

CRIME REPORT by Donna Moore

CRIME REPORT
by Donna Moore