Customer Reviews

First Drop

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Sexy British ex-soldier and Bodyguard Charlie Fox is in Florida, guarding fifteen year old Trey Pelzner, son of software geek Keith Pelzner, who has designed a program that will set stock trading on its ears. She's not very happy about being stuck with the openly hostile lad, but when someone tries to kidnap him at an amusement park, she realizes she's really going to earn her money as she barely gets away with her charge, dodging bullets all the way. Now it looks like the bad guys want her and Trey dead and Charlie isn't keen on dying.

She leaves Trey safely at a diner, goes to the house where they had been staying, only to find her boss and ex-lover Sean Meyer gone. All her and Trey's belongings and clothing are missing as well. The only thing she finds is Sean's pistol under his mattress. She believes the worst. She'd thought she'd lost Sean, thought she'd found him and now again he is lost to her. But she has a job to do. She has been charged with guarding Trey and nothing will stop her from doing that. It's spring break and they head to Orlando where they sleep on the beach. In the morning they are attacked. It won't be the last time in this thriller where Charlie has to defend and protect Trey. But from who? And why?

I can't say how much I enjoyed this book. Plenty of shoot-outs. Lots of double crossing, high tech good and bad guys too. There is action and adventure here. Plus I didn't come close to figuring out the ending. And to make it even better, I really like a book with a strong female character and Charlie is one tough cookie. Dirk Pitt and Indiana Jones look out.

I'm working my way thru the Charlie Fox Mysteries. So far, First Drop is the weakest link. It's a good read, but not a great read. If you are just starting the Charlie Fox Mysteries, Riot Act and Hard Knocks are much better.

Zoe Sharp does a good job describing the Florida landscape. I just didn't care for Charlie being in the U.S. I also thought the American character dialects and slang were a bit off. I really missed the characters that appear in other Charlie Fox books...Sean and Madeline. Anyways, Sharp stays true to form in First Drop with clever dialog and vivid action scenes.

I will continue to read the books in this series and recommend them. You can start with any book as each one is written as a stand-alone. However, Charlie is someone you'll want to know from the beginning.

My rating system: *Crapfest,**Very Disappointing, ***Decent, ****Good book, *****Excellent will give copies to friends

OK, I confess, the cover art had me from the get-go. Instead of some variation on the standard "damsel in distress", First Drop's says "go ahead, make my day...". Fed up with fem jep? Had enough of women in thrillers as victims/targets/cardboard cutouts? Check out First Drop.

Because the best news is that Zoe Sharp has crafted not only a compelling female action sleuth, which is something unusual right there, but given her a twisting, turning lightning fast plot in which to shine. This is a classic, high octane thriller that I could not put down until the last page. You'll be hearing more about the Fox in this henhouse!

Bristling with action, brimming with heart, and bound up with a sardonic English take on South Florida--you may not read a more entertaining book this year.

I really enjoyed this book. Charlie Fox is an intelligent, highly-trained, highly-competent bodyguard, though through it all she remains recognizably human and flawed. This book is funny, intense, and thought-provoking. Sharp provided details throughout the book that (for me, at least) ended up making sense only when things were winding down. I like it when an author can pace a mystery so that the revelation of how things happened never feels improbable or faked. This book made me really excited to read the next two books in the series, and after having finished those, I can say for certain that I am glad I did!

I came across the name Zoe Sharp and character, Charlie Fox, on a list of books about "chicks who kick butt". I read the reviews and when I heard that Charlie Fox was like a female Jack Reacher I was sold. I went out immediately and bought both books available in the US. Paying full price for both, one in hardcover. A decision I sincerely regret now.

I began reading "First Drop" and was quickly disappointed. Charlie couldn't touch Jack Reacher on his worst day. Within a couple of chapters, she was bawling her eyes out over a possible lost comrade.Okay, not so bad. A valid reaction. However, in less than the first 100 pages, I'd lost count of the number of times Charlie was on the verge throwing up from the circumstances. Also, in less than the first 100 pages, I'd lost count of how many times Charlie was shaking from nervousness or stress.

As for Sharp's writing being as good a Lee Child's, in less than the first 60 pages, I'd lost count of the number of times Charlie noted the weather. It's hot and humid in Florida relative to England. I get it already. Is the weather the reason Charlie can't seem to come up with a plan commensurate with her background and training (British Special Forces)? It's too hot to think?

So I tried to get past my disappointment over this not being like Lee Child's work. As hard as I tried I couldn't help: One, feeling lost over the character. It's unfortunate that the first 2 (?) Charlie Fox books were not widely published in the US and difficult if not impossible to get. I think a great deal of character development of Charlie has been lost. Two, and more importantly, I was bored to tears.

I can get through a Jack Reacher novel in a few days, reading during my commute alone. It's been nearly 10 days, and I'm still only on page 154. And I can't muster up the energy or care to keep reading. (If I ever do finish and/or read the "Second Shot", I'll add an update and/or new review.)

In addition, the Charlie presented here is not all that likeable. She spends a great deal of time disliking and mentally berating the "brat" she's protecting. A 15 yr old kid who she recognizes as having serious issues, notably one parent possibly having murdered the other. On top of that, the best plan she can come up with while on the run is to meet up with the said "brat's" TEENAGE friends and hide out with them. Oh, yeah, she turns down the help of a retired FBI agent because the bad guys are so dangerous. Yet, she continues on with the plan of meeting up with the teenagers. Huh?

At one point, she gets angry with "the brat" because he didn't tell her he had a cell phone, cuz then she could have called for help from friends in England. What? She never heard of a pay phone? Okay, they can be hard to find these days. She has a roll of cash, she ever think she could pay a hotel, restaurant, bar, or some other public place to make a long distance call? To top it off, all of the kids are blocked from making long distance phone calls. So she must resort to business email on a weekend for which she must now wait and wait for a reply. Good grief!

Oh yeah, in less than those 150 pages that I did read, I lost count of the number of times Charlie acted against her instincts to her detriment. Wow, what a lazy way to build tension.

Charlie may be able to kick butt, but she seems clueless about tactics and strategy. Her best act of misdirection was an accident.

It's only been 2-3 weeks. I wonder where I tossed that receipt?

Zoë is awesome to begin with... I was so happy that her 4th book finally got a US publisher so the US can read her series. If you read this book and love it, she has 4 others, but the problem is they are only published as of now in the UK. But the good news is that amazon.co.uk has them and you can still order through amazon... so check out her website for her other books... http://www.zoesharp.com/
First Drop brings her main character Charlie Fox who is a private detective working with her former commander from the army. He hires her for his agency as a bodyguard. She is brought with Sean over to guard a family, when things go awry and she ends up on the run with the teenage son of the family she is guarding. There are many twists and turns and it keeps you on the edge of your seat. I couldn't put the book down; when I had to I couldn't wait until I could get back to it.

Charlie Fox and her ex-lover, Sean, have been hired to protect a wealthy computer programmer and his 14-year-old son, Trey. While at an amusement park, someone tries to shoot Trey. Charlie get them safely back to the house, only to find everyone, including the father and Sean. Everything has been removed, except Sean's gun. Charlie and Trey go on the run, not knowing who to trust, believing Sean is dead and knowing some of the bad guys are cops.

This is a book that is exciting from page one all the way through to the end. Charlie is a great character; she's smart and tough but definitely has her demons. Trey is a very believable 14-year-old boy with all the insolence and naiveté teens can have. The action is fast, the emotions are true, the sense of place very well done--you definitely know they are in Florida--and the dialogue is true to the ear. This was a terrific book in a really good series.

It's supposed to be a boondoggle. Charlie Fox's boyfriend is on assignment in Florida and he wangles her a job working security for the software company that's hired him. Her assignment, guarding the teenaged son of a star programmer, is annoying because the kid is a bit of a jerk, but she's out of cold England, enjoying the Florida sunshine, and able to spend the nights with her boyfriend--or at least that's the plan. But the plan goes very badly astray when someone tries to grab the kid at an amusement park--and opens fire.

Unsure of who she can trust, fingered by someone as responsible for the killings herself, and alone in a foreign country, Charlie and Trey go on the run. When she tries to make contact with her employer, instead of help, more gunmen come after her. When she tries to find her boyfriend, she learns that he has disappeared, along with Trey's father. Charlie is dedicated to her job, but there's only so much one woman can do--and it would sure be easier if the kid she's supposed to guard wasn't such an annoying punk.

Gradually, Charlie unravells some of the truth--that the software program is important, and could motivate murder, that there are multiple factions seeking the secret of the program, and that she's been set up as the scapegoat in whatever happens. Staying alive long enough to take advantage of what she's learned is going to be a challenge, though.

Author Zoe Sharp plunges Charlie Fox from one danger to the next, barely giving the reader a chance to breathe. Readers may not be too surprised by some of the twists and turns that the plot takes, and there are a few cases where we wonder how a woman as sharp as Charlie didn't see things coming, but overall FIRST DROP is an enjoyable story.

Charlie Fox is a Brit body guard on her first assignment in America. The story opens fast and pulls you in but quickly goes flat. The core problem is the author hasn't a clue how things work in the US. These errors may go unnoticed by her British readers but for an American it is tormenting.

1. Cops in America never pull over a suspected armed killer with just one cop - never.
2. Charlie is always lamenting being low on ammo for her Sig automatic. Didn't the author know that Florida is the most gun friendly state in the US and ammo can be purchased by anyone over 21 and without an ID?
3. Cell phone calls to a US phone from outside the area are not 'local'. If Charlie needs a phone so bad, why not go to Walmart and buy a prepaid phone for $50 with that wad of cash in her pocket. No ID is required.
4. Believe it or not, a massive shoot out in a residential area would cause the neighborhood to be flooded with swat teams in two minutes. In this book people are shot in the head and shotguns are going off and there's not a peep. Spare me, please.
5. What professional bodyguard in their right mind would tell a group of 15 year olds about being wanted by the cops and share details of her shootings. What, like these kids wouldn't blab it to everyone in 3 minutes - not in this book apparently. The kids just tag along for days - totally unrealistic.
6. You don't aim a pistol to shoot someone in the head from across a roadway. First, you'll almost certainly miss. Any shooter or military person knows you aim for the center of body mass. Apparently Charlie Fox was never taught that in her army commando or body guard training. Good grief!
7. I could never understand why Charlie didn't just call the cops at several points in the story. She has nothing to gain by dragging a kid around Florida because there's no plot problem to be solved. Bad guys show up and it's not clear why or how. Charlie Fox struck me as an incompetent.

I finally had to end my misery and close this book. Here's my take. The author seems to have visited America once to visit Disney World and used that location for her story. Her character seems to have a strange need to impress teenage boys - ignored in school by the same twirpy brats?

The author has writing skills and can move a plot along. She needs better life experience in the plot locale to write a believeable story. First Drop may sell in England where everyone is disarmed, watched 24/7 on all those stupid cameras they have everywhere and who get their ideas about American culture and cops from US TV shows.

That's enough on First Drop. Drop it back on the shelf and don't be tempted to read it.