Professionally, she’s at the top of her game, but her personal life is in ruins. Her lover, bodyguard Sean Meyer, has woken from a gunshot-induced coma with his memory in tatters. It seems that piecing back together their relationship is proving harder for him than relearning the intricacies of the close-protection business.

Working with Sean again was never going to be easy for Charlie, either, but a celebrity fundraising event in aid of still-ravaged areas of New Orleans should have been the ideal opportunity for them both to take things nice and slow.

Until, that is, they are thrust into the middle of a war zone.

When an ambitious robbery explodes into a deadly hostage situation, the motive may be far more complex than simple greed. Somebody has a major score to settle, and Sean is part of the reason. Only trouble is, he doesn’t remember why.

And when Charlie finds herself facing a nightmare from her own past, she realises she can’t rely on Sean to watch her back. This time, she’s got to fight it out on her own.

One thing’s for sure − no matter how overwhelming the odds stacked against her, Charlie Fox is never going to die easy . . .

‘Zoë Sharp is one of the sharpest, coolest, and most intriguing writers I know. She delivers dramatic, action-packed novels, with characters we really care about. And once again, in Die Easy, Zoë Sharp is at the top of her game.’ New York Times best-selling author, Harlan Coben.

‘Ill-tempered, aggressive and borderline psychotic, (Charlie) Fox is also compassionate, introspective and highly principled: arguably one of the most enigmatic − and coolest − heroines in contemporary genre fiction.’ Paul Goat Allen, Chicago Tribune.

‘I’d give anything to have a character of mine described in the way Zoë Sharp’s Charlie Fox, a former special-forces operative and present-day freelance lethal weapon, is described in the critical excerpt above. It’s high praise and it implies the complexity of what Sharp achieves. If I were asked to characterize her writing in a single adjective the one I’d choose would probably be “cool.” In a world where lots of people act cool, Zoë Sharp’s books are cool.

‘But as the review implies, they’re not only cool. They’re razor sharp, deeply felt, and heartbreakingly immediate. These are action thrillers about a woman who works as a bodyguard, frequently trying to protect women, and there’s no cheapening the central issue of violence (often against women) as a means to an end. In fact, by wrapping this societal cancer in noirish, kickass, often funny thrillers, written in coolly polished prose, Sharp can take societal violence farther and hit it harder than many so-called literary writers. And do it in language that’s almost poetic in its economy and impact.

‘Zoë Sharp is one of the writers whose books I open with a bit of reluctance in case the new one isn’t up to the earlier ones, because they’re that good. And Fox’s attitude is contagious. When a writer can get The New York Times to say, “The bloody bar fights are bloody brilliant,” she’s doing something very, very right.’ Edgar-nominee Timothy Hallinan, in his introduction to Making Story: Twenty-One Writers on How They Plot.

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ABSENCE OF LIGHT

a Charlie Fox novella

Absence of Light is a novella featuring Zoë Sharp’s highly acclaimed ex-Special Forces turned bodyguard heroine, Charlotte ‘Charlie’ Fox.

A major earthquake sees Charlie Fox on a transport plane headed for the scene of devastation.

The way things are coming apart at home with Sean Meyer, she welcomes the chance to get away.

Tasked as security advisor to the specialist team at the centre of relief efforts, Charlie knows it won’t be easy. The team members are willing to put themselves in constant danger as a matter of course. But what kind of other risks are they prepared to take? As Charlie soon discovers, it’s not just the ground beneath her feet that cannot be relied on. The members of the tight-knit group are suspicious of her presence and privately she admits they have every right to be.

Told that her predecessor died during their last outing in South America, she’s been instructed to quietly investigate if his death was as accidental as the official verdict suggests. If it was an accident, why are they so obviously lying to her?

Charlie must move with care through a shifting landscape to find the answers before there are more than just earthquake victims buried in the rubble. And when disaster strikes she will learn not only who she can trust, but if she can she survive the darkness that comes with a total absence of light.

‘Ill-tempered, aggressive and borderline psychotic, Fox is also compassionate, introspective and highly principled: arguably one of the most enigmatic – and coolest – heroines in contemporary genre fiction.’ Paul Goat Allen, Chicago Tribune

‘This five-pack collection of short stories [FOX FIVE] is about as good as it gets in the crime thriller genre. Protagonist Charlie Fox is a truly memorable – not to mention formidable – heroine. Author Sharp writes cleanly, cleverly, and convincingly.’ Wayne D Dundee, author of the Joe Hannibal series

‘If you don't like Zoë Sharp there's something wrong with you. Go and live in a cave and get the hell out of my gene pool! There are few writers who go right to the top of my TBR pile – Zoë Sharp is one of them.’ Stuart MacBride

‘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.’ Gayle Lynds

‘Sharp deserves a genre all her own – if you are just discovering Zoë Sharp then you are in for a real treat.’ Jon Jordan, Crimespree Magazine

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FOX FIVE

Charlie Fox short story collection

FOX FIVE is a collection of stories by the highly acclaimed crime thriller writer, Zoë Sharp. All feature her ex-Special Forces soldier turned self-defence expert and bodyguard, Charlotte ‘Charlie’ Fox.

‘Ill-tempered, aggressive and borderline psychotic, Fox is also compassionate, introspective and highly principled: arguably one of the most enigmatic – and coolest – heroines in contemporary genre fiction.’ Paul Goat Allen, Chicago Tribune

In A Bridge Too Far, we meet Charlie before she’s become a professional in the world of close protection. When she agrees to hang out with the local Dangerous Sports Club, she has no idea it will soon live up to its name.

Postcards From Another Country has Charlie guarding the ultra-rich Dempsey family against attempted assassination – no matter where the danger lies.

A finalist for the CWA Short Story Dagger, Served Cold puts another tough woman centre stage – the mysterious Layla, with betrayal in her past and murder in her heart.

Off Duty finds Charlie taking time away from close protection after injury. She still finds trouble, even in an out-of-season health spa in the Catskill Mountains.

And finally, Truth And Lies puts all Charlie’s skills and ingenuity to the test as she has to single-handedly extract a news team from a rapidly escalating war zone.

‘The author, who has written, among other things, nine books in the acclaimed Charlie Fox series, has now published in e-book form what she terms an “e-thology” a collection of five short stories, and an excellent addition it surely is . . .