Not going to continue. I don't like the change of narrator and it will just ruin the series which I enjoyed up to now. Pest. ( )

Charlie Fox is hired to protect Blake Dyer at a benefit in New Orleans to raise money for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Her ex-lover Sean Meyer is still recovering from being shot in the head and is confused about his supporting role in the assignment. After nearly being killed by a SAM flying over New Orleans to survey the damage, the benefit party does badly wrong when the riverboat is hijacked and Charlie/Sean cross paths with one of the Army guys who raped Charlie. Sean's memory lapses also play a central role in the book as the primary celebrity and he have a history together. Zoe Sharp has written another tight, suspenseful, action-packed thriller.

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One of my reading goals for last year was to read more UK authors and belatedly I’ve picked up one from Zoe Sharp which qualifies and more importantly is actually absolutely excellent. Maybe my perspective on it owes more to its setting in post-Katrina New Orleans than its author’s nationality but when you find yourself gripping the book tighter as the tension ramps up you know the author has gotten you hooked (even if doing this on a Kindle doesn’t have quite the same effect as with a real paper book!).

At one point I took a breath and said to myself “this is like Die Hard on a freaking boat!” Remember the first Die Hard film, the best one – the first time you saw it on the big screen. And then while getting ready to write my review I jumped over to the author’s website here where she describes this as being her personal version of “Die Hard” – well, Ms. Sharp you nailed it!

Being the 10th book in a series there is the potential to have to know the characters’ backstory in order to fully appreciate the current work but, while the backstory is alluded to, it is always in just sufficient detail to give you what you need to know in order to move the current story along and never seems to become intrusive.

There’s a great opening, dropping the reader straight into a shootout where our heroine is unarmed and vulnerable but given a little misdirection all is not as it first appears. My one minor gripe would be the use of foreshadowing in the text which is a literary device I’m not terribly fond of but even that faded into the background as I became more immersed into the overall pull of the narrative. Aside from that the tension of the book is excellent and the action scenes jump off the page and Charlie Fox as a lead character is certainly appealing while the complications of her relationship with Sean both professional and personal are well laid out.

My rating is 10 out of 10. The only question is do I start at the beginning or do I work backwards? There are more advantages than usual to working forwards apart from the usual chronology in that there are two ebook collections available. A TRIPLE SHOT of Charlie Fox is a special e-boxed set of the first three novels in the Charlie Fox series ―KILLER INSTINCT, RIOT ACT, and HARD KNOCKS (Kindle, Kindle UK). While ANOTHER ROUND of Charlie Fox is a special e-boxed set of the second three novels in the Charlie Fox series ―FIRST DROP, ROAD KILL, and SECOND SHOT (Kindle).

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I tend to read a fair share of books, around 200 a year, and I will admit to a snobbish preference for series characters. The norm in reading a higher percentage of thrillers and mysteries is that the men protagonists tend to outnumber the females, especially when it comes to the rough and tumble. Yes I admit to watching Tomb Raider, all the time shaking my head in the knowledge that the action sequences were unbelievable. A 140lb woman swinging at the jaw of a 245lb man and decking him tends more toward the fantasy realm.

This is where Zoë Sharp’s character Charlie Fox succeeds. Using wit, firepower, and jujitsu moves we are immersed in the world of personal protection specialists through Charlie’s eyes.

In this recent escapade, Charlie and her long-term partner Sean are asked to provide protection for a previous client during a gala fund-raiser in New Orleans on behalf of Katrina victims. Charlie is hesitant to offer Sean a spot on the team as he coming off rehabilitation after recovering from a gunshot wound that left him in a coma for 4 months. Close to his physical prowess at the time of the shooting, it’s his memories and thoughts that have suffered the largest setback, leaving Charlie confused and second-guessing in critical situations. The person she’s tried to emulate and live up to has suddenly reverted to an unknown.

Throw in money, missiles, plenty of spent brass, and revenge and we have the makings of an un-put-down-able book. I stayed up way past my bedtime to finish Die Easy, and worth every minute of lost sleep. This is the best of the series thus far and I am already anticipating the next book from Zoë. ( )