Zoë Sharp and Charlie Fox are names I want to come across in fiction again and again. Charlie is ex-military, great with a gun and has learned to protect herself from bodily harm. She works for an ex-military man she also happens to love. In SECOND SHOT, Charlie's company has accepted a job protecting a young woman, Simone, and her daughter from her ex-boyfriend or anyone who might want to get their hands on them due to her winning millions on a lottery. Simone wants to leave London for the United States in search of her long-lost father. She doesn't want a bodyguard at all, but her banker is demanding it. She's agreed to have Charlie accompany her. Charlie has bad memories from her last visit to the U.S., but being the trooper that she is, she puts her feelings aside in order to do her job and agrees to travel to New England with Simone and her daughter.

While in the U.S., Simone doesn't listen to Charlie's advice, letting emotions cloud her judgment. They don't have to look far for Simone's father, who actually finds them. He conveniently shows up at their hotel after trying so hard not to be found for 20 years. But his story doesn't add up for Charlie. She implores Simone to be cautious. Reluctantly, Simone agrees to keep her wealth under wraps until she's sure, by DNA testing, that her father is truly who he says he is. Otherwise, Simone could care less what Charlie has to say.

Things are not as they seem and before long, danger creeps up on them. Not wanting Simone's four-year-old to witness Charlie doing her job, Charlie makes decisions that could mean the difference between living or dying. There's some question as to whether Charlie has it in her to do her job -- would she kill to protect her principal if need be? Some say she hesitates -- and hesitating can be a fatal error.

SECOND SHOT is the second book in the Charlie Fox series introduced here in the United States. The first word in chapter one hooked me until I excitedly arrived at the last word in the story. Danger abounds in SECOND SHOT, as well as the mystery and thrill of the plot. Zoë Sharp has an excellent understanding of her characters, revealing their internal strengths and weaknesses with exceptional ease. Charlie Fox is a true heroine, someone who fights her own conscience to decide if her actions are just and qualified. A woman, however, who's unafraid to do whatever it takes to protect her employers. Zoë Sharp has joined my must-read list. She definitely has me for an American fan.