BOOK REVIEW - ZOE SHARP: THIRD STRIKE

Third Strike by Zoë Sharp
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Zoe Sharp certainly hasn't lost her edge with #7 in the Charlie Fox series.  Taut drama, tight prose, plot twists and action jumping out on every page, Third Strike is a must read for anyone who loves action and suspense.

When someone sets off a wad of plastique (figuratively speaking) in Charlie's father's reputation, Charlie doesn't take it lying down.  Regardless of how they feel about each other, in Charlie's world... you don't f**k with family!  Not if you want to walk away without serious physical impairment... or worse!

I won't give away the surprise at the end, but it does make me want to jump right into the next in the series, Fourth Day.  I should probably go back and pick up the one's I missed though... Killer Instinct - Zoe's incredible debut novel - is the only other one I've read so far.  Trust me... I will remedy that!

If you're already a fan of Zoe's writing, nothing I say here will surprise you... you know already... and if you're not?  What are you waiting for?

Now, I'm off to see where I can find Riot Act.

Thank you, Zoe, for some of the best writing in the genre I have come across in a long while, and an absolutely unforgettable character in Charlie Fox.

I recommend Third Strike whole-heartedly.


Veronica Marie Lewis-Shaw
16 March 2013
Cannon Beach, Oregon

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BOOK REVIEW - RON DIONNE: SAD JINGO

Sad Jingo by Ron Dionne
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In Sad Jingo, Ron Dionne takes the reader on a journey through the dark secrets of two lost souls, through the valleys of their depression as they search for something that is just out of their reach. He explores the psychology of desire for success and the fear of that success.

Jingo and Diane don’t know each other; their lives are worlds apart. But Jingo and Diane share a secret, one that Diane desperately wishes to remain so and one that Jingo is unaware he has.

Jingo wants to be a great musician, like his idol Thelonious Monk, but he is impatient and prone to rash decisions. In some ways, Jingo’s mind never really left age 13, with all its fears and uncertainties about life, and now he struggles to live in a ‘grown-up’ world, unaware that the consequences of his actions are like ripples on a pond and others will suffer as he struggles for something his mind refuses to accept he can’t have.

For Diane, a published writer with a very successful novel, that isn’t enough. She is all too aware that her success is like a house of cards built on shifting sand, waiting for a wind to come and blow it down.

Jingo is that wind.

Can two broken people find healing in each other? Or, will they only inflict more damage on themselves and, catching those closest to them in the maelstrom of their deceits, hurt those they care about the most?

I’m going to stop there because I don’t want any spoilers. Sad Jingo is a well-written story, with a building suspense that keeps the reader engaged. I would recommend this book to anyone.

Thank you.


Veronica Marie Lewis-Shaw
4 February 2013
Cannon Beach, Oregon


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