Mystery Book Reviews

Book Review: Second Shot

By Sandy Amazeen Sep 4, 2007, 3:01 GMT

London based ex-army bodyguard, Charlie Fox has to put her past behind her when she agrees to accompany Simone Kerse and young daughter Ella to Boston. Thanks to a winning lottery ticket, Simone has become a multimillionaire in the midst of a problematic divorce, just the sort of thing the media thrives on hence the need for a bodyguard. Simone decided to spare no expense in tracking down her father, a man she barely remembers so when his trail was picked up around the Boston area, it seemed like a great way of escaping the London press. Charlie finds protecting Simone and Ella challenging in part, because Simone refuses to believe there is any danger and is resentful of the expense. When the private investigator Simone hired is killed in a car accident she is willing to believe the police reports but Charlie suspects there is more to the story, especially after meeting the stranger claiming to be the father.

Twists, turns and dangerous undercurrents keep the pace lively, the action fresh and the story on track. The opening is unusual as it picks up in the middle with Charlie dying of gunshot wounds in a snowbank, the tale then flashbacks to that first meeting with Simone. Recovering from the shooting with her self confidence in tatters, Charlie will do whatever it takes to keep Ella from harm, no matter what the cost. An excellent follow-up to First Drop that paves the way for several more stories to come as Charlie and her sometime love interest, Sean establish a New York base of operation.