Absence of Light : Charlie Fox Crime Mystery Thriller Series

“If Jack Reacher were a woman, he’d be Charlie Fox.” Lee Child

“The last thing they’ll do is get us out of here. Can’t afford to. We could tell too many stories. Stories they want to stay buried with us…”

A major earthquake sees ex-Special Forces soldier-turned-bodyguard Charlie Fox on a transport plane headed for the scene of devastation. Tasked as security advisor to the specialist team at the centre of relief efforts, Charlie knows the team members put themselves in constant danger as a matter of course. Her job is to find out what kind of other risks they’re prepared to take.

Her predecessor conveniently died while investigating rumours that the team were stealing from the dead. Now she’s been instructed to quietly uncover whether his death was as accidental as the official verdict suggests. Because, if it was an accident, why is everyone so obviously lying to her?

Charlie must seek answers amid the shifting and lawless landscape, before there are more than just earthquake victims buried in the rubble...

If you like Lee Child but have been looking for strong yet believable female protagonists, who will take down the bad guys without hesitation but who are still human enough to care, then bodyguard Charlie Fox is definitely for you. Readers have found books in this series action-packed thrill rides that kept them glued to the end, well-written, gritty, and hard to put down. A gripping page-turner.

Author’s Note:

This is Book #11 in the Charlie Fox series. Although I’ve tried hard to make each of the stories stand alone, inevitably Charlie’s history builds up over the course of the novels. If you are new to the series and want to know the full story of Charlie—how she began working with Sean Meyer after their time in the Army—then start at the beginning. If you’re more interested in Charlie’s career as a close-protection operative, then I’d recommend you begin with Book #4, FIRST DROP, when she and her teenage charge find themselves on the run during her first bodyguard job in Florida. 

★★★★★ PRAISE FOR ZOE SHARP AND CHARLIE FOX

*“I highly recommend this series!” Ian Rankin

*“Superb.” Ken Bruen

*“If you haven’t read Zoe’s books before, do yourself a favour and start now.” James Oswald

*"In Sharp’s crackling 11th thriller… the razor-edged action builds to a poignant closing twist.” Publishers Weekly

*"Zoe Sharp is at the top of her game." Harlan Coben 

*“One of the very best crime fiction sagas out there.” Paul Goat Allen, Chicago Tribune

★★★★★ READER REVIEWS

*“ABSENCE OF LIGHT is as fast-paced and action-packed as any of the Charlie Fox thrillers...  I'm a fan of the gutsy bodyguard, a woman who handles her work life brilliantly and brutally.”

*“Charlie Fox! Enough said.”

*“A tour de force of intrigue, skulduggery and hidden identities, with as much action as a Tom Cruise movie and some likeable people (and a dog!)”

*“An excellent thriller—the adventure doesn't let up from the first page.”

*“Sharp gets better and better. Gripping, as usual. More Charlie Fox, please.”

*“Gripping… Human nature and a natural disaster mixed up in a glorious romp—enjoy!”

*“A great Charlie Fox fix... Zoe Sharp has created a strong female character with Charlie Fox but has allowed her to be human, to be flawed, and yet to be a loved heroine.”

*“Zoe Sharp doesn't disappoint, I've had my fix of Charlie Fox and she was awesome. It says a lot about an author when you start their book and desperately need to read it to know what happens, the only problem is that by the end of the story, you're dying to know what happens next.”