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Loading...  funstm | Mar 26, 2023 |   Charlie was fascinating - she was such a mess of contradictions. I liked her a lot and I felt sorry for the ordeals she had to go through. Particularly when the cops ignore her because they're under the impression she's the girl who cried wolf. But also her strength to overcome her past and the horrible betrayal she suffered from people who should've had her back. I do wish she had more good friends and a better support network. It made me feel sad that she didn't. I did like that she was violent but advocated for the first rule of engagement to always be to not engage. I think it's important to know your limitations and to always try to avoid such situations where possible and to defuse them if able to. That said, I didn't like that she always held back. She got hurt a lot more than she ever should've been. The thing is, yes you should avoid fighting but the fact is if you do engage you have to go in, hard and fast and put them down. Any half-hearted measures will just make a person angrier and more likely to hurt you worse. What made it worse was she had the skill but lacked the confidence to judge when she should or should not use her skills. For instance the fight she breaks up on the dance floor between the two guys - the second he picked up the glass bottle she should've been aiming to incapacitate. A weapon always ups the danger level. When she gets jumped in her apartment, she hesitates to break bones. I mean they jumped her in her home - that should've been the first move. Instead she let them off easy and got ridiculously beaten up. Realistically, no one that has studied that much self-defence and martial arts would let those situations go as far as she did. But all that said, it didn't affect my enjoyment of the book. It was just a minor thing that bugged me. Overall it was a really strong read. Complicated plot, great action, well written and a badass main character. 4.5 stars. Will definitely pick up the next one. (  ) funstm | Mar 26, 2023 |  ) skipstern | Jul 11, 2021 | ktoonen | Oct 3, 2018 | Good grief. What a boring book. Cliches, predictable plot, bad writing, pointless rambling, wasted words, lack of perception and insight, flat characters with nothing interesting to say and do and characters I don't care about. (Notice I didn't say 'characters I don't like', ie, I don't have to like characters to care about what happens to them). On top of that, I hate it when a character in the begininng of a book is just the same at the end of it..." (  ) antao | Dec 10, 2016 | ) briellenadyne | Dec 3, 2016 | ) leoht13 | Feb 25, 2016 | ) Randall.Hansen | Dec 9, 2015 |  ) jamespurcell | Jul 10, 2014 | Killer Instinct is a solid first book the Charlie Fox series. What I liked: the writing style. The series is set in England and the author, Zoe Sharp, is Bristish. Some of the terms I was unfamiliar with but I enjoyed learning different phrasings. Ms Sharp didn't create a card board cut-put heroine. Charley is all too human. Her backstory was intriguing and not fully explained which added to the mystery. The novel flowed well and the world building was okay. What I didn't like: there wasn't much not to like. I was getting a bit tense waiting for more information on Charlie's past but it unfolded the way it needed to As a testament to Killer Instinct, I immediately bought the next book in the series, Riot Act. 3 1/2 Stars ( ) Fidget78 | Jan 5, 2014 | I felt for Charlie when she was interacting with her parents who had let her down so badly when she needed them the most, and could understand her reluctance to forgive her mother, but at the same time felt badly for the mother – only a really good author can do that The other characters in the book were just as well thought out. The tough club bouncers were so tightly strung one word could send them into a frightening rage, other characters were really sad and troubled and were tilting over the edge, and then of course the manipulative charmer – I would like to have read a page or two of Charlie putting him in his place. The book was full of action and suspense, lots of dives and turns, and just when I thought I had it all figured out, Zoë threw a curve ball and I was back to wondering – who done it? All in all a very good read, with good strong characters: some you love, some you wish you can slap, and some who disappoint you when their true colours are revealed. It is a great book and I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good thriller – on to book two ‘Riot Act’ Rosemary_Montgomery | Jun 20, 2013 | The story was generally okay but confusing at times. (  ) Balthazar-Lawson | Apr 26, 2013 |  ) maneekuhi | Apr 19, 2011 |  ) pharrm | Jul 24, 2010 | Charlotte, Charlie, is ex-British special forces. Charlie is a no frills sort of gal. She's smart, tough, and rides a motorcycle. The author writes great action and believable characters. Here's a brief synopsis...Charlie's friend Clare is attacked during karaoke night. Charlie fends off the attack and gets offered a job as a bouncer. She needs the money and takes the job. A serial rapist is on the prowl and Charlie suspects a link between the nightclub and the rapist, investigates, and nearly becomes a victim herself. There's no big mystery about the identity of the rapist. But the action and suspense will keep you turning pages. I read books 2-5 before reading Killer Instinct. It was hard for me to find a copy of this book because it it's out of print. If you live in the US and want a copy, you're gonna have to dig. Some people are asking outrageous prices. Anyways, I finally found an old used library copy for around $60. This book should be republished. I will be passing Killer Instinct around to my friends. ( ) Paks | Jun 15, 2008 | |
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Charlie was fascinating - she was such a mess of contradictions. I liked her a lot and I felt sorry for the ordeals she had to go through. Particularly when the cops ignore her because they're under the impression she's the girl who cried wolf. But also her strength to overcome her past and the horrible betrayal she suffered from people who should've had her back.
I do wish she had more good friends and a better support network. It made me feel sad that she didn't. I did like that she was violent but advocated for the first rule of engagement to always be to not engage. I think it's important to know your limitations and to always try to avoid such situations where possible and to defuse them if able to.
That said, I didn't like that she always held back. She got hurt a lot more than she ever should've been. The thing is, yes you should avoid fighting but the fact is if you do engage you have to go in, hard and fast and put them down. Any half-hearted measures will just make a person angrier and more likely to hurt you worse.
What made it worse was she had the skill but lacked the confidence to judge when she should or should not use her skills. For instance the fight she breaks up on the dance floor between the two guys - the second he picked up the glass bottle she should've been aiming to incapacitate. A weapon always ups the danger level.
When she gets jumped in her apartment, she hesitates to break bones. I mean they jumped her in her home - that should've been the first move. Instead she let them off easy and got ridiculously beaten up. Realistically, no one that has studied that much self-defence and martial arts would let those situations go as far as she did. But all that said, it didn't affect my enjoyment of the book. It was just a minor thing that bugged me.
Overall it was a really strong read. Complicated plot, great action, well written and a badass main character. 4.5 stars. Will definitely pick up the next one. (