Sharp, Zoe – KILLER INSTINCT

[LJ Roberts]

KILLER INSTINCT (Amateur Sleuth-London-Cont) – G-
Sharp, Zoe – 1^st in series
Piatkus, 2001- Hardcover

Self-defense instructor, Charlie Fox, takes a job as security in at the hot new nightclub, The New Adelphi after one of the clubbers has been raped and murdered. A friend of hers brings her a laptop computer given to him by an employee of the club in exchange for adult videos, but didn't give him the password. It soon becomes clear someone wants the laptop back and there's more than music going on at the club.

I like the character of Zoe, she's smart, tough, independent and has been through a rough time. Unfortunately, she's the only really developed character is the book. She's also supposed to be in her mid-40's, but seemed about 10 years younger than that. The story itself is good, but I had two major problems. First, it's not hard to figure out who's behind the crimes and, second, the author way overuses the "had I but known" device at the end of chapters. But it's the first book of the series, so I'll hope the subsequent books are better. Still, it's a decent first book.