Jobless, Charlie Fox is housesitting in a rural area in NJ when she comes upon an attempted kidnapping scene and rescues the victim without a gun, using her honed skills and improvising, as she always does. Charlie remains a kick-ass heroine, who will do whatever the job takes. Skeptical, the victim's husband hires Charlie to replace a gravely injured bodyguard. The husband is involved in some very shady business, and Charlie faces daunting challenges as she cannot even determine whether her foes are competitors, customers, or insiders. Despite being banged up more than once, Charlie shows her mettle again and again. There is no shortage of action as Zoë Sharp only knows one speed -- balls to the walls. The constant uncertainty over who the wife needs to be protected from, especially the possibility of a traitor within the core group, is what makes this newest book excellent. 4.5 stars. ( )

This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
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“OK, let’s talk weapons. You got any preference?”

I shrugged. “I like the SIG P226, if you have one, but as long as it goes bang when I press the trigger, I’m not too fussy.”

WHAT'S BAD TURN ABOUT?
Charlie's left her job—which costs her her home, he guns, and leaves her working security on the sort of drinking establishment that she'd never have walked into. She's about 6 minutes away from making Jack Reacher look financially stable.

She stumbles into a house-sitting gig out in the country at a really nice place. It's the answer to a whole lot of problems. Until she's driving nearby and comes across a gunfight in the middle of a country road. As you do. She intervenes and comes to the aid of the group that's apparently under attack, and ends up saving the life of a woman and one of her bodyguards.

Overcome with gratitude and impressed with her abilities, the woman's husband offers her a job. His business has some pretty important things happening and he's worried for her safety during that. You see, he's an arms dealer (one who sells to both sides of legality) and there's reason to believe that his wife is being targeted by a competitor/angry ex-customer.

The whole shootout on a public road would be an indicator that, yeah, she's in danger.

Charlie signs on for the protection duty and finds herself in the middle of a scheme featuring international gun runners/dealers, organized crime (in multiple countries), and some messy family drama in multiple countries. There are multiple gunfights, a little bit of hand-to-hand combat, a lot of treachery and a little betrayal.

BAD TURN AND THE CHARLIE FOX SERIES
This felt like a transition from Charlie's typical work for Parker's firm to self-employment. And as such, it feels a little different to me. She's used to having Parker or his staff ready for logistical, research, or equipment help. Now she's on her own—and Bad Turn shows how ill=prepared she is to be independent of all of Parker's resources. Sure, she spent a lot of time without the possibility of checking in with Parker/the company, and it caused problems. But her assumption in the past was that there was a team ready to help. That's gone now.

Assuming there are more Charlie Fox books coming down the line, I trust that Sharp will get us through these waters and put Charlie back in a situation she can more easily predict, and one not so infested by rats.

SO, WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT BAD TURN?
I really don't know. I liked the story, and enjoyed watching Charlie navigate these treacherous waters—but the whole time I felt like something was off. I think it's just whatever made me start thinking of this as a transition novel, good action, but it just didn't feel right.

Still, even an "off" Charlie Fox adventure is pretty fun. I'm glad I read this and think that new or established readers will enjoy it, but I'm hoping for something more next time. ( )