Zoe Tampsin is resourceful, smart and Special Forces-trained, but she has been given an impossible mission.She has to protect scientist, Gavin Shawlens, from assassination by the CIA, and discover the secret trapped in Gavin’s mind that the CIA want destroyed.As the pressure to find Shawlens escalates – the CIA send Zoe’s former mentor to track her down and her fate seems sealed when he surrounds … sealed when he surrounds Zoe and Gavin with a ring of steel. With each hour that passes, the ring is tightened, and the window for discovering Gavin’s secret will shut.
Zoe is faced with a decision that goes against all of her survival instincts. If she is wrong – they both die. If she is right – she will discover the secret and become the next target for assassination.
Run for your life…
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Oh, my! Make sure to have plenty of time to finish this one if you need to sleep. Had an appointment and read until the last second when I had to leave. Rushed back to finish it. It is a wild ride for sure. And my favorite sea monster is involved. This ties up all the lose ends and finished the series with a bang. Wow. Great job.
A while back, I read the first of Gordon Bickerstaff’s Lambeth Group Thrillers, and gave Deadly Secrets 4 Stars. When The Black Fox: Run for Your Life appeared in my recommendations, I added it to my TBR. Here is my review.
Synopsis (from the author):
Zoe Tampsin is resourceful, smart and Special Forces-trained, but she has been given an impossible mission.
She has to protect scientist, Gavin Shawlens, from assassination by the CIA, and discover the secret trapped in Gavin’s mind that the CIA want destroyed.
As the pressure to find Shawlens escalates – the CIA send Zoe’s former mentor to track her down and her fate seems sealed when he surrounds Zoe and Gavin with a ring of steel. With each hour that passes, the ring is tightened, and the window for discovering Gavin’s secret will shut.
Zoe is faced with a decision that goes against all of her survival instincts. If she is wrong – they both die. If she is right – she will discover the secret and become the next target for assassination.
Run for your life…
What I liked:
As I’ve mentioned in the past, I like thrillers. The Black Fox: Run for Your Life has all the elements for a great thriller. Lots of action, plenty of plot twists, and a large-scale conspiracy blend to make this an excellent read! Zoe is a great character, a believable operative, and her talents are fully on display in the book. Gavin plays a central role as the pair struggle to stay alive and solve the mystery of why the CIA wants him dead. No spoilers from me, so you’ll just have to read this one to find the answers!
What I didn’t like:
I had a couple of complaints about the book. First, Gavin was such a weak persona in this book compared to the first book of the series. Secondly (and admittedly this is personal bias as a former submariner), the submarine parts seemed a bit farfetched.
Overall impression:
The Black Fox: Run for Your Life entertained me from start to finish. With tons of action, good characters, lots of plot twists, and an interesting finish, I enjoyed it. If you like thrillers, try this one!
My rating:
4.5 Stars (round to 5 Stars)
THE BLACK FOX (Lambeth Group Thriller Series #3) by Gordon Bickerstaff is a nonstop thriller that has hairpin plot twists, action-packed scenes that keep you turning the pages and characters that are complex, intense and memorable beyond the pages.
Zoe Tampsin has been ordered to take Dr. Gavin Shawlens into hiding.
The United States has deemed Gavin a national security threat of the highest order and are willing to send the CIA and Special Forces onto English soil to find and eliminate him if the English will not hand him over. The British government wants to hand him over, but to also find out what Gavin knows that is worth billions and an international incident. Zoe is a highly decorated and trained British Special Forces captain. She is tasked with keeping Gavin alive and hidden until he can remember what memories are so important to the Americans.
On the run, Zoe displays why she was code named the “Black Fox” in Bosnia. Friends old and new come to her and Gavin’s aid. The run to the climax is filled with ingenious tricks and strategic brilliance on Zoe’s part that just keep ramping up the suspense to a climax that gave me chills.
Mr. Bickerstaff has demonstrated his ability once again to write a thriller that grabs your attention and imagination. This is a fast paced read that surprised me many times with situational plot twists that I did not see how Zoe and Gavin could survive and a climatic secret that had me stunned. Zoe is brilliant, in deeds, action and character. Gavin is also brilliant, but in a very different way which makes the pairing work and these two characters fascinating. This book can be read as a standalone on-the-run thriller, but the depth of the characters is better appreciated by reading at least the previous book, Everything to Lose.
The Black Fox needs to be a “Must Read” on your TBR thriller list!
I’ve read and enjoyed several Lambeth Group Thrillers. This is now my favorite. Wow! Non-stop action and intrigue. A fascinating premise. I couldn’t wait to find out what earthshaking secret Gavin Shawlins knew, but didn’t know he knew. And boy, is it a doozy! It’s cool that the author makes a woman Special Forces-trained agent the lead in these stories. Zoe Tampsin is smart, resourceful and daring. And she doesn’t give up. Taking on the CIA and the British intelligence agencies makes for a heart-thumping story. There’s also the personal stuff that brings these characters to life.
Highly recommend to fans of spy thrillers.
I thought this story took a while to get going and I couldn’t fathom why America would be prepared to go to such lengths to kill Dr. Shawlens. But once the story gets going and it is revealed how much is at risk and why it turns into a cracking good read.
I love how the author puts his characters in seemingly impossible situations and makes the adversaries dangerous and capable of outwitting the good guys. I also read these books wondering if it all might be going on behind the scenes for real.
Very enjoyable read.
The Black Fox: Run for Your Life is the third book in the series, but it’s the first one I’ve read. The tension ramps up almost immediately and doesn’t let up until the end. Zoe Tampsin is a heroine in every sense. She is always the most skilled and the smartest person in the room, which is what you want in a heroic protagonist. The mystery of Gavin Shawlens’ lost memory remains a mystery until very late in the book, and when it’s all revealed it’s definitely something you won’t see coming.
The Black Fox is the kind of novel that you find yourself sneaking opportunities to read “just another chapter” whenever you can get away with it. Bickerstaff’s complicated plot holds you tightly all the way through. The CIA and American military don’t come off well here, but the British authorities don’t fare much better. All of them play the villain in this complex thriller. That seems about right to me. Finally, Zoe Tampsin is such a compelling character, I’ll be seeking out more of her adventures.
Gordon Bickerstaff’s Black Knight will keep you on the edge as you turn the pages to find out what happens next. Follow special forces-trained Zoe Tampsin and bumbling scientist Gavin Shawlens as they are plunged into the abyss. Why does the CIA want Gavin killed? You’ll burn the midnight oil as this engaging story will keep you wanting to know more.
As with all of Gordon’s works, he’s created another excellent plot with a superb twist. I won’t share the ending–you’ll have to grab a copy of Black Knight, but it’s a spell-binding winner! Can’t wait to read more of Gordon’s stories.