Back in November, I introduced you to Suzanne, the first of three strong women who feature in the Suzanne Jones series of thrillers. This month, we meet the second of the trio, Charlie.
Charlie Jones is Suzanne’s big sister and sees her role as keeping her sibling safe, although there are times when roles seem reversed and the younger has to look after the elder. Charlie has green eyes and jet black hair which she leaves loose unless she is at a (very rare) formal event.
At the start of Counterfeit! she is about to turn 40, but looks 5-10 years younger than her true age. Her eating and drinking habits are less than ideal. She eats lots of takeaways, sharing a love of curry with Suzanne, and drinks beer and red wine. She is also a smoker. However, she counters these bad habits with lots of exercise, particularly running, and is relatively fit and healthy.
Charlie became estranged from their parents when at the age of nineteen, she dropped out of University after two terms to go travelling with her partner, an older woman who had been her tutor. Her Welsh father still refuses to see her and although she has some kind of relationship with her Irish mother, it is strained and generally does not extend beyond Christmas cards. Suzanne is very close to their parents and continually works towards reconciliation, but thus far, to no avail.
Charlie’s relationship with her tutor did not last, although the travel bug endured and for a number of years, she bummed around the world before joining the army. She didn’t complete her training. Officially she was thrown out for insubordination, but in reality, she was recruited by a government agency and has been working under cover ever since. This double life has a severe impact on family and friends; in particular, she has been unable to maintain a long-term relationship. She sees her current partner, Annie, as ‘the one’ and wants to settle down with her and have a family. It is time to stop the undercover work.
The various unusual skills that Charlie demonstrates in Counterfeit! make Suzanne suspect there is more to her sister’s lifestyle than meets the eye. Charlie drops the occasional hint and is really keen to open up to her sister when she is no longer forced to keep secrets.
At the start of Deception! Charlie is working with Suzanne. She has not done any undercover work for a couple of years and is really hoping that she can convince her masters to permanently let her go. It is definitely time to move on.
Next time we will meet Francine Matheson, the final member of the trio. In the meantime, if you want to see Suzanne and Charlie Jones in action, you can find them in Counterfeit!, the first in the series, which came out last year. Deception! is due out later this year and Corruption! in autumn 2018.
