Harper Sharp: Kid Detective:

Harper Sharp #1

by Jarrett Williams

MOVE OVER, INVESTIGATORS! HERE COMES HARPER SHARP!

Being a kid is HARD...but being a kid detective is the BEST! Join Harper, a fifth grade genius, in the start to this laugh-out-loud and action-packed middle grade graphic novel series!

Harper Sharp is like most fifth graders— he's juggling homework, friendships, video games, and...oh yeah, he's busy solving major mysteries!

When Starview Elementary announces their annual Young Inventor's Fair, everyone's minds start whirring. What will they make? A new trading card game? Collectible slugs?

Suddenly, ominous fliers appear all over school, warning kids and teachers to "BEWARE THE FAIR!" Can Harper figure out who's behind this terrifying threat and foil their nefarious plans? Or will these young inventors' sparks be extinguished forever?! Find out in the start to the next great middle grade graphic novel series sensation!

Genres: Mystery, Graphic Novels

304 pages, Library Binding

Published March 3, 2026

About the author

Jarrett Williams was born and raised in New Orleans, LA where he spent way too much time in the Crescent City Comic Shop. He also played lots of Bomberman. He attended the Savannah College of Art and Design from 2002-2009 and loved every second of it.

He currently lives in Savannah, GA where he draws Super Pro. K.O.! , Lunar Boy, and all other sorts of retro-inspired comics. Favorite food: Pad thai or sushi

Reviews

[Meg]

It's always so nice to have more mystery GNs for this age group!

[YSBR · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first installment in a graphic novel series featuring a fifth grader named Harper Sharp. He is a Black boy with braces and vibrantly dyed red hair. This affable character loves video games, comics, and solving mysteries. Harper is equipped with all the classic detective tools: a magnifying glass, a spiral bound notebook, and a bulletin board for organizing evidence plus his town has its own detective store, “The Handy Clue”. Harper even has a virtual mentor in the form of a popular teen podcaster, Detective Kim. Readers will be impressed by Harper’s spy skills, exemplified by his remote-controlled polaroid camera robot. 

Williams’ illustrations have a bold style that makes Harper Sharp feel like a fun Saturday morning cartoon. The book even opens with a pre-title page theme song! The illustrations were made with Pentel brush pens and Microns. When showing the crime scenes, Williams zooms-out to show us everything. The reader gets to see the room in its entirety, even the pipes in the walls, allowing us to search for clues along with Harper. The background characters are diverse in gender, race, and body type. This is an exciting series opener with a lot of well-developed characters and highly detailed settings. I look forward to the next book, Harper Sharp Camp Chaos. Link to complete review: https://ysbookreviews.wordpress.com/2...

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fourth and fifth graders who like mysteries will enjoy this one, a graphic novel debut [3.5 for me!] featuring a smart Black boy who is a gamer and artist. Harper Sharp also loves detective work, and his school principal, Mr. Toughcook, has come to rely on the boy during sticky situations. This time he needs to figure out who's trying to sabotage the school inventor fair while balancing homework and his own idea for the fall, which will feature student inventions that are for sale. With a supportive extended family, two cats, and two solid friends [Riley and Marcos], Harper is a likeable protagonist and role model, and his case seems to be just the sort of thing that might happen in a school struggling with its budget. There are laughs aplenty, lots of action, and some nifty visual perspectives and creative artwork that make this a good choice for an intermediate classroom library. This has much to recommend it for readers who usually don't enjoy reading. I'll look forward to the next title in the series to see what Harper faces. There's so much material here for the author to address next time around.

[KATIE MEYERS · Rating 5 out of 5]

Harper Sharp: Kid Detective is a fun, fast paced, and highly entertaining start to a new middle-grade mystery series. Jarrett Williams creates a story that blends humor, school life, and detective work in a way that feels both engaging and accessible.
What makes this book stand out is Harper himself a clever and energetic fifth grader balancing everyday school challenges with solving exciting mysteries. His character brings both charm and relatability to the story.
The mystery surrounding the Young Inventor’s Fair adds a great sense of intrigue and keeps the story moving at a lively pace. It strikes a nice balance between humor and suspense, making it especially enjoyable for younger readers.
A lighthearted and exciting read that sets the stage for what could be a very fun series.

[Ms. Yingling · Rating 3 out of 5]

E ARC provided by Netgalley

Harper is a big fan of the Detective Kim podcast and is well known for solving mysteries at Starview Elementary school for Principal Toughcook. He carries his magnifying glass everywhere he goes, and is a keen observer. His best friend, Marcos, is very invested in the Sunset Showdown video game. Loof is the school bully who has it in for Harper ever since he stole basketball cards and got in trouble when Harper found him out. There is an Inventors' Fair in the works, and Mrs. Maple leaf is very excited about it, so when someone defaces her sign with "Beware the fair", Harper is called on to find out who did it after someone also toilet papers the gym. His sister Harlow, Grandma, and parents are all super supportive, especially when Harper is threatened to let the investigation go. After intensive investigation, Harper discovers the culprit and reveals him at the Inventors' Fair.

This was a fun, brightly colored graphic novel with a LOT going on. Elementary school readers who like the graphic novel adaptations of Gibbs' Spy School or Springer's Enola Holmes series or Goerz's Shirley and Jamila books might want to pick this one up.

[Carrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book about an earnest kid solving a mystery at his school has a colorful palette with plenty of energy in the art and story.

[Jami Ellis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cute, but too young for the grades I'm reading for. This would be a great starter graphic novel for a kid who is just starting to read them.

[ebigeyl · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars for this cute new kids comic! although the culprit reveal felt slightly rushed, i loved that this book balanced an investigation, family time, & getting homework done—all things kids need to juggle :-) this is going to be a great series! i look forward to having it on our shelves & seeing the finalized panels in full color!!

staff rec blurb, march 26: Oh no! Someone is trying to sabotage the Young Inventor's Fair! In this action-packed, hilarious graphic novel, follow kid detective Harper Sharp and his besties as they balance family life, artwork, homework, and sleuthing. Can Harper crack the case without his project for art class being put on hold? Grades come first––but so does justice!