The Sly Spy

Olivia Sharp, Agent for Secrets #3

by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat, Mitchell Sharmat, Denise Brunkus (Illustrator)

"I, Nate the Great, have something to say. My cousin Olivia Sharp is almost (but not quite) the world's best detective. I solve mysteries. She's an agent for secrets. You won't forget Olivia. She won't let you."

Olivia sharp is back! Rather than solve mysteries like her cousin Nate, Olivia helps friends with their problems by detecting what's wrong beneath the surface. You'll be won over by Olivia's spunk, eccentricities, and can-do spirit.

Genres: Mystery, Childrens, Fiction

80 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

Marjorie Weinman Sharmat was an American children's writer. She wrote more than 130 books for children and teens and her books have been translated into several languages. They have won awards including Book of the Year by the Library of Congress or have become selections by the Literary Guild.
Perhaps Sharmat's most popular work features the child detective Nate the Great. He was inspired by and named after her father, who lived to see the first Nate book published. One story, Nate the Great Goes Undercover, was adapted as a made-for-TV movie that won the Los Angeles International Children's Film Festival Award. Sharmat's husband Mitchell Sharmat expanded Nate's storyline by creating Olivia Sharp, his cousin and fellow detective. Husband and wife wrote four Olivia Sharp books published 1989 to 1991. During the 1990s, their son Craig Sharmat (then in his thirties) wrote three Nate books with his mother. In the late 2010s, their other son Andrew Sharmat co-wrote the last two Nate books written while Marjorie Weinman Sharmat was alive. With Marjorie Weinman Sharmat's passing in 2019 Andrew has continued writing the series with Nate the Great and the Earth Day Robot (2021).
In the mid-1980s Sharmat wrote three books published in 1984 and 1985 under the pseudonym Wendy Andrews.
Sharmat also wrote the Sorority Sisters series, eight short novels published in 1986 and 1987. They are romantic fiction with a sense of humor. They are set in a California public high school (day school for ages 14 to 18, approximately).

Reviews

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did not like this book because I do not like it when someone calls somebody "stupid." I also did not like the part when somebody in the book called Olivia Sharpe "stupid." I enjoyed this book because I liked the part when Olivia fixed it by making friends with him.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clever and creative, and funny. "Sometimes being rich helps. Sometimes it doesn't." I like that there's a distinction made between being a detective, an agent for secrets, and a spy. I like that nothing is ever as easy as it seems at first, but Olivia persists.

Best if read in order, but not necessary. I wish there were more.

(same review for each)

[Kelly Chester · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very fun book

[aem · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun series

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Our girls (especially our youngest) love the Nate the Great books by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat. And we enjoyed the somewhat bizarre tales when he interacts with his cousin, Olivia, like Nate the Great Talks Turkey and Nate the Great, San Francisco Detective, and Nate the Great on the Owl Express. So we thought we'd check out this series, too.

Overall, I think this series is starting to grow on me. I liked this story better than The Princess of the Fillmore Street School, but I still wasn't terribly impressed with it. The introduction of her competition was an interesting twist and I had to emphasize the importance of not peeking to ruin the surprise (after all, Christmas is four days away.) Our girls liked the story, and as we're almost to the end of the Nate the Great books, I was glad there was another series with a connection to Nate. I still get annoyed that Olivia is as rich as Eloise, but older and with a chauffeur at her disposal. I'm sure we'll read the last of these four books, but I'm glad there are only four in the series.

[Shelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Olivia is Nate the Great's cousin. My daughter loves these stories

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Grade 1 to 3

[Katt Hansen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Olivia has competition as a new spy is in town and about to solve the very case she's been hired to protect. Confusion and laughs abound in this fun story about Nate the Great's cousin.

[Annie · Rating 5 out of 5]

i love it because it was about a mystery.

[Maximilian Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book because I like parrots and the other birds in the book. I also liked this book because I like mystery books.