Sharp Beats

Mickey Sharp #4

by Dominic Barker

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192 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2009

About the author

Dominic Barker was born in Southport in 1966. He graduated from the University of Birmingham with a degree in English and then spent two years as part of a comedy double act before deciding to become a teacher. He currently lives in Barcelona.

Reviews

[LJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the fourth and presumably final book in the Mickey Sharp, teenage detective series. I've read the first two but not the third (the library lost that one) but it doesn't seem to matter because it isn't an arc series.

I really like the style of these books. Mickey's narration is witty and entertaining and it's just fun to be around. This book feels a little more substantial than the previous ones, with a detective plot that is a bit more elaborate and more of Mickey's life details that seemed a little bit skimpy particularly in book two. Here we get to see his progression at school and at home as well as playing detectives, which I think is needed when your protagonist is 14.

My only complaint is that Mickey is on occasion almost unbelievably dumb. Since his narration is so witty and smart and he is perfectly able to make dry-witted or sardonic observations about when things are going wrong or how he can predict people's behaviour, it is clear that he is quite... let's call it 'sharp'. So how he can miss incredibly obvious things going on around him (he's a pretty poor detective actually) and have to have them spelled out by others, is infuriating for the reader. But since all the clues that the reader can pick up on are directly laid out for us BY Mickey, since it's first person narration, I don't get how he fails to see them. It also makes me a bit sad that he doesn't try at school at all. I get that he finds most of it pointless, but surely he would have some interest in at least one subject somewhere. Mickey doesn't appear to have any interests or hobbies at all and pretty much no friends. I guess his plan is that after he flunks out of school, he will live by being a private detective.

Anyway, overall, this was an enjoyable series with great narration and a fun last book. Hopefully one day I will be able to track down the third one.

Oh and side note, the covers are AWFUL. This one has a boy riding a skateboard and holding a spray can. Okay, so at one point in this story, Mickey does get framed for graffiti but at no point does he actually touch the spray can... and he very clearly and often rides a BIKE. Absolutely no skateboards mentioned. I think the covers really undersell the books. It's like they are trying to say 'look at this cool kid - we're edgy' - but Mickey isn't a cool kid. He's a sardonic loser detective kid. He'd roll his eyes if he saw that kid on the front cover.

[Lois · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am horrified that I have only just read Sharp Beats. It was published in 2009. I would have loved to have read it in 2009, but sadly the bookstores have let me down time and time again, and I had no idea that this was written at all. Once I'm finished this review I'm going to make sure that there isn't a book 5.

That gripe over with, I have two very positive things. Firstly, that I joined goodreads only a couple of days ago and very quickly learned of this book and two others which I would have bought instantly had I known they existed before now, and did infact buy instantly when goodreads informed me of their existence. Thank you goodreads.

Also, the book is brilliant. Sheer brilliance, and a seamless fourth book to the series. I feel like there's been hardly any time gap at all.

Mickey is funny as ever. As a fourteen year old detective working from his garden shed, his attempts at detection are time and time again thwarted by his teachers, his crazy parents, hot girls, and especially the evil Katie Pierce. He always wins out in the end, so obviously the cans of coke and packets of salt n vinegar crisps go a long way.

What I love most about the book, and the whole series is that it is an effortless comedy. And despite that, Mickey still shows his brain power and solves the case, often quite ruthlessly. I can't say any more without spoilers, so if you wanna avoid them, then read no further.

So Mickey succeeds in being attacked by a dog, accidentally attacking two of his teachers, getting arrested, attracting a bird by making funny noises, stealing someone's identity and breaking up a girlband, all in the cause of about £30. Like all the great detectives he does it for the sheer joy of detection. Oh, and because he was getting a bit blackmailed. I leave you with some of my favourite quotes from the first four chapters of the book:

1. Mickey is grabbed by the neck and pulled forward:
'My body has got two options here. One is abandon my neck to a solo career and leave the rest of my body to try to work without it. But, like so many pop bands, I'm sure that once one bit of it's gone it won't be too long before the rest falls apart. So I take the other option and follow my neck.'

2. Mickey's Dad has a new box installed on the TV which monitors what the family are viewing, and sends the results to BARB who take a sample of what Brits watch so they can give ratings to each TV programme:
"This new privilege brings responsibilities. We can affect the viewing habits of the whole nation. If watch a show then the programme makers will think that's the type of programme that people will want to see and then they will make more of them...so we must only watch...nature programmes documentaries and the news."

"That's not fair...I was watching that. Mum said."

"Your mother wasn't aware of the facts...she didn't realise that we are no longer watching for ourselves. We are watching for our country."

3. Mickey's teacher interrogates him about his lack of 'credits':
"Mickey. What was your credit target this week?"

"Two."

"And how many credits did you actually acheieve?"

"None."

"What does that tell you Mickey?"

"That I was close."

[Habib · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mickey Sharp In Sharp Beats
Author: Dominic Barker
A Little About The Story/Book: Mickey Sharp is a private eye for teenagers. With a number of successful cases under his belt he is ready to take on anything. But when the Really Tough Crew hire him to find their missing singer he might just have bitten off more than he can chew.


I Decided To Read This Book Because The Book Cover Looked Cool.
I Liked This Book Because It Was Very Interesting.
Something New I Learned From This Book Was Don't Take Deals Involving Lost And Stolen Things/People.
The Main Character Was Mickey Sharp And A Setting In The Book Was Mickey Sharp Angry And Confused When A Unfamiliar Character Was Eating His Chips And Drinking His Coke(This Happened In Mickey Sharps/Family Shed),While He Was Soaking Wet,When He Came Back From School.I Liked This Part Of The Book Because It Is Funny.Why You Ask Because The Mysterious Character Is A 11 Year Old Boy And Micky Sharp Was Scared of Him The First Time He Saw Him And The 11 Year Old Boy Had A Phone And Micky Sharp Didn't. LOL