Tara Sharp should be just another unemployable, twenty-something, ex-private schoolgirl... but she has the gift - or curse as she sees it - of reading people's auras. The trouble is, auras sometimes tell you things about people they don't want you to know.
When a family friend recommends Mr Hara's Paralanguage School, Tara decides to give it a whirl - and graduates with flying colours. So when Mr Hara picks up passes on a job for a hot-shot lawyer she jumps at the chance despite some of his less-than-salubrious clients.
Tara should know better than to get involved when she learns the job involves mob boss Johnny Vogue. But she's broke and the magic words 'retainer' and 'bonus' have been mentioned. Soon Tara finds herself sucked into an underworld 'situation' that has her running for her life.
Sharp Shooter is a hilarious, action-packed novel and Tara Sharp is Triple F: Funny. Fast. Feisty.
A light, easy read. Couldn't help being reminded of Veronica Mars (my one true noir love), Tara is funny and - no pun intended - sharp. Interesting storyline, a great selection of side characters that are what you would expect; the mob bosses, thugs, and two best friends - a fashion loving gay best friend and a soccer mom. Oh and of course a couple of love interests.
... writing it out like that it all seems pretty tropey. But to be honest that's how I like my noir. I'll definitely be continuing the series, especially as I have the next book here ready and waiting to go!
It took me way too long to get to this book, because I'm not a crime reader. But, what I mean is that I'm not a *serious* crime reader, I don't want the heavy stuff (without the magic), but light and fluffy? I'm all over that. I loved how recognisable Perth was in this book to me, and the characters with their friendship were delightful. I loved the way Tara's story starts out and she's kind of fumbling her way through things but managing to make them work in the end. I devoured this and immediately went to the next book.
Merged review:
I reviewed the original release but am so excited about the new release and want to make sure it gets some review love. So, here's my original review from last year, reposted:
It took me way too long to get to this book, because I’m not a crime reader. But, what I mean is that I’m not a *serious* crime reader, I don’t want the heavy stuff (without the magic), but light and fluffy? I’m all over that. I loved how recognisable Perth was in this book to me, and the characters with their friendship were delightful. I loved the way Tara’s story starts out and she’s kind of fumbling her way through things but managing to make them work in the end. I devoured this and immediately went to the next book.
I didn't think I was going to like this but it was fun, well written, entertaining and a page-turner. I didn't put it down until I finished it: and was hoping there was more. A satisfyingly refreshing read!
Okay... I finished it, but almost didn't I got so frustrated with several things. It did get better.
****SPOILER ALERT****
Don't keep reading if you don't want to know, but I had to rant about my reasons for not finishing this book.
Maybe I'm being too harsh. But OMG! This character is an idiot. Everything she does is just plain stupid. Didn't she just take a course with the Mr. Hara, who told her to take a moment to think things through? And the first thing she does is approach the wrong man in the cafe which causes her to bump into someone. Creating a mess and a spectacle of herself. Then she jumps right into a job with a known criminal without finding out exactly what he wants her to do. Then she takes the birds her mother cares more about than her, out into the evening when she knows that's a big no no. Then she takes off her pants to climb the neighbors tree to get said bird, who she wasn't supposed to take out, only to call the cops on a burglar, while she's in her underpants.
I don't find any of this funny. I find her STUPID. Just take a moment and think first. How dumb can you be and not be a teenager. She a grown ass woman.
I really enjoyed having a big stakes crime novel set in Australia. The main character, Tara, is plucky, funny, and stumbling through life in much the way I fell like I am! All except she has the super power of seeing auras. The inginuity and use of the seeing auras part of the character is one of my favourite things about the book. In fact, I've started describing people's personalities via the aura descriptions Delacourt has invented, as though I read it in a text book rather than a crime novel!
The plot was complex, the twists incredibly fun, and the characters left of centre. The only trouble I had with the book was that it felt quite skimmy in parts due to the amount of back story the author felt she needed to include. It shook itself out by the end, but just be aware of it.
Tara is broke and needs a great paying job. She runs group therapy but just manages to get by. She also has the ability to see a person's aura. And so the excitement begins. Her first real job lands her in the middle of two criminals and too many thugs to count. Looking forward to reading Ms Delacourt's next book. Thanks to Goodreads and Ms Delacourt for making this book available.
Tara Sharp is a super hero. Her super power? Well, that she’s highly attuned to people’s auras and can actually see their moods. Okay, that sounds a bit hippy dippy and you can see why Marvel hasn’t turned her adventures into a big budget movie yet. But Delacourt here takes Tara’s talent and uses it to create a cracking comic suspense story, that’s as convoluted and twisty as the best hard-boiled noir.
Hired by a shady lawyer to look into the handsome owner of a local sports team, Tara soon finds herself involved with gangsters, house breakers, hired muscle,jealous wives and car vandals. All the while trying to keep her parents out of her business, look after two demanding galahs, juggle her love life and even get ready for a big race.
The setting of Perth, Australia gives the book a fairly unusual quality all by itself. (I must confess that I have never read any Australian crime fiction before), but what really sets it apart is that even when it’s fun – and the jokes are piling on top of each other – the book never loses its sense of peril. That’s no small thing. Books of this kind tend to be funny and low stakes, or not that funny and dangerous. To manage to pull off both really is an achievement to be treasured.
If you could see my aura it would tell you what I think of this. No? I didn't think so. I prefer reality. If I have to suspend belief I lose interest very quickly. I read 25% which suggests the writing was better than the content. I step out of my preferred genre on occasion. It only serves to prove that I made the right decision all those years ago.
Tara Sharp has a way of reading body language. She has devoted friends, strange family pets and even started anger clients. Her mishaps are quite funny. I recommend this book.
Interesting read, I have little experience with Australia
This was an Interesting story. The colloquial language is always a challenge, but this was not too bad to figure out. There were a bunch of twists that made it interesting.
A great read, with several laughs along with some mayhem
A real mix of characters involved in this story. Touches on relationships old and new, family and friends. All mixed up with crime, passion and misunderstanding generally held about alternative abilities in seeing our fellow people. fun read would recommend this author. Would be interested in read her sick work as well as more from this series.
I sure have been lucky with the books I've chosen to read. MS Delacourt is an excellent author that keeps the story moving. I'll be looking at more of her book
Tar isn't the most put together woman out there but she is funny and does get into trouble that you love to read about. The overall mystery was great, the little cases were fun too and there was a tad bit of romantic interest. I will say that one of them is married, so that bothers me and I hope it's done right.
Sharp Shooter is an action-packed crime novel with a dash of the paranormal. It's a quick, fun read that will particularly appeal to Australian readers.
The paranormal elements are light, restricted to Tara's ability to see auras. However, the book carries the feel of urban fantasy. Tara has all the necessary feistiness but is more scruffy than polished. In the beginning, she's a bit of a mess. She recently lost her job, caught her boyfriend in an affair with her flatmate, and is now broke and living with her parents. She is also struggling with her psychic powers. It turns out that the ability to see auras doesn't automatically come with the ability to interpret them. I loved that Tara still has to find a mentor and learn.
She's also surprisingly bad at people. Even with her psychic abilities, she misreads intentions. Diplomacy is not her strong suit and she often makes bad decisions. However, while she's not always the best at respecting other people's boundaries, she is good at setting her own. This was something I appreciated, particularly during one scene in a limo.
Despite being a reasonably fast-paced book, the story doesn't launch straight into the action. It takes time to establish Tara's situation and put her through some training. The beginning feels like a bit of a disaster--appropriately so, as Tara reels from one disaster to the next. It verges on disjointed, but never quite crosses the line, and by the end everything has pulled together.
I was delighted to discover the story was set in Perth and is filled with Australian idioms and cultural references. For example, the story makes reference to the proper way to eat vanilla slice. I don't think it would be inaccessible to international readers, but I'm not in a position to make a good judgement on that issue. Likewise, I couldn't say how faithfully Perth was represented, even though it felt authentic to me. The story respected its setting, rather than using it as vague background colouring. I especially appreciated that, unlike some Australian urban fantasy, the story didn't feature an overabundance of guns.
Readers may want to be warned that the story features a love triangle... and one that so far seems weighted in one direction. However, it was counterbalanced somewhat by Tara's friendships. She has two childhood friends: one male, one female. It was nice to see a platonic friendship portrayed between the sexes. The female relationships in this book run the gamut from antagonistic to loyal friends, which was nice to see, though I was a little disappointed it tended more towards the former than the latter. Similarly, although the gender balance between the characters was reasonable, virtually none of the women in positions of command. This is perhaps reflective of Australian culture, but still a little disappointing.
However, these are mostly just nitpicks. Overall, I enjoyed Sharp Shooter and found it a refreshing piece of Australian crime.
Disclaimer: I was provided with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This was a fun read ... the beginning was a little slow, but once Tara goes into her new job "mode", the action never stops! So much trouble for one person to fall into -- couldn't help but laugh in order to help release the rise of tension in the midst of her troubles.
An entertaining read. Fun and fast paced. Some continuity issues, and I found a few of the characters difficult to keep track of since they were underdeveloped. Also, the "1980's Holden Monaro". Original production of these cars ceased in 1977, with the new run picking back up in 2001. But, overall, a fun read with a quirky and easily likable heroine, that made for good lunch break entertainment . I will read book two.
Sharp Shooter is a fast paced crime fiction novel that I was instantly engrossed in and by the end was left wanting more. In her late 20’s, Tara Sharp is unemployed, newly single and now living out the back of her parents’ house. She has always had a knack for reading people’s auras and when it gets her fired and into trouble one too many times she needs to find a way to use this skill to her advantage. So, with the advice of a shrink, Tara becomes a student of Mr Hara’s wisdom and this quirky character with broken English shows her the ropes of how to hone her skills and make a living.
Tara is hired for her first big job by Johnny Viaspo, the lawyer of drug lord Johnny Vogue. She is hired to suss out Tozzi a basketballer entrepreneur married to a cocaine addict. Tension sparks between Sharp and Tozzi and this makes for an intriguing romance sub-plot. I can say that an author has nailed characterisation when I struggle to retain my morals during a novel i.e. encouraging Tara to snap up a married man! I would have liked Mr Hara to be a bit more present in the storyline as he seems to disappear for most of the novel.
Tara is a big mouth larrikin from Perth, always getting herself into uncomfortable (yet hilarious) situations such as catching a thief with a cockatoo on her shoulder and no pants! Tara is really quite likeable though. She has quite a unique voice which took about 20 pages or so to get used to as she is a bit ‘rough around the edges.’ As it is the first in the series, there is a bit of backstory which clogs up early in the book particularly around her two best mates Smitty and Bok but it is told in Tara’s candid, witty tone so you aren’t left bored. I also really enjoyed the Perth setting in the novel. I visited Perth a few weeks back so I could easily visualise the riverside and main streets that the author mentions.
I’m definitely hooked on this series and cannot wait to see what Tara gets up to in the sequel, Sharp Turn.
I don't know how I missed the debut of this series by Australian author Marianne Delacourt since it is the genre that I really enjoy. Luckily I was able to find a copy at another branch of my local library as it's publishing run was short which is shame. I've also put in a purchase request for the second, Sharp Turn. An award winning writer, Delacourt also publishes spec fiction under the pseudonym Marianne de Pierres. Sharp Shooter is a fun romp through the city of Perth (my hometown) as flighty, flirty, twenty something Tara Sharp, with an unusual ability that allows her to see people's aura's, and with Hoshi's help hopes to parlay her skill into some sort of steady income. Hoshi's wife isn't too impressed with Tara and drops her into a precarious situation consulting for Johnny Vogue, a king pin in the local drug trade. Out of her depth but determined to work out just what is going on, Tara has to defend herself against a sleazebag cop, a spray paint wielding psychopath, a bird snatcher and the threat of cement shoes all while improving the communication skills of her students and keeping her parents happy. Tara makes for a appealing lead character, I like her sense of humor and while she is a bit of a flake and the situations she finds herself in a little improbable, its all in good fun. She contrasts nicely with her best friends, Bok and Smitty and her eccentricities are mild compared to a cast that includes her students Wal, Enid and Harvey and Mrs Hara. I genuinely appreciate the authentic Australian flavor, Tara roars around town in her classic Holden Monaro and chases cheeky cockatoos. Sharp Shooter is an enjoyable, funny and light-hearted new series that I look forward to following.