Half Moon Investigations

Plot summary

Fletcher Moon (often called "Half-Moon" due to his short stature) is a natural born investigator. Knowing this, April, a girl from his school comes to him for help in finding a lock of hair that she believes to have been stolen. Fletcher agrees to help her and starts off by investigating all suspects which eventually gets him threatened by a thirteen-year-old named Red Sharkey.

Fletcher holds Red as a prime suspect due to his family's criminal reputation. Fletcher then looks up the Sharkey family’s criminal records by hacking police files, leading him to discover a series of unsolved crimes that have occurred in his county. He hears something outside at night and when he goes to investigate, he is assaulted with a hurling stick and knocked unconscious. Upon awakening in hospital, he discovers from the mark on his arm that the hurling stick had 'Red' embossed on it and comes to the conclusion that it was Red who attacked him. Fletcher then goes to visit April’s cousin May to photograph this newfound evidence but ends up at the wrong house where he catches sight of somebody setting fire to May’s lucky dancing costume.

He passes out in the yard due to the anesthetic from the hospital and later awakens to find a torch in his hand and all evidence for the arson pointing to him. Following an interrogation by the police, Fletcher is rescued by Red Sharkey. Red claims he was framed for the hurl assault.

Half-Moon and Red team up to solve the chain of mysteries within 24 hours. Following a suspicious story to April's house, the boy detectives discover the truth behind Les Jeunes Etudiantes, the girls club, their true goal being to get rid of all the boys ruining their education. Three recent expulsions can be attributed to these girls, and the boys feel they need to be stopped. Unfortunately, they are found out, and the girls manage to imprison the boys in the cellar. They are, however, saved by May, April's cousin. Fletcher and Red previously heard the girls practicing the lines that they planned to use to accuse Red's brother, Herod of assault. Red is able to send a text message to the present police officer informing him of the lines they would use.

The police officer puts two and two together and exposes the girls as liars, and Herod Sharkey is found innocent, saving him from expulsion. April, being caught, attempts to escape in her father's car but promptly crashes into the police cruiser. However, Fletcher is informed (by text from the officer) that this still does not solve the mysteries that included his assault so he meets a secret informant, and in exchange for the password of the police account he hacked earlier in the story, receives the information that he desires.

He finds that the link between the crimes ended up being the upcoming talent show at his school and it turns out that the victims each had a part in the show in some way. After trying to protect May from becoming involved with the criminal Fletcher at last finds the answer he had been looking for all along. All the victims of these crimes had been ranked higher than May in the talent show. So, Red suggests that May was behind all this. However, on stage, Fletcher proves that it was May's father, Gregor Devereux who was the culprit.

In the epilogue, Red and Fletcher decide to form a detective group. Red suggests "Moon Investigations" while Fletcher replies by saying "You're half right", referencing his nickname and the title of the book.

Critical reception

Newsround called the book "really exciting" and said "Once you've read page one you'll be hooked to Eoin Colfer's Books".

Trivia

Sequel

In a September 27, 2007 interview Colfer admitted he had a rough idea for a second Half Moon book in which Moon goes undercover with a group of goths and listens to Kate Bush and Metallica. He might even write a short book with Moon in. If so he plans to expand on the history of Hazel - Moon's sister. He suggested that the book could be set two years into the future.