Half Moon Investigations

Infobox Book
name = Half Moon Investigations
title_orig =
translator =


image_caption =
author = Eoin Colfer
illustrator =
cover_artist = art-Mark Riedy, design-Ellice M. Lee
country = UK, Ireland
language =
series =
subject =
genre = Mystery
publisher = U.S.-Miramax Books,Europe-Puffin Books
release_date = UK hardcover-June 1,2006 UK paperback-July 5th ,2007 U.S. hardcover- March 2006,
media_type = Print(hardcover & paperback)
pages = UK hardcover-320pgs. U.S. hardcover-290pgs.,
isbn = UK hardcover-0141382708, U.S. hardcover-0786849576
preceded_by =
followed_by =

"Half Moon Investigations" is a novel by the celebrated Irish author Eoin Colfer. It was released in United States in March 2006 and was released in the U.K and Ireland on 1 June 2006, and the paperback edition was released in the UK July 5 2007.

Plot Summary

Fletcher Moon, named Half-Moon by his peers because of his stature, is a twelve year old boy attending Saint Jerome's Elementary and Middle School.

Since he was three, Fletcher has had a knack for solving mysteries - forming a bond with local police Sergeant Murt Hourihan. Knowing this, Half-Moon's classmate April comes to him for help in finding a lock of hair that she believes stolen. April leads "Les Jeunes Etudiantes", a group of well-known "girly girls". Fletcher, willing to take on any case, agrees to help her and starts off by investigating all suspects. His investigations eventually get 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, without permission, looks up the Sharkey family's criminal history on Murt's Police computer files. This leads him to discover a series of unsolved crimes that have occurred in his county. A sound outside causes him to leave the house where Fletcher is assaulted by a hurley stick. Waking up in a hospital with a cast on his arm, he realizes an engraved band on the hurley stick that struck him has left him with Red's name pressed into his flesh. Fletcher visits April's cousin May to tell her this, and photograph the evidence left from his assault. After realizing he had gone to the wrong house, he finds May's lucky tap-dancing costume being burnt. The anesthetic he experienced at the hospital cause Fletcher to pass out in the backyard. He awakes to find a torch in his hand and all evidence for the arson pointing to him. Following an interrogation by Murt, Fletcher is bailed out by Red Sharkey. Red claims he was framed for the hurley stick assault.

The next time Fletcher wakes up he finds himself in the Sharkey household. A Sharkey-style makeover and keeping company with Red shows Fletcher how unpleasant it can be to be a Sharkey: he is warned to commit no crime upon his first meeting with a policeman in this disguise. Half-Moon and Red team up to solve the chain of mysteries.. within twenty four hours.

Following a hunch to April's house, the boy detectives discover the truth behind Les Jeunes Etudiantes - their true goal is power over boys! Three recent expulsions from Saint Jerome's are down to this crafty group, and Red and Fletcher decide they must be stopped. Unfortunately, Les Jeunes are no fools, but actual voluptuous giant genuises with the ability to turn boys into micro scopic sizes and play with them and trap them in themselves then and they manage to imprison our unfortunate heroes in a cellar. An ingenious plan and a magnetized horn lead them to escape.. only to discover that their newfound freedom is in fact partially down to May. No matter what the cause, liberty has come just in time to allow a rush to the house of the principle, and the foiling of the latest plan of Les Jeunes Etudiantes; Herod Sharkey stands accused of violence, and Red and Fletcher have previously heard the foul girls practicing the lines to say in their accusation of him. Red is able to send text messages to the present police officer - messages including the lines that he knows the girls will say. The police officer - Murt! - puts two and two together, and at least some of the day is saved. Les Jeunes Etudiantes are exposed and Herod Sharkey is found innocent, saving him from expulsion.

Fletcher Moon, Investigator, knows that this still does not solve the mysteries that included his assault. He goes to a secret informant, and in exchange for Murt's police account password, receives the information that he needed. He finds that the link between the crimes was the school, Saint Jerome's. Having looked at information held within Saint Jerome's, it turns out that the affected victims were directly and indirectly linked to the school talent show. After trying to protect May from being affected by the mysterious criminal, Fletcher reveals that he has realized what the answer is at last. All the victims of these crimes had, after all, been ranked higher than May in the talent show! To save his daughter from the humiliation, May's father steps forward as the perpetrator. Fletcher's mother shows her strength as it seems May's father might be unwilling to accept his defeat; she comes to her son's rescue and knocks the man to the ground. Sergeant Murt hails the mysteries as solved.

At last, we see Fletcher Moon two months later, banned from detective work. But this isn't the last the world will see of Half Moon Investigations; Red Sharkey approaches him, with a mind to carrying on their detective's partnership.

Trivia

* As Red and Half-Moon listened and exposed the set-up by the Les Jeunes Etudiantes, Murt mentions he has a client named "Art Fowler", which is a reference to Artemis Fowl, the titular character from another series also written by Eoin Colfer.

* The final words of the book are "You're half right." - a nod to the nickname of the main character, and the title of the book.

TV Series

A new 13 part BBC television series is currently being filmed in Scotland, it is due to replace Grange Hill in early 2009. CGI will be used for when the boys are transformed into micro sizes

Covers

External links

* [http://www.halfmooninvestigations.co.uk/comic/ Comic Strip created for Half Moon Investigations]
* [http://www.halfmooninvestigations.com/ The book's Official Website]
* [http://www.eoincolfer.com/ Eoin Colfer's Official Website] ( [http://www.eoincolfer.com/home.htm skip intro] )