Half Moon Investigations

Half Moon Investigations

First edition cover
Author	Eoin Colfer
Cover artist	Art done by Mark Riedy, Designed by Ellice M. Lee
Country	United Kingdom (first edition)
Language	English
Genre	Mystery novel
Publisher	Miramax Books
Publication date	March 2006
Media type	Print (Hardback & Paperback)
Pages	290 pp
ISBN	(first edition, hardback)
OCLC	80910252

Half Moon Investigations is a novel by the Irish author Eoin Colfer. It was first published in United States in March 2006 and was released in the UK and Ireland on 1 June 2006. The paperback edition was released in the UK on 5 July 2007. It has also been adapted as a television series starring Marcus Nash & Rory Elrick, aired on the BBC from January 2009.

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.