Half Moon Investigations
Half Moon Investigations is Eoin's new international bestseller.
Fletcher Moon, known around school as “Half-Moon” due to his size, has qualified as a private eye after taking Internet classes. So far he has only used it to solve petty schoolyard crimes, with payment in candy. But now he’s on to something much bigger -- and more dangerous.
There’s a conspiracy going on in town, and possibly more than one. They involve a local criminal family, a club of pink-clad girly-girls, a school talent show, arson, theft, and assault. And soon Fletcher finds himself in way over his head, as he is framed for arson and flees custody with a known delinquent, who may be more than he seems.
Reviews:
"This tale from the author of Artemis Fowl tracks the hilarious exploits of brainiac Fletcher Moon, a mere 12 years old and already a graduate of an online detective course. His first case: ber-brat April Devereux, 'head of an entire tribe of Barbies,' hires him to find out who swiped the lock of a pop star's hair that she bought on eBay. Suspicion centers on Red Sharkey, oldest son of the town's leading crime family. Unraveling the mystery leads Fletcher to break rule No. 1 in his detective's handbook — 'Be invisible' — and most of the other rules, too. The large but distinctive supporting cast includes a female school principal whose iron hand is aided by a pair of menacing Dobermans, and Fletcher's older sister, Hazel, who works out her boy troubles by writing plays and poetry while locked in her bedroom. 'How about a rhyme for pathetic?' she asks Fletcher, who suggests 'prosthetic' (this for Hazel's 'epic poem about [his] date with April'). While the setting is suburban and the well-to-do kids have the same fixations as their American cousins, Colfer tailors the details specifically to Ireland. April's cousin May is a step dancer ('Go and do your Riverdance thing,' April says dismissively at one point), the boys play hurling ('the Irish sporting version of pitched battle') and swear loyalty by invoking the Irish marble oath, 'Brick miss must celt.' It's a place many readers will very much enjoy visiting. Ages 10-up. Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)
"Combine Sam Spade's manner, Encyclopedia Brown's curiosity and Columbo's deductive tenacity....Half Moon is full-fledged fun and a sure-fire booktalk....[A] fast-paced romp..." Kirkus Reviews
"A typically funny Colfer offering without the mania of the Artemis Fowl series, the story wittily delivers....Kids who enjoy comic mysteries will have a great time with Half Moon, and the conclusion drops plenty of hints that this could become a series." School Library Journal
Book: Hardback | 135 x 216mm | 320 pages | ISBN 9780141382708 | 01 Jun 2006 | Puffin | 5 - 8 years