HALF MOON INVESTIGATIONS by Eoin Colfer
Fletcher Moon is a certified detective with a badge to prove it–even if he is only twelve years old. When his classmate April hires him to find a missing lock of celebrity hair, it seems like an open-and-shut case. It had to be one of the Sharkeys, a whole family of criminals. Fifth grader Herod got busted earlier in the week for stealing a girl’s iPad, and Fletcher is convinced that thirteen year old Red Sharkey swiped his detective’s badge.
But the case turns out to be much more complicated than it seemed. Not only does Red Sharkey appear to be innocent, but someone seems to have gone to a lot of trouble to frame him–and to get Fletcher Moon off the case. When a mysterious attacker knocks Fletcher unconscious with a hurl bat and then plants some incriminating evidence on him, Fletcher finds himself in the hospital and soon to be arrested for arson. He has no other choice than to make a run for it. Soon he and Red are on the lam, and they must work together to solve the case before their reputations are destroyed forever.
If you like noir-style detective stories, you must read Half Moon Investigations. The assortment of clues are sometimes a bit far-fetched and difficult to tie together, but the suspense and interesting characters will keep you turning pages. If you liked the Nate the Great, Chet Gecko, or All the Wrong Questions mysteries but are now ready for a more challenging read, Half Moon Investigations is the book for you!
Susan the Librarian 