Half Moon Investigations
Encyclopedia
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 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 check it out, he is assaulted by a hurling stick and knocked unconscious.
Upon awakening in hospital, he figures that Red attacked him with his hurl, embossed with his name. Fletcher then goes to visit April’s cousin May to photograph this new found evidence but ends up at the wrong house where he catches sight of somebody catching 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, Aprils 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 for the liars they are, and Herod Sharkey is found innocent, saving him from expulsion. Fletcher knows 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 desired.
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 saying "You're half right".
called the book "really exciting" and said "Once you've read page one you'll be hooked to Eoin Colfer's Books".
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
by the Irish author Eoin Colfer
Eoin Colfer
Eoin Colfer is an Irish author. He is most famous as the author of the Artemis Fowl series, but he has also written other successful books. His novels have been compared to the works of J. K. Rowling...
. It was first published in United States in March 2006
2006 in literature
The year 2006 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Literature:*Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie - Half of a Yellow Sun*Chris Adrian - The Children's Hospital *Martin Amis - House of Meetings...
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
Half Moon Investigations (TV series)
Half Moon Investigations is a children's crime/comedy drama television series created by the BBC and based upon the novel of the same name by the author Eoin Colfer. It concerns a schoolboy, Fletcher Moon, who spends much of his spare time solving petty crimes around his school, St. Jerome's. 13...
starring Marcus Nash
Marcus Nash (actor)
Marcus Workman Nash is Scottish child actor best known for starring as Herod Sharkey in the CBBC television series Half Moon Investigations based on the best-selling novels by Eoin Colfer. He also appeared in a Children's Panel advert...
& Rory Elrick
Rory Elrick
Rory Elrick from Bowling, West Dunbartonshire near Glasgow is Scottish child actor best known for starring as the title character Fletcher Moon in the CBBC television series Half Moon Investigations based on the best-selling novels by Eoin Colfer...
, aired on the BBC from January 2009.
Plot summary
Fletcher Moon 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 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 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 check it out, he is assaulted by a hurling stick and knocked unconscious.
Upon awakening in hospital, he figures that Red attacked him with his hurl, embossed with his name. Fletcher then goes to visit April’s cousin May to photograph this new found evidence but ends up at the wrong house where he catches sight of somebody catching 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, Aprils 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 for the liars they are, and Herod Sharkey is found innocent, saving him from expulsion. Fletcher knows 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 desired.
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 saying "You're half right".
Critical reception
NewsroundNewsround
Newsround is a BBC children's news programme, which has run continuously since 4 April 1972, and was one of the world's first television news magazines aimed specifically at children...
called the book "really exciting" and said "Once you've read page one you'll be hooked to Eoin Colfer's Books".
Trivia
- In the book Murt mentions an Art Fowler, this is a reference to the protagonist of Colfer's most famous series Artemis FowlArtemis FowlArtemis Fowl may refer to:* Artemis Fowl , a series of novels by Eoin Colfer** Artemis Fowl , the first book in the series** Artemis Fowl II, main character of the series** Artemis Fowl I, father of Artemis Fowl II...
. - The term "A thin line between bold and bad." is also used in The Wishlist