Fletcher Half Moon is a 10 year old school yard detective. The mystery is a mix of the extravagantly outrageous (although not compared with Artemis Fowl) and the ever day life of a normal kid/person. It is a mix of humour, irony and realism I find very enjoyable. ( )

Fletcher Moon has always been different. At the tender age of three, he unknowingly started his detective career. He led the caregiver to her missing engagement ring in Mary Ann's diaper which also yielded three marbles, a plastic dinosaur, and two sets of car keys. Fletcher later learns Mary Ann was suffering from the Magpie Syndrome. Now he's in seventh grade and he's Half Moon because of his small size. His classmate April Devereux hires him to track the thief of her prized possesion, a lock of her idol pop star's hair. The clues lead him to suspect a conspiracy but before he catches the ringleader, he gets framed. Now he has to run from the police and pair up with Red, a member of the town's most notorious crime family, the Sharkeys. He has twelve hours to find the culprit or he is the criminal. Colfer's vivid descriptions of the characters and Moon's disguises; and his graphic narration of how the crimes are covertly solved keeps you laughing all the way to the end. I can't shake off the picture of Doobie, his eight-year-old, snot-nosed snitch who always has green yo-yo's hanging from his nostrils that he snorts in and out. So hilarious! ( )

Fletcher (Half - a nickname given because of his stature) Moon is the only seventh grade licensed detective in his town. Normally working under the radar, he's forced into the middle of a case when he becomes a suspect. His partnership with one of the kids from the "bad" family in town leads to a meaningful friendship, as they solve the case together.

I'm all for the super-spy missions handed to uber-smart kids who're barely pre-pubescent (hey, i read all available alex rider novels for a bit in the middle) .. but half moon investigations goes a bit too far.. it was actually painful to get through at one point where you're seriously contemplating yelling give the protagonist a break already!

Twelve-year-old private investigator Fletcher Moon, nicknamed 'Half Moon' because of his shortness, must track down a conspiracy or be framed for a crime he did not committ.