Fletcher Moon is a private detective and he has the badge to prove it. He may only be 12 years old, but he has already taken an online detective class and scored the highest points ever!
So he's seen a lot; homework counterfeiters, thieves who steal candy from babies...he's an experienced man. But he has a problem...he has yet to make money off this detective business. Being a 12 year old detective means he's often paid with candy, and while he loves candy, he needs real money. Fletcher, though, is not only 12 years old, he's also one of the smallest kids in the school, so everyone calls him Half-Moon. But just how good is Fletcher? Good enough that he solved his first crime when he was only 3 years old! At that time one of his day care workers was missing a ring...after watching them desperately searching everywhere, Fletcher offers his assistance:
"Mary Ann took the ring," I told them.
Monique tried to be professional through her hysteria. "Now Fletcher, we've talked about this. No making up stories."
"Mary Ann took the ring," I insisted, scowling through the cracker crumbs around my lips.
Mary Ann picked up a building block and hefted it at my head. It made a solid contact, felling me like a tree trunk. Once the bleeding had stopped, I made a second attempt to break the case.
"Mary Ann took the ring," I said again. "Come see."
I dragged Monique over to the sink.
"Look, " I said, pointing to a red smear on the stainless steel, near where the ring had been. "Jam." Mary Ann had jam."
Monique's expression changed from patient to interested.
"That's true, I suppose, but other people had jam."
I had more evidence. "Look. On the floor. Marks."
Monique checked the floors. Wet tracks led across the tiles and onto the Disney rug. Four tracks. A walker.
"Mary Ann has wheels," I said.
It was the clincher. Only Mary Ann had jam and a walker."
(from pages 59-61)
Now Half-Moon knows alot, and he stays on top of things by keeping informants. Among his best is Doobie Doyle, and one day Doobie tells Moon that Herod Sharkey needs his help, and Herod was bad news. The Sharkey family are responsible for much of the crime in the town...so what can Half-Moon do? What would you do? Half-Moon decides to help, but he ends up getting Herod in trouble, and Herod's big brother, Red, doesn't like it and takes Fletcher's badge...but what else has he taken?
The next day, he is hired by a girl named April to find the person responsible for stealing something very important from her...and she suspects it was Red who took her item. What's going on here? Is Red a one man crime spree? Fletcher finds out that there's been a whole lot of crimes committed in town...crimes that nobody can solve because nobody thinks they're related, but he does. And why are so many trouble making boys being kicked out of school for crimes they claim they are innocent of? Is someone setting them up? And what happens when Half-Mooon himself is accused of crimes he has not committed? Something is fishy...but Half-Moon has to go undercover to find out what's going on, because not only do they think he burned down a girl's clubhouse...he escaped from the police. And who is his only ally as he attempts to prove his innocence and solve the crime? Red Sharkey.
Will Half-Moon clear his name? Will he and Red solve the mystery of this crime spree? Does Red give him back his badge? To find out, read the book!
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