HALF MOON INVESTIGATIONS

Combine Sam Spade’s manner, Encyclopedia Brown’s curiosity and Columbo’s deductive tenacity—that’s Fletcher Moon, kid crime-solver. Never mind that he’s only 12—Half Moon (he’s short) is a real detective with an official badge from the Bob Bernstein Academy to prove it. When classmate April Devereux hires him to find her missing lock of pop star’s hair, the case gets tangled in her all-girls’ club, the snarkey Sharkey family notorious for thievery and talent-show contestants at St. Jerome’s school. With unlikely ally, Red Sharkey, Fletcher follows clues that point to some kind of weird conspiracy, but he’s forced undercover when someone tries to frame him for the crimes. Mystery-solving readers will ignore the European words—euros for dollars, guards for cops, cola flagon—to smugly sidestep red-haired herrings, giggle over Fletcher’s disguise and grin deviously when the cast of suspects line up on stage for the grand inquisition. Half Moon is full-fledged fun and a sure-fire booktalk: Just describe Moon’s eight-year-old, snot-nosed snitch who always has green yo-yo’s hanging from his nostrils that he snorts in and out. A sub-theme of “information is power” is cleverly embedded in the fast-paced romp, while the ending leaves a trail for future investigations. (Fiction. 10-14)