shopping cart
Call us:  800-878-7323 HELP
McAfee SECURE helps keep you safe from identity theft, credit card fraud, spyware, spam, viruses and online scams.
Powell's Q&A, Q&A | June 29, 2009

Janna Cawrse Esarey: IMG Powell's Q&A: Janna Cawrse Esarey



"I fell in love with Crosby, Stills, and Nash's song 'Southern Cross' when I was fifteen. By the time I got to college, 'I'm going to sail around the world someday' was sort of my pickup line." Continue »
  1. $10.50 Sale Trade Paper add to wish list

Ships free on qualified orders.
$15.95
List price: $24.00
HARDCOVER, USED
Ships in 1 to 3 days
Add to Wishlist
Qty Store Section
1 Burnside Mystery- A to Z


More copies of this ISBN:

Three Bags Full: A Sheep Detective Story

by Leonie Swann

Three Bags Full: A Sheep Detective Story Cover

ISBN13: 9780385521116
ISBN10: 0385521111
Condition: Standard
Dustjacket: Standard
All Product Details

Only 1 left in stock at $15.95!

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

A witty philosophical murder mystery with a charming twist: the crack detectives are sheep determined to discover who killed their beloved shepherd.

On a hillside near the cozy Irish village of Glennkill, the members of the flock gather around their shepherd, George, whose body lies pinned to the ground with a spade. George has cared for the sheep, reading them a plethora of books every night. The daily exposure to literature has made them far savvier about the workings of the human mind than your average sheep. Led by Miss Maple, the smartest sheep in Glennkill (and possibly the world), they set out to find George’s killer.

The A-team of investigators includes Othello, the “bad-boy” black ram; Mopple the Whale, a merino who eats a lot and remembers everything; and Zora, a pensive black-faced ewe with a weakness for abysses. Joined by other members of the richly talented flock, they engage in nightlong discussions about the crime and wild metaphysical speculations, and they embark on reconnaissance missions into the village, where they encounter some likely suspects. There’s Ham, the terrifying butcher; Rebecca, a village newcomer with a secret and a scheme; Gabriel, the shady shepherd of a very odd flock; and Father Will, a sinister priest. Along the way, the sheep confront their own all-too-human struggles with guilt, misdeeds, and unrequited love.

Three Bags Full is already an international hit. “It’s rather as if Agatha Christie had re-written The Wind in the Willows, and I ended by loving it, ”Jane Jakeman wrote in The Independent. Funny, fresh, and endearing, it introduces a wonderful breed of detectives to American readers.

Review:

"In this refreshingly original detective story from debut German author Swann, a flock of sheep investigates the murder of their beloved shepherd, George Glenn. Leading the effort is Miss Maple, considered the cleverest sheep in the Irish seaside village of Glennkill. She slyly 'pretends' to graze while eavesdropping on suspects who come to search George's caravan for something he may have died for. When a long-lost ram recounts an incident that occurred upon his departure years earlier, Miss Maple uncovers the catalyst for George's death. The wooly troupe reveals the crime's solution in a near-Shakespearean mime at the annual 'Smartest Sheep in Glennkill' contest. The author's sheep's-eye view and the animals' literal translation of the strange words and deeds of the human species not only create laugh-out-loud humor but also allow the animals occasional flashes of accidental brilliance. (June)" Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

Review:

PRAISE FOR THREE BAGS FULL

The Internationally Bestselling Novel of Crime-Busting Sheep

"An original and clever mystery, with a flock of endearingly woolly detectives. I may never eat lamb chops again."

—Carl Hiaasen

“Sheep make great detectives. I loved this book.”

—Robert B. Parker

“Refreshingly, joyously different.”

Sunday Telegraph

“Moments of High Comedy come thick and fast.…This entertaining, lighthearted mystery is told from a refreshingly novel perspective.”

Daily Mail

“Genuinely odd and affecting…The best sheep detective novel you’ll read all year.”

Guardian

About the Author

LEONIE SWANN earned degrees in philosophy, psychology, and communications from Munich University and has worked in journalism and public relations. Currently working on her doctorate in English literature, she lives in Berlin

What Our Readers Are Saying

Add a comment for a chance to win!
Average customer rating based on 1 comment:
Bonnie Palmer, August 16, 2007 (view all comments by Bonnie Palmer)
This is a charming and engaging mystery of the English cozy variety, as well as a delightfully parochial, gossipy slice-of-a-life tale set in a picturesque Irish village, but what really makes this novel stand out is Ms. Swann's fully-realized ovine protagonists. She has created a group of characters--a flock of sheep--that think about, act in, and particularly scent out the world in their own distinctively sheep-ish manner. While they are curious about the human world, especially in order to understand how and why their human caretaker George met his end, they are mostly puzzled and repulsed by the hygiene, customs and cruelties of its denizens. No wonder their shepherd spent his evenings not with his human companions in the pub, but rather reading to them from novels in the pasture.
This is a lovely lark of a novel for anyone who has had enough of the anthropomorphizing of Hollywood animated and computer-enhanced live-action features; I hope they never turn it into a movie.
(Please note this review originally appeared for this same Random House title, but under a different ISBN number. It was featured in the August 2007 Daily Dose column.)
Was this comment helpful? | Yes | No
(3 of 6 readers found this comment helpful)

Product Details

ISBN:
9780385521116
Subtitle:
A Sheep Detective Story
Author:
Swann, Leonie
Translator:
Bell, Anthea
Publisher:
Flying Dolphin Press
Subject:
General
Subject:
Murder
Subject:
Sheep
Subject:
Mystery & Detective - General
Subject:
Mystery fiction
Subject:
Ireland
Publication Date:
June 2007
Binding:
Hardcover
Language:
English
Illustrations:
Y
Pages:
341
Dimensions:
8.54x5.80x1.18 in. 1.01 lbs.

Other books you might like

  1. $4.95 Used Mass Market add to wish list

    Shutter Island

    Dennis Lehane
  2. $13.95 New Trade Paper add to wish list
  3. $1.00 Used Mass Market add to wish list

    The Mystery Dollar Mystery Book

    Murder We Wrote @ Powell's Books
  4. $5.50 Used Mass Market add to wish list

    Naked in Death

    J D Robb
  5. $14.95 Used Hardcover add to wish list
  6. $5.95 Used Trade Paper add to wish list

    The Daughter of Time

    Josephine Tey

Related Aisles

  • back to top

Powell's City of Books is an independent bookstore in Portland, Oregon, that fills a whole city block with more than a million new, used, and out of print books. Shop those shelves — plus literally millions more books, DVDs, and eBooks — here at Powells.com.