Soon to be a major motion picture, this funny, surprising, and internationally bestselling mystery features a new breed of detectives you’ve got to read to baaaaa-lieve.
The deluxe edition paperback will feature bonus content and hits shelves 20 years after its original release.
Something is not right with George the shepherd. His sheep have gathered around him on a hill outside the cozy Irish village of Glennkill to assess the situation. George has cared for the sheep, reading them books every night, and now he lies pinned to the ground with a spade. His flock, far savvier about the workings of the human mind than your average sheep, set out to find George’s killer, led by Miss Maple, the smartest sheep in Glennkill (and possibly the world).
Her team of investigators includes Othello, the “bad-boy” of the group; Mopple the Whale, a merino who eats a lot and remembers everything; and Zora, a thoughtful, if gloomy, black-faced ewe—just to name a few. Together, the sheep engage in nightlong discussions about the crime and their speculations vary wildly. Determined to get to the bottom of the mystery, they embark on furtive missions into the village, where they encounter some likely suspects. There’s Ham, the terrifying butcher; Rebecca, the secretive village newcomer; Gabriel, the shady shepherd of a strange flock; and Father Will, a sinister priest.
With wit and heart, this clever international bestseller is a mystery to chew on.
Praise for Three Bags Full
“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
“This sheepy society—sometimes touchingly naïve, sometimes surprisingly astute—has an inexhaustible, quirky charm.” —Salon
“Swann has written a surprisingly satisfying murder mystery that will appeal to PETA members and diehard crime novel fans.” —Post and Courier
“Genuinely odd and affecting . . . The best sheep detective novel you’ll read all year.” —The Guardian
“It’s rather as if Agatha Christie had rewritten The Wind in the Willows, and I ended by loving it.” —The Independent
"[A] refreshingly original detective story . . . 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." —Publishers Weekly
"Just when you thought you’d seen a detective in every guise imaginable, here comes one in sheep’s clothing . . . The sustained tone of straight-faced wonderment is magical." —Kirkus Reviews
Leonie Swann grew up near Munich and earned degrees in philosophy, communications, and psychology from Munich University and the Munich School of Philosophy. Her debut novel, Three Bags Full, was published in 2005 and became an instant hit, leading the German bestseller charts for months. It has since been translated into twenty-six languages and won the prestigious Glauser Prize for crime fiction in the debut category, as well as the PETA Award. She has now published six books and lives and works in the English countryside near Cambridge.
Anthea Bell (1936–2018) was a translator from French and German. She translated many novels, including W. G. Sebald’s Austerlitz and Franz Kafka’s The Castle, as well as a number of novellas and stories by Stefan Zweig. She won the National Book Critics Circle Award in 2012.
Soon to be a major motion picture, this funny, surprising, and internationally bestselling mystery features a new breed of detectives you’ve got to read to baaaaa-lieve.
The deluxe edition paperback will feature bonus content and hits shelves 20 years after its original release.
Something is not right with George the shepherd. His sheep have gathered around him on a hill outside the cozy Irish village of Glennkill to assess the situation. George has cared for the sheep, reading them books every night, and now he lies pinned to the ground with a spade. His flock, far savvier about the workings of the human mind than your average sheep, set out to find George’s killer, led by Miss Maple, the smartest sheep in Glennkill (and possibly the world).
Her team of investigators includes Othello, the “bad-boy” of the group; Mopple the Whale, a merino who eats a lot and remembers everything; and Zora, a thoughtful, if gloomy, black-faced ewe—just to name a few. Together, the sheep engage in nightlong discussions about the crime and their speculations vary wildly. Determined to get to the bottom of the mystery, they embark on furtive missions into the village, where they encounter some likely suspects. There’s Ham, the terrifying butcher; Rebecca, the secretive village newcomer; Gabriel, the shady shepherd of a strange flock; and Father Will, a sinister priest.
With wit and heart, this clever international bestseller is a mystery to chew on.
Reviews
Praise for Three Bags Full
“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
“This sheepy society—sometimes touchingly naïve, sometimes surprisingly astute—has an inexhaustible, quirky charm.” —Salon
“Swann has written a surprisingly satisfying murder mystery that will appeal to PETA members and diehard crime novel fans.” —Post and Courier
“Genuinely odd and affecting . . . The best sheep detective novel you’ll read all year.” —The Guardian
“It’s rather as if Agatha Christie had rewritten The Wind in the Willows, and I ended by loving it.” —The Independent
"[A] refreshingly original detective story . . . 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." —Publishers Weekly
"Just when you thought you’d seen a detective in every guise imaginable, here comes one in sheep’s clothing . . . The sustained tone of straight-faced wonderment is magical." —Kirkus Reviews
Author
Leonie Swann grew up near Munich and earned degrees in philosophy, communications, and psychology from Munich University and the Munich School of Philosophy. Her debut novel, Three Bags Full, was published in 2005 and became an instant hit, leading the German bestseller charts for months. It has since been translated into twenty-six languages and won the prestigious Glauser Prize for crime fiction in the debut category, as well as the PETA Award. She has now published six books and lives and works in the English countryside near Cambridge.
Anthea Bell (1936–2018) was a translator from French and German. She translated many novels, including W. G. Sebald’s Austerlitz and Franz Kafka’s The Castle, as well as a number of novellas and stories by Stefan Zweig. She won the National Book Critics Circle Award in 2012.
