Three Bags Full is a murder mystery novel by Leonie Swann, which follows the tale of a flock of sheep detectives on the mission to find their shepherd's murderer. The novel begins right at the point - George Glenn, a shepherd residing in the Irish town of Glennkill, is found dead on his pasture with a shovel driven right through his corpse. Led by Maple, the smartest sheep in the herd, the flock decides to try and solve the murder in the name of justice. Two days after the murder, a shepherd known as Gabriel brings his own sheep to the meadow; that same day, an unfamiliar woman accompanied by the village nun, Beth, come to the fields to talk over a picnic lunch. Three sheep - Othello, a ram with four horns, Mopple, the memory sheep, and Maple
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This theme begins to show very early in the story, when George's flock decides to find the person responsible for their shepherd's death; to kick off the investigation, Maple and Mopple work together in order to collect questions for later - "Miss Maple started to collect questions. She told all the sheep to say what they didn't understand and what they'd like to know. She stood in the middle of the flock with Mopple the Whale beside her; when she thought a question was worth remembering, she looked at Mopple and nodded, and the stout ram memorized the question" (Swann, 13). Throughout the story, Maple, Mopple, and Othello work together to gather information from the townsfolk about the murder; most of these expeditions consist of Maple and Othello analyzing the information, and Mopple remembering conversations for later reference. Nevertheless, the sheep also worked together to solve other problems getting in the way of their investigation - one example of this is when Gabriel's sheep had knocked down the fence on their side of the meadow and had begun to graze the other side bare. To defend their side of the meadow, the flock worked together to create a wall, "...sheep next to sheep next to sheep, shoulder to shoulder, heads turned towards the strange flock" (Swann, 200) while Lane, the fastest sheep in the flock, had run off to find Melmoth - …show more content…
Although the story didn't involve as much action as an usual murder mystery, the characters were quite adorable, not only because of the fact that they were sheep, but because of their quirky, humorous personalities. The plot did go a little bit slow, and there were interludes between clues, but when the plot developed, it built up suspense and excitement. The main characters were fully developed, and each have their own strengths and weaknesses. There were some parts that gave me a laugh, and I quite enjoyed the simplicity of the novel. I didn't feel like the ending was rushed, unlike other novels where the author seems to just get to the resolution as soon as possible. I felt like the plot was fully developed, and that the author took her time to smooth out any bumps or loopholes. The ending was quite satisfying - in the end, George's flock had managed to solve the mystery in their own peculiar way, and everyone seemed happy in the end. Personally, I wouldn't change a thing about this story - it's perfect just as it is, with its clever humor mixed in with a bit of innocence. I would recommend this novel to anyone who just wants to curl up in bed with a cozy detective story, or anyone who wants to read a murder mystery from a different, more naïve point of
This theme begins to show very early in the story, when George's flock decides to find the person responsible for their shepherd's death; to kick off the investigation, Maple and Mopple work together in order to collect questions for later - "Miss Maple started to collect questions. She told all the sheep to say what they didn't understand and what they'd like to know. She stood in the middle of the flock with Mopple the Whale beside her; when she thought a question was worth remembering, she looked at Mopple and nodded, and the stout ram memorized the question" (Swann, 13). Throughout the story, Maple, Mopple, and Othello work together to gather information from the townsfolk about the murder; most of these expeditions consist of Maple and Othello analyzing the information, and Mopple remembering conversations for later reference. Nevertheless, the sheep also worked together to solve other problems getting in the way of their investigation - one example of this is when Gabriel's sheep had knocked down the fence on their side of the meadow and had begun to graze the other side bare. To defend their side of the meadow, the flock worked together to create a wall, "...sheep next to sheep next to sheep, shoulder to shoulder, heads turned towards the strange flock" (Swann, 200) while Lane, the fastest sheep in the flock, had run off to find Melmoth - …show more content…
Although the story didn't involve as much action as an usual murder mystery, the characters were quite adorable, not only because of the fact that they were sheep, but because of their quirky, humorous personalities. The plot did go a little bit slow, and there were interludes between clues, but when the plot developed, it built up suspense and excitement. The main characters were fully developed, and each have their own strengths and weaknesses. There were some parts that gave me a laugh, and I quite enjoyed the simplicity of the novel. I didn't feel like the ending was rushed, unlike other novels where the author seems to just get to the resolution as soon as possible. I felt like the plot was fully developed, and that the author took her time to smooth out any bumps or loopholes. The ending was quite satisfying - in the end, George's flock had managed to solve the mystery in their own peculiar way, and everyone seemed happy in the end. Personally, I wouldn't change a thing about this story - it's perfect just as it is, with its clever humor mixed in with a bit of innocence. I would recommend this novel to anyone who just wants to curl up in bed with a cozy detective story, or anyone who wants to read a murder mystery from a different, more naïve point of