Join Goodreads

and meet your next favorite book!

Sign Up Now
Sign in with Facebook
Book cover for Three Bags Full Book Details

Three Bags Full

by

3.60 7,461 ratings
Your Rating (Clear)
  • Cancel
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, a flock of sheep gathers around theirMoreA 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, a flock of sheep gathers around their shepherd, George, whose body lies pinned to the ground with a spade. George has cared devotedly for the flock, even reading them books every night. 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, wild metaphysical speculations, and embark on reconnaissance missions into the village, where they encounter some likely suspects. Along the way, the sheep confront their own all-too-human struggles with guilt, misdeeds, and unrequited love.
Funny, fresh, and endearing, it introduces a wonderful new breed of detectives to Canadian readers. Less

Friends’ Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up .

Community Reviews

Lawyer

rated it really liked it
over 2 years ago
Recommends it for: Anyone not fearful of appearing sheepish
Recommended to Lawyer by: Goodreads Group Literary Exploration

Shelves: mystery , detective-fiction , anthopormophic-characters , ireland , leonie-swann , friedrich-glauser-crime-award-debut , sheep , shepherds , human-behavior , pastoral , comedy , tragedy , tragi-comedy , 2012
Three Bags Full: Leonie Swann's novel of Sheepish Detection

Photobucket

My thanks to the group Literary Exploration. Without the group's selection of Three Bags Fullas our group read for March, 2012, I doubt I would have ever picked up this little gem, even though I had spotted it on... Read full review
Shannon (Giraffe Days)

rated it it was amazing
almost 8 years ago

Shelves: mystery-suspense , 2008 , humour , crime
A wonderful, priceless book, full of wit and philosophical musings and profound observations.

One morning at the small village of Glennkill, Ireland, a small flock of sheep wake up to find that their shepherd, George Glenn, has been murdered. With a spade through his guts.... Read full review
Lena

rated it really liked it
over 8 years ago

Shelves: fiction
I never thought I would find myself commenting in a book review about how realistic the sheep characters seemed to be. But in Leonie Swann’s delightful murder mystery, I repeatedly found myself thinking “Yes! I bet that’s exactly what a sheep would think!” While these cri... Read full review
Michael

rated it it was ok
almost 8 years ago

It's a cute premise: a dead shepherd is discovered by his flock of sheep with a spade sticking out of his chest, and the sheep then set out to solve the mystery of the shepherd's murder. Fine. I have no problem with cute.

The problem with this book is that it's just not a... Read full review
Chrissie

rated it really liked it
over 3 years ago

Shelves: fiction , mystery , humorous , ireland , series
I have to write a revised review. I have to exIplain more clearly why I really liked this book, beyond the fact that it still keeps me laughing even though I read it years ago!

I NEVER read mystery or crime novels. And yet I loved it! I never read fantasy books, and I love... Read full review
Marya

rated it really liked it
about 8 years ago

Shelves: teen-mystery
A shepherd is murdered and it's up to the flock to find out whodunnit. Lead by the intrepid Miss Maple, a delightful cast of sheep characters put their fluffy, fleece heads together to crack the case.

As a murder mystery, this book isn't that entertaining, but as a parody... Read full review
Sian Jones

rated it really liked it
over 8 years ago
Recommends it for: everyone

Shelves: mystery
Read this book now! Stop whatever you are doing, turn off whatever's cooking on the stove, turn off the music you were just listening to, put down whatever lesser book you thought you'd read: go to a (locally owned/used) bookstore and buy this book. It's one of those book... Read full review
Marlene

rated it really liked it
about 4 years ago

This is something else. And something else is good.

Do you think sheep are stupid? Do you think all they do the whole day long is eating grass? Far from it!

When their sheepheard George is killed, his sheep decide to bring down the murderer together. After all George read a... Read full review
Melki

rated it liked it
about 4 years ago

Shelves: mystery , rollicking-ruminants
Sheep, it turns out, have quite a bit in common with humans. We are both gossipy, superstitious, and prone to exaggeration. Like us, sheep have theories about life after death - (you become a fluffy, cloud sheep in the sky), and prejudices - (goats are crazy). And occasio... Read full review
Terence

rated it really liked it
about 7 years ago
Recommends it for: mystery fans, sheep-novel fans
Recommended to Terence by: Maevisvintage

Shelves: mysteries-noir
Rating: 3.8 stars, I’m rounding up

Three Bags Full is, without a doubt, the best sheep detective novel ever written. It’s a very fun read that can be enjoyed as a simple diversion from life’s cares or as a serious, if humorous, look at dealing with “guilt, misdeeds, and un... Read full review

Other Books by this Author

  • Garou. Ein Schaf-Thriller (Sheep Detective Story, #2)
    Garou. Ein Schaf-Thriller
    by Leonie Swann
  • Dunkelsprung
    Dunkelsprung
    by Leonie Swann
  • Las ovejas de Glennkill (Narrativa)
    Las ovejas de Glennkill
    by Leonie Swann

Readers Also Enjoyed

Book Details

Hardcover, 352 pages
Published June 5th 2007 by Doubleday Canada (first published 2005
ISBN
038566379X (ISBN13: 9780385663793)
Edition Language
English
Original Title
Glennkill. Ein Schafskrimi
Characters
Wesley Mackey, Maude, Gabriel, Othello, Sir Ritchfield More…Wesley Mackey, Maude, Gabriel, Othello, Sir Ritchfield, neiti Maple, Heide, Cloud, Mopple The Whale, Zora, Ramses, Lane, Sara, Karitsa, Melmoth, Cordelia, Maisie, Talvikaritsa, Willow, Gabrielin Pässi, Fosco, George Glenn, Tess, Kate, Tom O’Malley, Abraham »Ham» Rackham, Josh Baxter, Lilly Thompson, Syntisäkki-Harry, Pamela, Beth, Eddie, isä William, Holmes, Rebecca Flock Less

About this Author

204497. ux50 Leonie Swann (b. 1975 Dachau near Munich, Germany) is the nom de plume of a German crime writer. She studied philosophy, psychology and English literature in Munich, and now lives in Berlin.
Read full bio

Genres

Quotes

No sheep may leave the flock," he said to anyone who would listen, "unless he comes back again.
like
The sea looked as if it had been licked clean, blue and clear and smooth, and there were a few woolly little clouds in the sky. Legend said that these clouds were sheep who had simply wandered over the cliff tops one day, special sheep who now went on grazing in the sky and were never shorn. In any case, they were a good sign.
like
You shouldn't believe what you don't understand. You should understand what you believe.
like
See all quotes

Discussions

© 2016 Goodreads, Inc. · Terms Back to Top