I fell in love with Three Bags Full in it's very first pages. It's a story about Irish sheep who set out on a mission to discover the murderer of their beloved shepherd, George, who has been stabbed through with a spade. It's a story fill with lovable characters; more to point, the sheep, and their thoughts on humans and the way the world works around them and their observations on it all. It's a comedy. It's a mystery. It's a little bit of everything, all rolled into a big, woolly yarn of a tale that is both in turns ingenious, funny and inspiring.

When George's flock discovers his body in the meadow one day, stabbed through with a spade, their initial reaction is panic. But to Miss Maple, the cleverest sheep in all of Glennkill, this is something more than just the death of their shepherd: this is a murder mystery. So, she takes it upon herself to discover the murderer, and eventually she is able to convince the rest of the flock to partake in the mystery as well. George was a kind shepherd and took very good care of his sheep, even reading to them in the evenings, and so they take their knowledge of the human character as they have seen through their stories, and begin on a mission to bring justice to their dear, departed shepherd.

The village of Glennkill itself is inhabited by a colorful cast of characters, all whom we learn about through the eyes of the sheep. The sheep have a keen perspective on human nature and the character buildup of the members of the village. Through the course of their investigation, however, they do begin to see people in a new light, discovering that everyone may not be categorized into their initial, limited sheepish view of people. It's through these growing observations that the story really starts to take off, as the sheep themselves begin to view themselves differently as they learn to care for themselves without having a shepherd about.

The story does end on a rather serious note, going in a direction that I honestly did not expect at all. The book is for the most part a fun little story, humorous throughout (I mean, honestly, how can murder mystery solving sheep not be funny?), yet the story loops around and becomes a lesson learned on people and the solitude that they have in their life. Not that the story ends sadly, but it becomes more philosophical than funny at the end, really making the reader question the life of not only the sheep, but their beloved shepherd as well.

I would like to see Swann continue the story of the Glennkill sheep (and she obviously left the story open for more). I would greatly like to see their further adventures and watch them as they discover more mysteries to unravel. ( )

One of the more unique mysteries I've read. The sheep are playing the role of the detectives, trying to determine who murdered their shepherd. The sheep are quirky, although they did annoy me at times. The crime was wrapped up in what I thought was an anticlimactic way. However, it was an enjoyable summer read. ( )

This book has a very clever premise: sheep, whose shepherd, George, is found dead on a hillside in Ireland, take it upon themselves to solve the mystery of his death. Since George had read books to them daily, including detective novels, they are quite familiar with the ways of men, and set out looking for clues.

The book begins with a “Dramatis Oves,” a list of all the sheep who appear in the story along with a brief description of each. Most notable is Miss Maple, “the cleverest sheep in the flock, maybe the cleverest sheep in Glennkill, quite possibly the cleverest sheep in the whole world.” I also grew quite fond of Mopple the Whale, "a very stout Merino ram ... almost always hungry."

The sheep overhear witnesses claiming “the Lord took George” and this throws them off at first. More confusing, some of the sheep have heard the Lord is a lamb, and others that the Lord is a shepherd. After a bit they decide the local pastor is the Lord, because they once heard him say “Welcome to the house of God!”

They also suspect the butcher, simply because they find him to be such a reprehensible fellow.

This book has such promise, but I found that reading about sheep can be, well, rather soporific. The pace is a bit slow, as the sheep are easily distracted by fragrant tufts of grass and clover. The humans in the book aren’t very interesting, except for George, who is dead.

My husband and I both read this book, and, as usual, we have two different evaluations:

Evaluation by Jill: Oh, how I wish this book were as cute as the idea behind it. But there’s a reason why counting sheep is recommended for insomnia. It isn’t a bad book, it just isn’t as engaging as I had hoped. Rating: 3/5

Evaluation by Jim: I enjoyed the book and give it a higher rating than my wife does. The author is quite clever in writing from the perspective of the sheep. For example, they learn a great deal from scent. At the same time, their worldview is extremely limited, all but two of them having spent all of their lives in the same pasture. The eventual solution to the murder is a bit contrived, but the resolution of the inter-ovine relationships seems genuine. Rating: 3.8/5 ( )

A pleasant read, but I can't see myself reading it a second time. The mystery itself is a bit shaky and I thought the ending was weak. Swann does a fine job with the sheep, but most of her human characters aren't all that interesting, and I often had trouble piecing together who knew whom and why. I realize we mostly see the humans through the sheep's eyes, and the sheep don't understand humans well, but I still found it jarring. That said, it is a nice story about sheep. ( )

Animal detectives have become very popular. Usually that means dogs or cats. In this case, it's a flock of sheep, who try to solve the murder of their shepherd.

The mystery is solved, but the true pleasure of this book is the sheep. ( )