First published in 2005, Leonie Swann’s debut is being reissued twenty years later, and it’s still a wonderful read.
When their shepherd is found dead with a spade through him, his small flock of sheep are unsettled. Led by Miss Maple, the cleverest sheep in the flock, they decide to bring the culprit to justice.
First they need to find out what justice is.
The small flock had a good relationship with their shepherd, George. He read them stories. Sometimes stories about sheep diseases which they didn’t enjoy, and sometimes there was a detective story, which George didn’t like so didn’t finish. But mostly he read trashy historical romance stories where all the women seemed to be called Pamela. The sheep enjoyed the Pamela novels. But with no shepherd, who will now read to them? And who would want to hurt him?
The sheep have an understanding of what they fear. The butcher. The wolf. But to unravel the death of their shepherd requires them to consider what humans fear.
The flock are shown to have their own logic and their own ideas of what counts as important information and it was really enjoyable to see a murder investigation from a completely new perspective.
This is a quiet, thoughtful novel, beautifully written, and we as readers try to solve the puzzle but with information seen and processed through sheep minds, who are not as uncomplicated as we might believe. There are certainly some villagers in Glennkill that won’t underestimate the flock after their escapades here.
The novel is hilarious and thought-provoking in equal measure. While there are plenty of hilarious escapades and genuine laugh out loud moments, there are also moments that make you stop and consider and think about things from a new angle.
Three bags full: of mystery, gentle humour and sheepy shenanigans!
Many thanks to the author, NetGalley and the publisher, Allison & Busby, for the opportunity to read an advance digital copy of this novel.
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