Big Bad Wool by Leonie Swann
Big Bad Wool, written by the pseudonymously named Leonie Swann, was translated from the German by Amy Bojang, the translator of the previous two novels in the Miss Sharp Investigates series.
The current thriller, or “Sheep Detective Story,” was first published in Germany in 2010 with the title Garou, derived from 12th-century Old French, meaning werewolf. In this instance, the term has been updated and identified as “shape-shifting” werewolves. This scholarly author’s works are off-beat genre-defying blends of mystery, thriller, fantasy, literary fiction and philosophy imbued with great splashes of humor.
The Birth of a Thrilling Series
Leonie was born in a 1200-year-old Bavarian city located 12 miles from Munich, Germany, where she earned degrees in psychology, philosophy and communications at the University. Currently, she lives in the presumably pastoral countryside near Cambridge, England.
Perhaps coincidentally but amusing to note that in the classic 1934 Alfred Hitchcock spy thriller The 39 Steps, lead character Richard Hannay played by Robert Donat and co-star Madeleine Carroll are captured and handcuffed together by two spies posing as police officers, and when their car is temporarily halted on the moors by a shepherd tending his sheep, Hannay exclaims, “Oh, it’s a whole flock of detectives.”
Leonie Swann set aside her doctoral thesis and penned her first novel, published in Germany in 2005 as Glennkill. It was an instant hit, topping bestseller charts for weeks and selling over 100,000 copies within six months of publication. It garnered several awards and has been translated into 32 languages.
A Crime-Solving Flock
The English language version, published as Three Bags Full, is currently available from SOHO Crime in a 20th anniversary deluxe edition. A live-action film with an all-star ensemble cast, including Hugh Jackman and Emma Thompson, is in the works with a planned release in late 2026.
It is not essential to have read Three Bags Full to enjoy and appreciate Big Bad Wool, but here is a quick summary.
George the shepherd is found in the pasture near his flock, lying dead with a spade in his chest in the formerly peaceful Irish village of Glennkill. He was the kindliest of shepherds who read to his flock nightly from noteworthy novels and would not allow any to be sold and butchered. There would be no legs of Snowflake or chops of Snowdrop on any table from this flock!
Miss Maple, the smartest ewe, assembles a team of investigators from the ovine mob to solve the heinous crime.
A New Shepherdess and French-Speaking Goats
Big Bad Wool has changed pastures. The crime-solving flock, with George’s daughter Rebecca as their new shepherd, has relocated for the winter season to the surrounding meadows of a rundown chateau in France.
They are growing accustomed to this unlikely shepherdess who inherited her father’s worldly possessions, including his beloved flock. She agreed to the will’s provisos that the sheep be allowed to live comfortably to the end of their natural lives and that they be read to and allowed to watch television and, of course, fed well and sheared annually.
A small herd of nine grumbling goats suffused with ennui graze in the adjacent pasture. The sheep are largely ignored by these neighbors, with the exception of Aubrey, a tiny rebellious black goat always accompanied by his ghostly twin, who is unseen by others.
Aubrey is intrigued and enchanted to have new friends and delighted to inform them about the dangers of the legendary, notorious Garou as well as the habits of the villagers and the chateau owner. As the only bilingual goat, she performs the important function of translating the French spoken by fellow goats and local human residents, as the Glennkill flock only understands English.
For Flock’s Sake — Sheep to the Rescue!
Their human, Rebecca, is living in cramped quarters in a camper with her mother, who enjoys her drink perhaps a little too much, and Tess, her father’s loyal sheepdog. Mama whiles away her time by reading tarot cards for the locals in exchange for a bit of coin or wine.
Unbeknownst to them, they are in grave danger. Certain miscreants would like to kill them, seize the camper and take over the flock. The sheep are determined to shield Rebecca and her mother from harm.
Each sheep displays a distinctive personality and individual voice, not always in full agreement with the others. Key among them is Miss Maple, the cleverest ewe; Mopple the Whale, enormously fat and possessing the keenest memory; and Sir Ritchfield has superior eyesight, and while he might show signs of ovine dementia, remains as undisputed lead ram.
He is prone to dropping off to sleep when the flock is still and dreams of the days when he was in his prime. He often sees his long-dead twin Melmoth and was the first to spot “The Unshorn Ram”, a very shaggy stranger in the distance.
Othello is a handsome black ram that George rescued from a Dublin petting zoo, heir apparent to assume leadership over the flock when Sir Ritchfield passes. Ramesses is nervous, alert and with a good head on his shoulders. Heather and Zora, and the yet-to-be-named Winter Lamb, are among the most loquacious of the sheep.
Quirky and Immensely Entertaining Thriller
The legend of the Garou has grown over time. Several years ago, the Chateau’s small flock of sheep was senselessly and brutally slaughtered by that fiendish shape-shifting werewolf the villagers call the Garou, or by a lone wolf who wantonly killed more than he could consume.
Another possibility was that the atrocity was perpetrated by a deranged individual, as the Chateau was formerly an asylum for the severely mentally ill and the criminally insane. The Unshorn Ram was the lone survivor who still grieves and continues to intone the names of the members of his dead flock. He is gradually befriended by Rebecca’s flock.
Strange goings on have been happening again in the woods near the meadow, with mutilated carcasses of deer found. Next, a human is discovered with similar wounds.
Among the human suspects, there is a Garou hunter, a goat herder, a mysterious man who imagines spies everywhere, a pair of contract killers and the impoverished Chateau owner. Danger lurks in every corner as there are people with crossbows, guns, knives, steel traps, poison and possibly a Garou imitator.
As Rebecca and her mother bumble along, the flock is up late at night, discussing what they have observed and gleaned and how best to protect them. Big Bad Wool is more of a quirky thriller than cozy mystery; kooky, strange and altogether immensely entertaining.
The History of Sentient Detective Animals
It is not unusual in literature, particularly in children’s books, to have sentient, caring animals looking after their somewhat hapless owners.
From 1927 until his sudden death at age 72 in 1958, Walter Brooks penned the charming and enduring 26-book Freddy the Pig series, illustrated by Kurt Weise. Freddy resided with an entire farmyard of animals on Bean Farm in upstate New York. They all readily communicated freely, and Mr. and Mrs. Bean, along with the townspeople, grew accustomed to conversing and problem-solving with “the talking animals”. Freddy donned his deerstalker cap in more than one episode as detective skills were included among his many talents.
Author Brooks also wrote a series of short stories about a talking horse named “Mr. Ed,” which was made into a popular television series of the same name, which debuted in 1961 and ran for six seasons.
However, none of his animal characters were required to solve gruesome murders. Leonie Swann has not incorporated verbal communication between Rebecca and her flock of Sheep Detectives, but who knows what may happen beyond Big Bad Wool?
About Leonie Swann:
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, became an instant hit, leading the German bestseller charts for months. It has since been translated into twenty-six languages, won both the PETA Award and the prestigious Glauser Prize for crime fiction in the debut category, and will soon be a major motion picture. She has now published six books, including The Sunset Years of Agnes Sharp, and lives and works in the English countryside near Cambridge.
