Elementary, my dear Sheep-lock

Like many an enthusiastic reader, I am always on the look out for new, exciting and different.

I found an offering which hits all fronts equally recently, right on the shelves of a Moses Lake business.

"Three Bags Full," by Leonie Swann, is the 2007 offering, translated by Anthea Bell, in which — I kid ewe not — a flock of sheep must uncover the murderer of their shepherd, George.

It's elegantly simple. It's brilliant. And it makes me wish I'd thought of it.

As of this writing, I'm not entirely all the way through the book, which follows a cast of about 19 sheep, including the super smart Maple, the creepy winter lamb, black ram Othello, ace memory sheep Mopple and the aging Sir Ritchfield and his twin brother, Melemoth, and is told entirely from their perspective.

With the exception of a few intrepid adventurers, the sheep have not left the flock, but are piecing together the truth to George's fate based upon keen observation and the conversations by the humans who come visit the scene — much like the detective story their shepherd once started to read to them aloud, but tossed away before he finished.

If you're looking for fine summer reading or your next book club selection, "Three Bags Full" is right up there with Cormac McCarthy's "The Road" and Michael Chabon's "The Yiddish Policeman's Union," I'm thinking.

But neither of the latter two books makes me ponder a truly deep thought like "Bags" does:

If I were ever to be murdered, what species of animal would be clever enough to investigate the situation and bring the ruthless and mean party responsible to justice?

Were I arrogant, I might postulate it would fall to the regal bald eagle to seek truth and justice, since the bird of prey is already well-versed in all things of the American Way.

Were I full of self-loathing, or in search of a hilarious image, I'd speculate about the existence of a crew of gumshoe dung beetles, able to root through the muck and worse to apprehend the killer.

Actually, if you think about it, there aren't many members of the animal kingdom who wouldn't look awesome clad in a trench coat and illuminated by only a single spotlight on a dark and foggy night.

Blue whale? Awesome.

Mandrill? Awesome.

Blue-footed booby? Awesome, and somehow compellingly ironic.

So Hercule Poirot, Miss Marple and Encyclopedia Brown had better move over.

Competition for their gigs just got a lot more woolly.