The Third Pig Detective Agency (2010) - Plot & Excerpts
I found this little book (149 pages of small-print text) marked as a children's book, presumably for ages 9-12, and fart jokes and gross situations indicate the book was aimed at young boys. Don't be fooled by the nursery-rhyme-inspired characters, however. The author has used every film-noir detective cliché he could think of to create a seedy atmosphere for his story. While the prose seems to be overly clichéd on purpose for humor's sake, I ceased to be amused by it after a chapter or two. Parents will find that the language is not too bad--although many will hesitate to give their fourth-grader a book in which a character tells another that "You suck." (By the way, US readers should know that "craic" has a different meaning in Great Britain than it does in the US.) As an adult, I found the story mildly entertaining--but not nearly as complex as Jasper Fforde's for-grown-ups-only series of Nursery Crime Detective books. This is intended as a kids book - probably aimed at the 11 and 12 year olds. It is written in the style of older noir pulp detective novels, but featuring the "Third Pig" from the Three Little Pigs children's story. It is set in Grimmland and has appearances by well known fairy tale characters. All in all it works fairly well, and should keep readers in the target audience engaged throughout the story. It is the first of a series, and reading this one would cause me to look forward the the next in the series.
What do You think about The Third Pig Detective Agency (2010)?
fun easy to read, I enjoyed this, very jasper fforde, I will try and get hold of the other two
—Danie
Great idea - and very nice execution. A fun little read... looking forward to the others!
—BookWorm
Not the Aberystwyth series or the Jasper Fforde ones alas.
—JennyKay04
Lent to me by a nine year old, and not a bad read. xD
—Bunniccula
