Culch.ie

Review: The Third Pig Detective Agency by Bob Burke

Imagine there was a city where all the characters from classic fairytales lived. Imagine now that they’re not the chirpy primary coloured characters you’ve come to know from Disney movies: they’re dangerous, edgy, looking for a quick buck and are available for dirty deeds at the right price. Imagine against this grimey background a moral pig trying to eek (squeak?) out a living as a gumshoe (gumhoof?) in this magical metropolis and you’re up to your curly tail in Bob Burke’s first Harry Pigg novel, The Third Pig Detective Agency (Friday Fiction, £6.99).

Harry Pigg is the sole survivor of the notorious Big Bad Wolf attack that claimed his less security-conscious brothers. Capitalising on his reputation after doing away with the wolf, he sets up his eponymous detective agency. The bills have mounted up though when Harry gets his first big client: Aladdin, in search of his recently stolen lamp. Harry’s not out of the frying pan yet: Aladdin has just become Harry’s new landlord, leaving him no option but to take the case.

The Third Pig Detective Agency is a wonderful pastiche of noir-ish detective stories like The Maltese Falcon. Parents will enjoy the nods to the classic tropes of the genre (the impoverished detective, sleazy bars, informants and various tenderisings in dark alleys!) and children will enjoy trying to solve the mystery as they become privvy to the clues Harry finds along the way, as well as the perils this little pig finds himself in throughout. It’s written in the first person narrative that private detectives seem to favour when appearing in fiction, and the tail tale is full of humour and lovely puns (Little Boy Blue is a “horn-blowing” informant). The design is an absolute gem, with coffee stains on some pages and a genuinely vintage looking cover.

One quibble I have with the book are the various pop culture references, which grate against the book’s own universe; the mention of Jabba the Hutt or Second Life jar with the dark fairy tale setting, and I think Burke should have more confidence in his own creation and shy away from these unnecessary mentions. The Third Pig Detective Agency is brimming with familiar characters and has enough teasing references seeded throughout to ensure readers will lap up any sequels (and it looks set to become a successful series). Young readers following Harry’s attempts to save his bacon will be as happy as a pig in…

Available on Amazon.