The Third Pig Detective Agency by Bob Burke
The Third Pig Detective Agency is run by one Harry Pigg, who happens to be one of the famous three pigs who survived the Big Bad Wolf attack. Clearly he was the one with the house made of brick. He’s been approached Mr. Aladdin, a wealthy local businessman regarding a stolen lamp. Harry Pigg must navigate the seedy fairy tale underworld in order to locate the lamp and return it to its rightful owner.
Written in the style of an old-fashioned detective novel, The Third Pig Detective Agency can be wordy, tough going at points. A list of some of the difficult vocabulary follows. The numerous fairy tale references are clever and help the reader make sense of an otherwise complicated story. Although the interest level of this book is likely to be middle grades, I suspect only the strongest readers would be able to make heads or tails of the vocabulary and writing style.
Difficult Vocabulary: bovine, aspersions, digress, churlish, availing, abattoir, ominously, scintillating, discerning, minion, assailant, confectionary, animatronic, gravitas, shtum, preened, affinity, innate, imminent, ludicrous, remiss, deterrent, fortuitously, imbecility, proliferation, illustrious, dastardly, furtive, divest, surreptitiously, brusque, unorthodox, mitigated, fallibility, effluent, impregnable,
Questionable choice on the part of the author: Aladdin is referred to as an Oriental gentleman (despite this book having been published in 2009). And to make matters even more stereotypically worse, he got his start in a laundry and worked his way up.
Sex, Nudity, Dating – None.
Profanity – Harry refrains from making an obscene gesture, but notes that it’s hard to make said gesture when you don’t have fingers. Harry says that he resorted to swearing. “moron,” “idiot,” “crap,” “shi…” which is quickly followed by “I mean poo” so there is no doubt as to which word was starting there.
Death, Violence and Gore – Two pigs are eaten by a wolf. A wolf is trapped in a saucepan and cooked and fed to the dog. Two children kill a woman. The pig worries about being thrown in a river with concrete boots on. Guns are mentioned. Someone is beaten up in an alley. A dragon was killed in the past. A car intentionally rams another car. A man is grabbed by the throat and squeezed during an interrogation. Someone threatens to break someone’s limbs. There’s a reference to Hannibal Lecter (although nothing other than the name and hockey mask come up). Orcs brawl, it is left to our imagination whether or not they all kill each other. Elves say that blood will be spilled.
Drugs, Alcohol and Smoking – A former shepherd drinks in bars. He sometimes has a hangover. Elves can drink all the beer at a party and not get drunk. There are bars mentioned repeatedly. The pig mentions he likes a drink. There are multiple references to Guinness beer. A room contains a drinks cabinet.
Frightening or Intense Things – Harry Pigg is tied to a chair.
