The hero of this story is Mr Pigg, Harry Pigg, Detective. He is the third pig who was sensible enough to build his house of bricks and defeat the evil wolf who so successfully destroyed the homes of his brothers.
Following his success and fame, Harry Pigg opens a detective agency, only to find himself seriously in debt. When his new landlord, Mr Aladdin (the richest man in Grimm Town), asks him to recover his stolen lamp, Harry cannot refuse.
What follows is a hilarious journey as Harry Pigg sets out to locate the missing lamp before he his killed. Along the way we see some familiar faces; Jack Horner whom Harry enlists as his sidekick, one of the Billy Goats Gruff who is Mr Aladdin's bodyguard and The Wicked Witch of the West-side just to name a few.
The Third Pig Detective Agency is very small book (running to around 150 pages) but it packed to the brim with action and adventure. It is a hilarious and modern take on the nursery rhymes and fairy tales we all grew up on. It is also full of popular culture references that most people will pick up on. My favourite was the enmity between elves and trolls (a reference to Lord of the Rings).
Harry Pigg has a dry and sarcastic sense of humour that only serves to make Burke's clever adaptation of the nursery rhymes and fairy tales even funnier. Burke has done has a great job of creating a Marlowe-esque (I'm currently reading The Long Goodbye by Raymond Chandler) detective with all the quirks that being a nursery rhyme character with trotters might entail.
This is easily the most entertaining book I have read all year and I recommend it to absolutely everyone, young or old, regardless of your taste in books.
Summary
What kind of read is this?
Quick and easy but laugh out loud funny
Do I recommend this book?
Yes, to everyone.
Do I recommend that you buy this book?
This is definitely one for the bookcase. I don't think it will ever stop being funny.
Star Rating
7.5 / 8
Brilliant, couldn't put it down. Everyone should read it - it is totally amazing. Recommend that you buy it.
Originally posted 26 November 2010 Page Turners
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