Arly Hanks Mystery
14 primary works • 18 total works
Book 1
Her marriage over and career gone bust, Arly Hanks flees Manhattan for her hometown: Maggody, Arkansas. In a town this size, nothing much ever happens, so Arly figures she's safe as the town's first female chief of police-until the husband of one of the local barmaids escapes from state prison and heads for town. And that's not all. An EPA official with ties to polluting the local fishing hole has suddenly vanished off the face of the earth.
As if two manhunts aren't enough to contend with, a body has been discovered at the pay-by-the-hour Flamingo Motel, shot clean through the neck with an arrow. For some reason, Maggody's residents-all 755 of them-have gone tight-lipped, stonewalling Arly's investigations, and Arly hasn't a soul to trust but her half-wit deputy. Now, as Maggody's finest, she'll have to show a little muscle and a lot of cunning to curtail the inhospitable mountain malice that's overtaken her town. And she'll have to watch her own back every step of the way.
From Agatha Award-winning author Joan Hess, Malice in Maggody is the novel that introduced police chief Arly Hanks-the indomitable sleuth of the popular and long-running Maggody series.
Malice in Maggody is the 1st book in the Arly Hanks Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.
Book 2
When small-town police chief Arly Hanks returns to Maggody, Arkansas, after vacation, she finds the population has risen to a booming 802. Among the newbies: Madame Celeste, the psychic who's holding locals in thrall with her predictions of doom; a handsome new high school guidance counselor; and a gaggle of mantra-chanting hippies who have turned the old general store into the source for cosmic harmony. Unfortunately, life in Maggody is anything but harmonious.
Robin Buchanon-a member of Maggody's most abundant family-has been murdered. The moonshiner, prostitute, and mother of four foul-mouthed little bad seeds was found shot to death in a booby-trapped marijuana field. Assuming the weed harvesters are sending a message to trespassers, Arly decides to hold vigil and set her own trap. But when another, seemingly unrelated, murder catches Arly off-guard, even Madame Celeste can't predict where this case is headed.
An Agatha Award finalist, Mischief in Maggody is just the kind of "bawdy, cheerful entertainment" that has brought countless fans to Joan Hess's quirky, long-running Maggody series (Kirkus Reviews).
Mischief in Maggody is the 2nd book in the Arly Hanks Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.
Book 3
Book 4
Book 5
Book 6
Book 7
Book 8
Book 9
Book 10
Book 11
Book 12
Book 13
Book 16
