Bøger af Joan Hess

Another outrageous Maggody mystery, starring police chief Arly Hanks alongside a smooth-talking televangelist and a whole town full of sinners. Some days, police chief Arly Hanks can't help but see Maggody, Arkansas, as little more than a cesspool of poverty, ignorance, and incest--the kind of glorified trailer park that gives the South a bad name. But hey, it's home. So when silver-tongued televangelist Malachi Hope swoops into town, with a revivalist laser light show and plans to build a Christian theme park, Arly worries her beloved, if crazy, neighbors are about to be swindled. But it's Malachi who should be terrified. As the town whips itself into revival fever, it's all Arly can do to keep Maggody from coming apart at the seams. And when the girls' basketball coach is found dead, Arly can't help but suspect that the murder is related to Malachi's tent meetings. To save Maggody from itself, Arly will risk everything--in this world and the hereafter. What Carl Hiaasen did for Florida, Joan Hess has done for the Ozarks. This is a hilarious look at small-town greed and the irresistible madness of Maggody, Arkansas. Miracles in Maggody is the 9th book in the Arly Hanks Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

"Claire Malloy is one of the most engaging narrators in mystery."-Deadly Pleasures Claire Malloy has always been known in Farberville, Arkansas, as the owner of the Book Depot whose teenage daughter, Caron, speaks in ALL CAPS. But Claire's life has changed dramatically of late. She's married her longtime beau, Deputy Police Chief Peter Rosen; let one of her employees run the bookstore; and, OMG, soon Caron will be off to college. The only thing that remains steadfast and unwavering? Claire's astonishing ability to attract, find, or even just randomly stumble across trouble. "nicely leavened with humor, realistic family vignettes, and diverse characters."-Booklist Summoned for jury duty, Claire ends up butting heads with the prosecutor on a murder case who harbors a grudge against her husband. He humiliates Claire, then dismisses her from the jury pool. Enraged by her mistreatment, and eager for revenge, Claire decides to take the case on herself. She hunts down the defendant-a woman accused of killing her husband-and offers to help prove her innocence. Only problem is that the defendant is looking guiltier by the minute...and now Claire is in too deep. How can she claw her way out of this one, with her pride intact, when all semblance of law and order has flown the coop? "Hess smoothly blends humor and detecting [in] Pride V. Prejudice...Spending time with Claire and the other citizens of Farberville is always a treat."-Publishers Weekly

Claire Malloy-now a married woman of leisure-tries her hand at volunteering, but instead lands her right in the middle of another murder investigationLongtime bookseller and single mother, Claire Malloy has recently married her long term beau and moved out of her less than opulent apartment into a sprawling, newly remodeled house. Her daughter, Caron, is making plans for college. All of which leaves Claire with something she hasn't had in quite a while: spare time. When her attempts to learn French cooking start getting "mixed" reviews, she agrees to help Caron and her best friend Inez in fluffing up their college applications by volunteering as an ESL tutor with the Farberville Literacy Council. But her modest effort to give back quickly becomes a nightmare when she's railroaded onto the Board of Directors of the troubled nonprofit. Vandalism, accusations of embezzlement, epic budget problems, and a cacophony of heavily-accented English speakers are just the tip of the iceberg. Just as she decides that it might be best to extricate herself, Claire gets a frantic call from her husband, Deputy Chief Peter Rosen. One of the students, an older Russian woman named Ludmilla, famed for her unpleasantness, has been murdered in the offices of the Farberville Literary Council. For the first time ever, Peter actually asks Claire for her help, and Hess brings a new depth to this fan-favorite series, in Murder as a Second Language.

Chief of Police Arly Hanks will do whatever it takes to keep Maggody from losing its mind in this charming cozy mystery. In a town as peculiar as Maggody, Arkansas, it doesn't take much to tip the community into chaos. When Mayor Jim Bob Buchanon's SuperSaver Buy 4 Less takes out a full-page ad boasting the new supermarket's authentic tamales, gourmet deli counter, and various other bells and whistles, every restaurateur in town fears that Jim Bob is going to put him out of business. So when it comes time for the Buy 4 Less's gala opening, one citizen decides to play dirty, slipping something into Jim Bob's famous tamale sauce that leaves twenty-three unsuspecting attendees sick with food poisoning-and one dead. Was this a prank that got out of hand, or is there a maniac on the loose in Maggody? Finding out the truth will mean digging into the dangerous underbelly of Maggody's cutthroat restaurant community, and quick-witted police chief Arly Hanks is the only woman for the job. Joan Hess is one of the funniest mystery writers in the business, and this outlandish look into the greedy schemes of small-town business owners shows her at the top of her form. Cozy mystery fans know that once you visit Maggody, you'll never want to leave. Madness in Maggody is the 4th book in the Arly Hanks Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

When Johanna Mae Nookim is denied the request to file sex discrimination charges, soon half the women in Maggody band together. Brother Verber thinks they are practicing witchcraft, but everybody learns the truth when the women stage a demonstration. Next, the bank turns to flames, and the head teller is found dead.

"Outstanding...A fun-to-read mixture of homicide and humor."THE PITTSBURGH PRESSIn this, the seventh adventure in the Claire Malloy series, Claire discovers a lot about her late, unlamented husband. The viperish family matriarch, Miss Justicia, gives a preview of her latest will at the decaying family estate in Louisiana. From snobbish Cousin Maxie and timid, tippling Pauline to beautiful Ellie and her porky dad, the Malloys appear a poisonous lot--and appeareances in this case are not deceiving. When Miss Jusiticia and her wheelchair end up in the bayou, Claire is certain that one of them assisted the old lady to her death. And snakes, snipers, and tapeworms notwithstanding, she's prepared to prove it....

In the 15th entry of Hess's madcap Maggody series, the sleepy backwoods Arkansas town is abuzz with rumors about saddlebags filled with Confederate gold. When a musket ball kills a Civil War reenactment participant, Arly soon finds herself faced with the most baffling whodunit of her career.

When a woman is shot in a cannabis patch, Arly Hanks must restore order to her Ozarks community, in this sharp-witted mystery by an Agatha Award–winning author.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.