Mischief in Maggody (The Arly Hanks Mysteries) by Joan Hess #Review / #Giveaway

On Flashback Fridays I will share with you
the books I was not able to review
when they were first released that have been screaming at me
from my To-Be-Read bookshelf.

Mischief in Maggody (The Arly Hanks Mysteries)
Humorous Mystery (Explicit Language)
2nd in Series
Setting – Arkansas
Originally Released (June 4, 1991)
Publisher: MysteriousPress.com/Open Road; Reprint Edition (October 17, 2017)
Paperback: 300 pages
ISBN-10: 1504047656
ISBN-13: 978-1504047654
Kindle ASIN: B01N9V7LNK

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.

 

Dollycas’s Thoughts

Maggody, Arkansas is growing, all the way up to a total of 802 now, and Arly Hanks as the chief of police is in charge of keeping the peace and everyone safe and it isn’t easy. Right now she has a murder on her hands and four difficult children and 1 infant to place. Before long another murder takes place and Arly truly has her hands full.

____

After reading the first book in this series I knew to expect the explicit language and scenes so that shock factor was gone. That made it easier to just get into the story.

The colorful characters we met in Malice in Maggody are back and are joined by a few new quirky characters. I still feel they are all still very basic and have plenty of room for development. There was a young man that clearly stole the story. Hammet Buchanon has a mouth on him, swearing and no filter, he definitely will tell you what he thinks. His antics will have you in stitches.

The mystery was an easy solve for me but the story was still very entertaining and a nice light escape. So much so I read the 3rd book in the series soon after finishing this one and I will post my review soon.

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About the Author

I was sad to learn while researching this series that the author passed away in November 2017. Joan Hess was an American mystery writer, a member of Sisters in Crime, and a former president of the American Crime Writers League. She wrote two popular mystery series: The Claire Malloy Mysteries and The Maggody Mysteries (also called The Arly Hanks Mysteries), and has contributed to multiple anthologies and book series, including: Crosswinds, Deadly Allies, Malice Domestic, Sisters in Crime, and The Year’s 25 Finest Crime and Mystery Stories. She also wrote the Theo Bloomer mystery series, under the pseudonym Joan Hadley.

I am giving away 1 Kindle Copy!
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*This book was from my private collection.