Madness in Maggody

By Joan Hess

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.  

• Language: English
• Publisher: Head of Zeus
• Release date: Nov 7, 2016
• ISBN: 9781786693525

Joan Hess

Joan Hess was the author of the Claire Malloy Mysteries and the Arly Hanks Mysteries, formally known as the Maggody Mysteries. She was a winner of the American Mystery Award and the Agatha Award (for which she was nominated five times), a member of Sisters in Crime, and a former president of the American Crime Writers League. She died in November 2017, four months after the publication of The Painted Queen.

Reviews for Madness in Maggody

[mrslee_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Book four in the series, I won't be purchasing more. Sadly, I see that I already have three more on my Kindle account, and one somewhere in the house, although I don't recollect where it is. LibraryThing tells me this.Set in the small town of Maggody, I assume somewhere in the southern states of America, this had potential for some heavy issues to be discussed in fictional form, such as large chain stores running out small enterprises in small towns, or child abuse, or the evil of gossip and judgement. The atmosphere was so preposterous though, that I couldn't take anything seriously.There wasn't a character in the town that was likable, except the narrator, which then makes me suspect the narrator of having a very mean, dim and judging outlook on those who are supposed to be near and dear to her. I suppose it is meant to be funny, but what it comes across to me as, is caricatures of small town folks, and not nice ones at that. I do not deny the foibles of small towns, but there is a lot of love, common sense and hard work which goes on in them as well, but apparently not in any of the lives of those in this book.

[bjace_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

When the food offered by Mayor JimBob Buchanon's new grocery store at its grand opening is found to be tainted, Arly Hanks must figure out who (besides herself) would want to ruin him.