Most Popular Books by Joan Hess

Farberville, Arkansas is normally a quiet college town, where bookseller Claire Malloy tends her small store and raises her somewhat dramatic teenage daughter Caron. But this week, it''s gone a bit out of control. A local group of activists calling themselves the Farberville Green Party is protesting a developer''s plan to remove a copse of trees by having retired schoolteacher Miss Emily Parchester camp out in one of them while chained to it by the ankle. While concerned about the aged Miss Parchester''s vigil in the tree, Claire isn''t able to talk her down-and if that wasn''t turmoil enough, a baby is left on Claire''s doorstep with a note from his mother asking her to care for him for a few days. While trying to track down the mother, Claire tries to avoid alerting either the authorities or the local gossips, but both efforts are doomed to failure. When Claire is sighted buying diapers, the unlikely rumor that her daughter has an illegitimate child runs rampant in Caron''s high school. And when Claire does track down the mother of the child, it is because the teenager has been arrested for the murder of her own father - who is the local developer at the center of the controversy surrounding the trees. Unconvinced that the baby''s mother is really responsible, and juggling feedings and diaperings for the first time in fifteen-some years, Claire decides that the only way to rescue Caron''s reputation and the baby''s mother - not to mention coaxing Miss Parchester down out of the tree - is to uncover the truth behind the murder.

Agatha Award-winning author Joan Hess, the prolific creator of the Claire Malloy and Maggody mysteries, is beloved for her clever sleuths, quirky characters, and her ingenious plotting. We invite you to enjoy this delightful Claire Malloy mystery, and to discover why Sharyn McCrumb calls Joan Hess "the patron saint of comic mystery." At Farberville High, it''s reading, writing...and murder. Who knows what evil lurks in the halls of Farbervilles'' high school-or what blackmail is hidden in Miss Demeanor''s Falcon Crier advice column? Certainly not bookstore owner and amateur sleuth Claire Malloy-until her daughter Caron persuades her to substitute for disgraced column editor and journalism teacher Emily Parchester. Surely Miss Parchester cannot be guilty of embezzlement. But the petty charges graduate to murder when Principal Weiss gets his last licks from Miss Parchester''s peach compote. Miss Parchester herself, last seen at a local sanitarium, is suddenly missing. And now it''s up to Claire to find someone who''s been schooled in the fine art of murder...

A hilarious police procedural set in the strangest town in the Ozarks, where whip-smart sheriff Arly Hanks does everything she can to keep the peace. Nothing ever happens in Maggody, Arkansas, population 755. Aside from handling the occasional barroom brawl or exploding still, Chief of Police Arly Hanks spends her days sipping coffee and squashing flies. She returned to Maggody two years ago, licking her wounds after a bad Manhattan divorce, and she fell backward into the role of sheriff. From Hizzoner the Moron—also know as Jim Bob Buchanon, the pettily corrupt mayor—to Ruby Bee Hanks—Arly’s mother and the town’s foremost gossip—the people of Maggody are all crazy in their own ways, and that craziness is about to turn deadly. When Joanna Mae Nookim returns to work after giving birth, the bank manager bumps her down to minimum wage as punishment for taking time off. It’s outrageous, but there’s nothing Arly can do. But when the bank burns to the ground and the head teller is found dead, Maggody threatens to burst into an all-out revolution for the sake of women’s rights. Fans of comic mysteries have known for years that no small town is quite like Maggody. With its wild cast of characters and its no-nonsense female detective, Much Ado in Maggody is evidence of master of cozy mysteries Joan Hess at her best. Much Ado in Maggody is the 3rd book in the Arly Hanks Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

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.

Kalli Dakos, a teacher and popular school poet, lends her verse to celebrate teachers and the important work they do. These poems range from lighthearted glimpses of classroom life to selections that will inspire teachers to share their unique gifts and talents with children. ,,,,Kalli hopes teachers will laugh and cry through these poems, and ultimately be inspired to celebrate the poetic moments in their own classrooms.

Eleven stories of jealousy, lunacy, and murder told in the uproarious style of Joan Hess, the creator of Maggody, Arkansas. As he waits in the checkout line at Consumers Market, Jay Jay Anderson is certain of one thing: His wife, Cookie, deserves to die. In the tabloids, he finds a story about a man whose wife was kidnapped by Big Foot, and Jay Jay can''t imagine a luckier fellow. But Cookie is a wino with nicotine-stained fingers, badly bleached hair, and a voice shrill enough to cut glass. . . . Big Foot wouldn''t be interested. If Jay Jay wants out of his rotten marriage, he''ll have to kill Cookie himself. "Big Foot Stole My Wife!" is classic Joan Hess: diabolical, hilarious, and utterly unpredictable. This sparkling collection of stories, which includes two tales culled from the Maggody police files of beloved small-town sheriff Arly Hanks, shows a master of comic mysteries operating at her very best. Fans of the comic small-town mysteries of Donna Andrews or Liz Lipperman will adore Joan Hess. The creator of the outrageous Ozarks hamlet of Maggody, she''s one of the funniest authors in mystery fiction, and these stories show her at her laugh-out-loud best.

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. 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.

A Claire Malloy mystery.

CHAOS AND MURDER SOON FOLLOW WHEN A SMALL TOWN GOES ONLINE.

Police chief Arly Hanks investigates murder in her Ozark hometown in three books of a beloved series by an Agatha Award–winning author. Her marriage and career over, Arly Hanks heads home to Maggody, Arkansas, for a fresh start. Not much ever happens in a village this size, so Arly figures her new job as chief of police will be pretty quiet. But the seemingly peaceful Maggody residents have a few secrets of their own . . . Malice in Maggody: Something stinks, and it''s not the polluted fishing hole. An escaped convict is coming home to roost, an infamous EPA agent has disappeared, and there''s a corpse with an arrow in its neck at a nearby seedy motel. Now it''s up to Arly and her half-witted deputy, Paulie, to discover the source of the rot. Mischief in Maggody: Maggody''s population is suddenly booming, and among its new residents are a doom-obsessed psychic and a handsome high school guidance counselor. But after a local moonshiner and prostitute are found dead in a booby-trapped field of cannabis, Arly must root out the killer before they make another deadly deduction. Much Ado in Maggody: The bank president''s playboy son, Brandon Bernswallow, is now the head teller, and his sexist behavior has women ready to tell him off. When the bank burns down with Bernswallow inside, Arly must quickly uncover what really happened if she hopes to cool the town''s tensions.

Maggody, Arkansas (pop. 755) is perceived of as a two-bit hick town, filled with one-bit hicks. But Mrs. Jim Bob Buchanan seeks to change that perception with her latest scheme—a charity golf tournament. This presents a bit of a challenge, since no one in Maggody plays golf and there is no course. But when the prize for the first hole-in-one is announced—a top of the line bass boat—nearly everyone in town develops a new-found interest in the sport. The town goes golf crazy, trying to learn the sport in time to win the bass boat, with limited success and maximum domestic disorder. Sheriff Arly Hanks, who has better things to worry about, just wishes it would all go away. When a small-town golf instructor wins the bass boat on the first day of the tournament, it looks like all the excitement is over. But the next morning, when he''s found dead, sitting in the parking lot in the front seat of the bass boat, the prize is once again up for grabs and nearly everyone in town is a murder suspect.

Murder is no laughing matter—especially when it comes to marriage. So before Luanne gets in too deep with her new flame, a dentist named Dick, she''d like her best friend to do a background check. Did Dick murder his two previous wives? That''s what Arkansas bookseller and amateur sleuth Claire Malloy intends to discover... Everything Claire turns up on this would-be blue-beard keeps leading her down a slippery slope. The police are determined to prove Dick guilty of double homicide, but Claire''s not so sure. Something about his story just doesn''t add up. But if Dick didn''t do the deed, who did? The only thing Claire knows for sure is that Luanne won''t have a moment''s rest until she finds out...

Delightfully deadly short fiction from the pen of Joan Hess, creator of Maggody, Arkansas. Althea is caught in a romance writer''s worst nightmare: She''s been trapped in one of her own melodramatic creations. Around her, strapping men chase after elegant women whose bosoms heave and whose bodices beg to be ripped. There''s no television, no women''s lib, and absolutely no escape. Worst of all, Althea fits right in. Everyone recognizes her as the penniless orphan rescued from a cruel uncle by a charming nobleman. Althea would rather be dead—and if she''s lucky, she will be soon. The creator of the Claire Malloy Mysteries, which chronicle the adventures of a bookselling sleuth, Joan Hess knows better than anyone how dangerous romance novels can be. In "Death of a Romance Writer" and the other six stories in this volume, she redefines what it means to die laughing.

After a crossbow killing at a cheap roadside motel, Ozarks police chief Arly Hanks finds herself investigating her first murder case. 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.

Another "great" cozy mystery set in outrageous Maggody, Arkansas, a town so strange that even Hollywood filmmakers can''t believe it''s real ( Library Journal). From the Kwik-Stoppe-Shoppe to the Pot O'' Gold Mobile Home Park, there isn''t much glamour in Maggody . . . but this flyspeck Arkansas town is about to become famous. When a Hollywood production company chooses Maggody as a backdrop for an X-rated Ozarks "Romeo and Juliet," the locals are starstruck. And as Maggody is flooded with washed-up actors, ruthless producers, and a cynical crew, the townsfolk will do anything for a close-up—even if it means resorting to murder. Chief of Police Arly Hanks has no time for Hollywood—she''s got her hands full with a local arsonist—but when one of the actors is found dead in a bathtub, she''s forced to intervene. As the film spins out of control, Arly realizes that the citizens of Maggody will stop at nothing to get their fifteen minutes of fame—even as the town burns down around them. In the spirit of David Mamet''s State and Main, this delightful novel shows that when Hollywood collides with small-town values, the movie industry doesn''t stand a chance. Mortal Remains in Maggody is the 5th book in the Arly Hanks Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

When you make a game of murder, be careful who the players are... Who could resist the mock-murder weekend at the charming Mimosa Inn-- certainly not bookstore owner and amateur sleuth Claire Malloy, who decides to bring her petulant daughter Caron along for some detecting. As the guests settle in for a weekend of sleuthing, dressed as their favorite literary detectives, many a Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot stand poised to solve a murder. But fiction becomes alarmingly real, as the mock-murder victim isn''t just playing dead-- he''s really been bashed to death. More determined than even to find the killer, Claire combs the grounds of the lovely inn for this most uninvited guest.

Just as the Renaissance Fair is set to open a body has been found burned in the wreckage of a rented home. Tensions expose the dark secrets and malevolent schemes that lurk beneath the surface. Now, with Claire''s dreams of a blissful wedding between her daughter and Police Lieutenant Peter Rosen hanging in the balance, she has no choice but to fling herself into the battle and match wits with the killer.