The Maggody Militia: An Arly Hanks Mystery [Hardcover]

Joan Hess (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1997 | Series: Arly Hanks Mystery

The residents of Maggody, Arkansas, initially welcome new pawnshop owner Kayla Smeltner, but when it appears that she is training a militia group and that she may be tied to a murder, female sleuth Arly Hanks must get to the bottom of it.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

YA. Another romp through the small Arkansas town populated by the quirkiest characters in fiction today. This time the problems are caused by a group of camouflage-clad survivalists tramping through the woods during hunting season. One of them is killed and Sheriff Arly Hanks is called in to solve the murder. This is the tenth title in this comic mystery series.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Hess created a gem when she invented the wacky world of Maggody, Arkansas. From a movie crew making a pornographic film to a gaggle of extraterrestrials, there has been no shortage of loopy situations to entertain Maggody's citizenry, usually to the despair of the local sheriff, Arly (aka Ariel) Hanks. Given past history, it's hardly surprising to find Maggody playing host to a group of superpatriot militiamen in town to recruit more members and play war games on Cotter's Ridge, home of the local moonshiner's still and a feral member of the notoriously inbred Buchanon clan. Despite Arly's protest that local deer hunters will be out in swarms, drunk, and liable to shoot at anything that moves, the militiamen go ahead with their exercises--only to have one member fall dead the first morning. Matters are further complicated by the arrival of some bad-tempered ostriches (we're not making this up) and the determined sleuthing of Arly's mother, Ruby Bee, and her best friend, Estelle Oppers (proprietress of Estelle's Hair Fantasies). If this all sounds totally cuckoo, it is, but the devoted legions of Maggody fans expect nothing less, and those new to the craziness will soon be laughing along with the rest of us. A fine addition to a vastly entertaining series. Stuart Miller

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Dutton Adult; 1 edition (May 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 052594236X
• ISBN-13: 978-0525942368
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.9 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,411,424 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I loved this book!, April 4, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Maggody Militia: An Arly Hanks Mystery (Hardcover)

As a long time Maggody reader, I found this book to be a welcome addition to an already entertaining series. Reading Ms. Hess is like eating peanuts - one always leads to another until the bag is empty. In this book, large events in the news are portrayed in the small scale frame of Maggody, Arkansas. Her ability to find humor in life's most frustrating of circumstances is a gift I'm glad she is willing to share. Many times series books get stale after a while, but Ms. Hess' books just get better. It seems she is getting to know these people as long time friends, just as I am. Please write more! I'm waiting!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Could have taken place in North Idaho where I live, September 16, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Maggody Militia (Arly Hanks Mystery) (Paperback)

I love all of Joan Hess books and each one allows me to reunite with "friends." Some whom reminds me of my relatives -- no lie. This book however does also take on a heavier issue with humor of militias and how dangerous they are. Very good book -- as usual -- I have turned many people on to her.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Joan Hess is fun to read, May 2, 2001

By 

gray (midwest) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Maggody Militia (Arly Hanks Mystery) (Paperback)

Joan Hess and Janet Evanovich are the two most enjoyable mystery writers in America. If humor in a mystery novel offends you, avoid them like the plague. But if you read for fun, if you read to escape for a few hours from the drudgery of a job or the drivel of television, read a Joan Hess mystery set in Maggody, Arkansas, or a Janet Evanovich mystery set in New Jersey. These two ladies have a way of putting words on paper that is simply and purely entertaining. In The Maggody Militia, a few paranoid members a rightwing militia decide to hold exercises in the woods near Maggody. As usual, Chief of Police Arly Hanks has to solve a murder while dealing with the strangest set of characters ever to appear in a mystery.