Malpractice in Maggody: An Arly Hanks Mystery [Large Print] [Hardcover]

Joan Hess (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 2006

A part from small-town feuds and church scandal, things have been so quiet in the little Arkansas town of Maggody that even police chief Arly Hanks has found time for a vacation. But she returns to find trouble brewing and tongues wagging at fever pitch. The local old-folks' home has been sold to a mysterious outsider, and overnight the place has been transformed into the Stonebridge Foundation, an exclusive rehabilitation center complete with a stone-faced guard who doesn't speak a word of English and an even nastier dog. Soon there are rumors flying of mental patients roaming the countryside at night, and every character in town is keeping a gun close at hand, just in case. Everyone is dying to know what goes on behind those inhospitable gates, with the exception of Arly, who has enough rural business to keep her satisfied.

When the beautiful young receptionist found drowned in the garden pool is identified as a local girl from nearby Farberville, it's clear the case may not only involve the suspicious characters who've recently moved to town, but also some of the citizens of Maggody, who may have a secret or two to hide themselves. There's the doctor who can't resist a dose of his own medicine and a roster of patients that reads like a who's who of tabloid headlines, as well as the local pastor who gets his spiritual inspiration with a little help from the sacramental wine, and the mayor's wife who makes it her business to know everything about everyone. Soon Arly finds herself on the trail of a killer and discovers she may be the "only" innocent person left in town.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

When an unknown buyer quickly and covertly renovates what was once the local old folks' home, many of the 775 inhabitants of Maggody, Ark., are more than curious in Hess's delightful 15th Arly Hanks mystery (after 2004's Muletrain to Maggody). Rumors fly that the new Stonebridge Foundation, a posh rehabilitation center surrounded by a brick wall and protected by a Spanish-speaking guard and a mean dog, is a lunatic asylum. When a young woman is found drowned in a pond on the grounds, police chief Arly Hanks investigates with her customary aplomb and humor, aided by a less than supportive cast of helpers. Meanwhile, the quirky and lovable citizens of Maggody deal with matters in their own inimitable style. The addition of some far from perfect new characters helps keep this deservedly popular cozy series fresh. (Jan.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

The prolific Hess, author of 15 Claire Malloy mysteries, now delivers the fifteenth in her Arly Hanks series. Although both series are set in small-town Arkansas, the protagonists are very different women--Claire is a lovable bumbler whereas Arly delights readers with her brains and smart mouth. In this adventure, Arly returns from a camping trip to find the tiny town of Maggody (population 755) abuzz. The local home for the elderly has been sold to an unknown buyer, who kicks out the residents and transforms the space into the mysterious Stonebridge Foundation. When the Stonebridge receptionist is found drowned, the activities surrounding the place take on a sinister air. Throughout it all, Arly struggles to keep her aplomb, especially when some Maggody citizens start to look a little suspicious. Her mother, Ruby Bee, and Ruby's best friend, Estelle, add a generous dash of humor to the proceedings, as do other zany characters of the tiny town. Good, clean fun that will please fans of Hess' madcap mix of comedy and mystery. Jenny McLarin
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 493 pages
• Publisher: Thorndike Press (March 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786283688
• ISBN-13: 978-0786283682
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,308,601 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars More Buchanons than you can shake a stick at!, April 15, 2006

By 

R. Kelly Wagner "[e-mail]" (MD, United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Malpractice in Maggody: An Arly Hanks Mystery (Arly Hanks Mysteries) (Hardcover)

The Maggody series is mainly comedy and farce, although there's a serious issue or two, and this book is no exception. We have our usual cast of characters, many of whom are pure stereotypes, such as Mrs. Jim Bob and Brother Verber. There's Kevin and Dahlia and their twins, but also more takes place with Kevin's mother, Eileen, and she's a neat character and her subplot is funny. However, we also get cameos of quite a few more assorted Buchanons in this book, with ever odder first names. We already knew about Diesel Buchanon, up on the ridge; when the old folks' home closes, his brother Petrol joins him in the cave. There's Cinatra Buchanon, and Booker Tee, and Bilious, and Tekeella Buchanon... Anyway, if I weren't wearing a little thin on farce, I'd probably have given this 5 stars.

Some of the highlights to enjoy:
* Ruby Bee's attempts to speak Spanish to the Stonebridge staff staying at her motel
* The snarky diet doctor with an overdeveloped sense of opera (his is some of the best dialogue in the book)
* The occasionally moments of human decency that still peek through the steroid/testosterone poisoning of the football player

There are a couple of things that the reader can see coming waaaaay down the pike: the surprise about Arly at the end, for example, is pretty easy to guess about halfway through. On the other hand, the surprise secret identity of one of the Stonebridge staff is a genuine surprise. I won't give away more than that.

If you haven't read other books in the series, a lot of this one won't make any sense - you have to know something about the characters already to understand WHY we have the alternating plots featuring Kevin and Dahlia, and Arly's boyfriend Jack, and Ruby Bee and Estelle's shenanigans. So if you haven't read others, in addition to this volume in the series, you should also get at least a couple of others - the first volume, "Malice in Maggody" and perhaps the one where Arly meets Jack, "Maggody and the Moonbeams."

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Malady in Maggody, April 28, 2006

By 

Lyn L. Marker - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Malpractice in Maggody: An Arly Hanks Mystery (Arly Hanks Mysteries) (Hardcover)

I was frankly disappointed in this installment of the series. I read all of Hess' Maggody and Claire Malloy books and was wondering when a new Maggody would appear. Imagine my delight when this book was announced as forthcoming and my dismay when I finished it. It was lackluster without the usual antics of Ruby Bee and Estelle, just some conversation and cooking between the two with a lukewarm spat which didn't have the typical caustic counterattacks. Kevin and Dahlia, Jim Bob and the Missus, Brother Verber, and the usual cast just seemed to have obligatory roles and the newcomers in town did not have the appeal or pizzaz to make the book interesting. Arly's romance could have spiced things up a bit, but it was only mentioned briefly and we were left at the end of the book knowing something that we had suspected for chapters, and for the first time in the whole of the series, I couldn't have cared less. There was no energy in this episode and, with the exception of a few verbal exchanges between Arly and Harve, no spark at all. It seemed that Ms. Hess figured it was time for a new Maggody, so she came up with an unenthusiastic cast of characters and stuck them in a dreary plot. In my opinion, she could have sparked it up by using the regulars and given them a new predicament to deal with in their own hilarious ways. Sorry, this was a dreadful disappointment to me.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars hilarious police procedural, January 11, 2006

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Malpractice in Maggody: An Arly Hanks Mystery (Arly Hanks Mysteries) (Hardcover)

The 755 residents of Maggody, Arkansas wonder what is being build at site of the old folks home guarded with a high wire fence and a security person with a mean looking attack dog at his side. The place is going to be a high priced rehab center staffed by Dr. Vincent Stonebridge (who lost his license in California and was forced to relocate), Dr. Randall Zumi (a psychologist whose wife is divorcing him) and Dr. Brenda Skiller (a psychologist who believes in the holistic approach).

The four patients include former child star Dawn Dartmouth who is in for a court ordered psychological examination; Senator Alexandra Swayze who is running for reelection but needs to kick her addiction for painkillers: Toby Mann, a former quarterback who is on a ninety day court ordered psychological evaluation; and diet guru Dr. Dibbins who needs to lose a massive amount of weight so that he can go on a book tour. It is hard to tell who the inmates are as the patients and staff act the same but chief of police Arly Hanks isn't interested in what goes on there unlike the rest of the town until the receptionist is murdered. Then she has to deal with doctors and patients who can drive a sane person crazy.

MALPRACTICE IN MAGGODY is a hilarious police procedural due to the antics of the patients and staff, all of whom have their own agendas that doesn't include getting cured. On the part of the patients, they want what feeds their addictions and the staff wants them to pay for exotic treatments to inflate their profits. Readers will find themselves laughing out loud at some of the activities of the townspeople as their try to find out who the patients are and why they are there.

Harriet Klausner