The Merry Wives of Maggody: An Arly Hanks Mystery (Arly Hanks Mysteries) [Hardcover]

Joan Hess (Author)

Book Description

Series: Arly Hanks Mysteries | Publication Date: January 19, 2010

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.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Hess's amusing 16th update on tiny Maggody, Ark., and its crazy cornpone citizens (after 2006's Malpractice in Maggody) might have been more aptly titled Murder's a Hole-in-One in Maggody. On the opening day of the first Maggody Charity Golf Tournament, poor braggart Tommy Ridner—who was so excited to win the hole-in-one prize, a $40,000 bass boat—turns up dead in the prize boat, his head bashed in by a golf club. Tommy's murder creates a flapdoodle for Maggody's newbie golfers, who hardly knew what a golf tee was before the big tournament. The town's fearless (and pregnant) police chief, Arly Hanks, is confronted with more shockers after a friend of Tommy's is also beaten to death with a golf club, and a rising LPGA star reports an assault. What if golf columnist Dan Jenkins wrote a cozy? Perhaps it would turn out something like this slaphappy cozy, raunchy but wise. (Jan.)
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From Booklist

Well, whoever heard of such foolishness? A charity golf tournament in Maggody, Arkansas, a town with no golf course, no golfers, and hardly any citizens (755 is the official population)? Only Mrs. Jim Bob Buchanon, the mayor’s wife, could come up with such an idea, and, frankly, Arly Hanks, the town’s chief of police, would really rather not deal with the silliness. She has more than enough on her plate, what with a very tricky issue in her personal life; and when an out-of-town golfer actually sinks a hole-in-one and wins the grand prize (yes, a golf course was requisitioned for the occasion), only to turn up murdered the very next day, Arly wishes she could just make the whole thing go away. If Dan Jenkins or Rick Reilly were to write a golf-themed mystery novel, it would sound pretty much like this book: lightly humorous, with a large cast of slightly loopy characters and a mystery that keeps us guessing, but without distracting us from the golf and the fun. --David Pitt

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Minotaur Books; First Edition edition (January 19, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312363613
• ISBN-13: 978-0312363611
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.9 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #727,522 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I love Maggody and it's eccentric citizens., January 24, 2010

By 

andiesenji (SoCal,USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Merry Wives of Maggody: An Arly Hanks Mystery (Arly Hanks Mysteries) (Kindle Edition)

I've read every Maggody book with great delight and have been anticipating this book and expecting great pleasure in reading it.
It did not disappoint. The entire premise of a golf tournament in this tiny, rural town, with its limited resources and mostly backward folk, was hilarious to begin with.
Mrs. Jim Bob's idea of "golf widows" being needy set me off in a spasm of giggles that recurred with each and very mention of the term. (Having known a few "golf widows" who thoroughly enjoyed their status, made it even funnier for me.)
The new major and incidental characters from "away" who are involved in this story are every bit as exceptional as the "ordinary" denizens of Maggody and their characters are perfectly developed in this story.
Arly Hanks is, as usual, the only truly sane member of this menagerie and, in spite of being in an "interesting condition," is able to see through the obvious and collar the perpetrator.
I certainly recommend this cozy for anyone who loves mystery with humor.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Loose Ends, March 6, 2010

By 

melissmcmlx "melissmcmlx" (Ashland, NH USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Merry Wives of Maggody: An Arly Hanks Mystery (Arly Hanks Mysteries) (Hardcover)

I love Joan Hess, don't get me wrong. I've read all of her Claire Malloy and Arly Hanks novels, but, I think this one left too many loose ends. While it sets Ms. Hess up beautifully for another Maggody memoir, I sure wish she'd "closed" some of the open doors. Definitely a good read, just not one of her best!Merry Wives of Maggody: An Arly Hanks Mystery

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Major disappointment, May 21, 2010

By 

TopCatLvr (Pacific North West) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Merry Wives of Maggody: An Arly Hanks Mystery (Arly Hanks Mysteries) (Hardcover)

I have read all the previous books in this series and loved the quirky sense of humor exhibited in the writing, the finely-crafted characters and the wacky goings on of the town and its people. This particular book is very, very dull in comparison to the previous ones. I like that Ms. Hess is not one of those writers who cranks out several books a year "just because", but this one should have never made it to print without some major changes. To me one of the expectations going into any story about Maggody is that Estelle and Ruby Bee will do their own amateur sleuthing, the miscellaneous wacky characters will be involved in a variety of personal crisis, and it will all work out in the end. I am nearly finished with this book and have not found any of it particularly amusing or interesting. Please don't tell me this charming series, as we have come to know and love it, is over.