Customer Reviews

Miracles in Maggody: 9 (Arly Hanks Mystery)

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Serendipity is one of my favorite states of mind and finding Joan Hess and her sheriff/heroine Arly Hanks was a serendipitous treat a few years ago. In the latest edition that I picked up in paperback, Miracles in Maggody, Arly is once again the oasis of sanity in the odd little town of Maggody, Arkansas, as she takes on evangelist Malachi Hope and his entourage which includes his wife Seraphina and "adopted" daughter Chastity. The plot won't be much of a surprise to mystery lovers--or even television or movie watchers (I thought of the Steve Martin movie Leap of Faith while reading). But if you are unacquainted with the genre of comic mysteries, the Arly Hanks series is about as good as you'll get for a starting point. Like many authors who write a series centered on a main character, Ms. Hess allows the reader to pick up any single edition and feel comfortable with the charaters, their background, and the setting. The Maggody series is so place-specific, though, that I highly recommend reading them in order. This town is full of the rarest of characters, many of them in-bred, and each book seems to build on their collective quirks and foibles and unexpected delights--to say nothing of belly laughs--so reading them in order is more like moving to Maggody and getting to know the town characters over a period of time. Don't expect sex (well, not much and not really x-rated) or rough language or even convoluted plot lines. But the mystery hangs together well enough to keep you intrigued, as well as the subsidiary plot lines. And even though I guessed the "bad guy" long before the denouement, it didn't spoil the fun of getting away to the backwoods of Arkansas for a few hours.

Miracles in Maggody is one of a series of mysteries set in the mythical town of Maggody, Arkansas. Joan Hess has created a town full of interesting (and very funny) people. Living in Maggody might be hell; reading about Maggody is heaven. If you were turned off by the Claire Malloy series by Hess (and who isn't irritated by heroines who can only unmask a killer by doing something incredibly stupid), don't worry. The Maggody series is blessed with humor, wit and charm and a likable heroine. Miracles in Maggody unfairly stereotypes fundamentalist Christians. But Hess unfairly stereotypes most other ethnic and religious groups -- and does it with so much light hearted style -- that even a dyed in the wool fundamentalist like me enjoyed the book.