Customer Reviews

Mischief in Maggody (Arly Hanks Mystery)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is not your typical murder mystery. Although the victim, a moonshine making, ginseng picking, illegitimate baby producing mountain woman dies around chapter three, no one will realize that she is dead until about halfway through the book. The first half is taking up with the humorous goings on of the wacky inhabitants of Magoody who seem to include at least one example of every unflattering hillbilly stereotype in existence. When the mountain women goes a missing, her five wild children are dragged into town for their own good. The mystery is as much about who their fathers might be as who is responsible for the booby-trapped dope field that took their ma's life. In the end, or rather long before the end most readers will have figured out the answers to both of these questions. Fortunately, the mystery plays back seat to her large cast of crazed characters. If the authors raunchy sense of humor hits your funny bone you will be turning the pages faster and faster trying to find out what nutty thing will happen next.

I found the Maggody mysteries in a wonderful case of serendipity and now I can't get enough. They have me turning pages as fast as I can to find out what hilarious development is next. One of the few writers that make me laugh out loud, and frequently. Joan Hess has created characters that you would never admit to knowing, but secretly wish you had met. They are at the same time outrageous and very real.

If you're a fan of the Maggody series, or looking for a great summer read then this is the book for you! Joan Hess brings her characters to life in this book! You'll find yourself laughing out loud at the antics of Hammet, Ruby Bee, etc.
This book is the best in the series (all though I love them all!), I've read each of the books in this series several times over & this one is my favorite by far!

While the story flows well in this mystery, why have so much filthy language and so many detailed sexual scenarios? If the author is trying for authenticity in dialogue, this is fiction and seeing the "F-word" and other "curse words" every other page is jarring and unnecessary, and not representative of most people. It doesn't further the story and offers readers an uncomfortable place to be in throughout the book. Some of the characters are interesting, but continually reading about "sleazy" people feels like work instead of pleasure. I have read one other Maggody book, but if this had been my first I wouldn't have read another. And many of these fictional Southern characters really make Southerners look bad, resembling the often-used negative stereotypical portrayals that those who don't live in the South like to perpetuate. This book excels at that. A good writer, but some maturity would help the work.

Mystery and humor in one package. Great stuff. I hope she keeps writting about Maggody. -Sharice Lee-Author: "The Survivor's Guide."-

When a psychic and some hippies move to Maggody Arly once again finds her hands full. With their beloved Boone Creek under peril the locals decide to take matters into their own hands. Everyone and no one is a suspect when Arly takes the case. The people of Maggody must be getting nervous cause ever since Arly came back to town, murder seems to have become the towns most popular hobby