Misery Loves Maggody

Joan Hess

Oct 2008 · Recorded Books · Narrated by C.J. Critt

About this audiobook

Joan Hess, highly acclaimed author, is known for her wonderful sense of the bizarre and talent for spinning a web of intrigue. She perpetually packs her unique mystery series with murder and mayhem in the not-so-sleepy town of Maggody, Arkansas. Maggody Police Chief Arly Hanks is all shook up when she hears that her mother collapsed during a pilgrimage to Graceland and is in a Memphis hospital. Another member of the tour is pushed to her death from a hotel balcony. A prominent Maggody citizen stands accused of the murder. Arly's suspicious mind tells her to snap into action--it's now or never--before the touring residents of Maggody are returned to sender ... in a hearse. Voicing the perfect amount of wit and satire along with the fast-paced dialog, narrator C.J. Critt gives listeners a real treat, as this mystery spins out of control and back again.

About the author

Joan Hess was born in Fayetteville, Arkansas in 1949. She received a bachelor's degree in art from the University of Arkansas in 1971 and a master's degree in education from Long Island University in 1974. For several years, she taught art in a private preschool. Her first book, Strangled Prose, was published in 1986. She was the author of the Claire Malloy Mystery series and the Arly Hanks Mystery series. A Diet to Die For won the American Mystery Award for best traditional novel of 1989. A short story, Too Much to Bare, received the Agatha Award in 1990 and the McCavity Award in 1991. She also wrote the Theo Bloomer series under the pseudonym Joan Hadley. She finished the final Amelia Peabody novel, The Painted Queen, using the notes of Elizabeth Peters and their conversations to finish the book. It was published in 2017. She died on November 23, 2017 at the age of 68.