A hilarious police procedural set in the strangest town in the Ozarks,
where whip-smart sheriff Arly Hanks does everything she can to keep the
peace.
Nothing ever happens in Maggody, Arkansas, population 755. Aside from
handling the occasional barroom brawl or exploding still, Chief of
Police Arly Hanks spends her days sipping coffee and squashing flies.
She returned to Maggody two years ago, licking her wounds after a bad
Manhattan divorce, and she fell backward into the role of sheriff. From
Hizzoner the Moron--also know as Jim Bob Buchanon, the pettily corrupt
mayor--to Ruby Bee Hanks--Arly's mother and the town's foremost
gossip--the people of Maggody are all crazy in their own ways, and that
craziness is about to turn deadly.
When Joanna Mae Nookim returns to work after giving birth, the bank
manager bumps her down to minimum wage as punishment for taking time
off. It's outrageous, but there's nothing Arly can do. But when the bank
burns to the ground and the head teller is found dead, Maggody threatens
to burst into an all-out revolution for the sake of women's rights.
Fans of comic mysteries have known for years that no small town is quite
like Maggody. With its wild cast of characters and its no-nonsense
female detective, Much Ado in Maggody is evidence of master of cozy
mysteries Joan Hess at her best.
Much Ado in Maggody is the 3rd book in the Arly Hanks Mysteries, but
you may enjoy reading the series in any order.
