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Maggody and the Moonbeams

Name: Maggody and the Moonbeams
Author: Joan Hess
ISBN: 9781451688061

by Joan Hess

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Overview

Enforcing law and order in the Ozarks just got tougher for Arly Hanks: chaperoning the church youth group, she must keep ten hormonally-challenged teens in line on a retreat to Camp Pearly Gates. It's a hellish assignment sure to have Arly and her fellow travelers — Mrs. Jim Bob Buchanon, the mayor's wife; the high school shop teacher; and preacher Brother Verber — praying for strength. But adolescent angst soon turns to shocking revelation when the body of a white-robed woman turns up on the campgrounds. She belonged to the quirky cult Daughters of the Moon — and now Arly, fishing for clues with a handsome angler named Jacko, must walk a narrow path to snare a killer who works in mysterious ways....

Synopsis

Enforcing law and order in the Ozarks just got tougher for Arly Hanks: chaperoning the church youth group, she must keep ten hormonally-challenged teens in line on a retreat to Camp Pearly Gates. It's a hellish assignment sure to have Arly and her fellow travelers -- Mrs. Jim Bob Buchanon, the mayor's wife; the high school shop teacher; and preacher Brother Verber -- praying for strength. But adolescent angst soon turns to shocking revelation when the body of a white-robed woman turns up on the campgrounds. She belonged to the quirky cult Daughters of the Moon -- and now Arly, fishing for clues with a handsome angler named Jacko, must walk a narrow path to snare a killer who works in mysterious ways....

About the Author, Joan Hess

Joan Hess is the author of the critically acclaimed Maggody mysteries, including the Pocket Books paperbacks Muletrain to Maggody, Maggody and the Moonbeams, Misery Loves Maggody, and [email protected], nominated for the prestigious Nero Wolfe Award. She has received numerous awards, including the American Mystery Award, the Agatha Award, the Drood Review Readers' Award, and the

Macavity Award. A former president of the American Crime Writers League, she is currently president of the Arkansas Mystery Writers Alliance, as well as a member of Sisters in Crime. Joan Hess lives in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

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Editorials

From Barnes & Noble

Arly Hanks -- the wildest chief of police in the Ozarks -- has finally met her match. To her horror, she's been cajoled into chaperoning a group of ten hormonally challenged teens on a youth group camp out, along with the mayor's wife, the high school shop teacher, and preacher Brother Verber. Bunking with the crew is bad enough, but things get even hairier when one of the campers stumbles upon the body of a white-robed woman with a shaved head. And before Arly Hanks can do a head count, she finds herself hindered by a cast of crazies, while she tracks down a spacey cult whose initiation ritual could be a real killer.

From the Publisher

Booklist Another hilarious installment in this unequaled series.

The New York Times Book Review Award-winning author Joan Hess's Maggody mysteries are "delectable and continually surprising" — read them all!

The New York Times Book Review An indecently funny backwoods mystery.

Tampa Tribune-Times (FL) Raucous and rollicking fun.

Kirkus Reviews

Under normal circumstances, wild horses couldn't induce Maggody's Chief of Police Arly Hanks (murder *************** maggody.com, 1999, etc.) to chaperone a group of hormonal teenagers from the Voice of the Lord Almighty Assembly Hall during their week-long retreat at Camp Pearly Gates. But circumstances are anything but normal in this no-horse town. First, Raz Buchanon's pedigreed sow Marjorie takes a fancy to Perkins's mule, whose owner threatens to blow the odiferous Raz clear out of Stump County if he so much as sets foot on Perkins property. Then Earl Buchanon provokes the wrath of his daughter-in-law, Dahlia, by suggesting that her adorable offspring Rose Marie and Kevin Jr. might not be identical twins. The last straw, though, comes when Arly's mother, Ruby Bee, in what must be a menopausal daze, sets fire to the Bar and Grill, putting Arly's sole source of nutrition out of commission. Faced with the prospect of three weeks of burritos from the Dairee Dee-Lishus, Arly capitulates, accompanying Brother Verber and Mrs. Jim Bob Buchanon out to Dunkicker, an even pokier burg than the one she left behind. But small doesn't always mean quiet, and soon enough a vacationing fisherman brings to her attention a corpse on the campground. Someone's snuffed out one of the Daughters of the Moon, a cult of biblically named females headquartered at Camp Pearly Gates. Deputized by Sheriff Harve Dorfer to investigate, Arly follows the meager trail of clues to its inevitable conclusion. Even predictable Hess is fun, with smart-mouthed Arly as sassy as ever.