Murder@Maggody.com

Starred review from January 3, 2000
The latest Arly Hanks mystery (after Misery Loves Maggody) proves once again the author's mastery of light-hearted country humor. The tiny Arkansas town of Maggody is in an uproar because one of the local high school teachers has obtained a grant to set up a computer lab for students and citizens. The move toward new technology provokes a fiery debate in the town hall, where the mayor's wife argues that the Internet's easy access to smut makes it the work of the devil. But when the computers and a systems operator arrive, everyone flocks to see the town's Web site, including a 17-year-old named Gwynnie. She and her infant son have just moved to Maggody so she can live with her aunt while studying for her GED, and more than one young man is smitten with her good looks and helpless predicament. But when Gwynnie is murdered and the town's e-mails are tainted with pornographic pictures that flash on the screen for a moment, then disappear, some residents think the devil has indeed arrived and taken up a religious crusade against the new computer lab. It's up to level-headed police chief Arly Hanks to find the earthly causes to both crimes. In order to do so, she must dig into Gwynnie's mysterious past, question a gaggle of trailer park locals and investigate the system operator's shaky marriage--all while trying to quell the detective tendencies of her mother, Ruby Bee, and her friend Estelle. Maggody's eccentric inhabitants and Hess's comic touch infuse this cozy with a refreshing dose of spunk, resulting in another triumph for both small-town America and Hess.

In the quiet town of Maggody, the Internet has finally arrived, strange visions are haunting the inhabitants, a student has been murdered. Arly Hanks, chief of police, has her hands full, keeping the peace, catching the bad guys, and finding the creator(s) of smut. C.J. Critt characterizes the inhabitants of Maggody with believable Arkansan accents and phrasing. Unfortunately Hess's wisecracks and puns are deadened by Critt's full stop at the end of each joke, which causes Arly Hanks's charm to fall flat. But as the jokes fall, so do the bad guys, as Hess brings her tale of murder to an amazing conclusion. M.B.K. (c) AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine