Hess, Joan

Damsels in Distress: A Claire Malloy Mystery

Average customer rating:

A disappointing read
Entertaining amusing mystery series set in college town
don't like renaissance fairs
A laugh a minute in a Renaissance murder setting
Laugh Out Loud Fun

Damsels in Distress: A Claire Malloy Mystery
Joan Hess
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Minotaur
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0312315015
Release Date: 2007-04-03

Book Description

A Renaissance Fair is coming to the relatively quiet college town of Farberville, Arkansas. Though resistant to getting involved, Claire Malloy, local bookseller and mother of the perpetually petulant teenager Caron (she who speaks in ALL CAPS), finds herself drawn into the strange inner workings of the group putting on the fair. But suddenly, a dark mood falls over the festivities when one of the organizers is a victim of arson, and her body is found in the burned wreckage of her rented house. The circumstances of the crime take an unusual turn when it seems that no one can identify the body, since mysteriously no one has seen the woman in the flesh. Someone is definitely deadbut is it murder? And how does it all relate to the very singular members of the local chapter of The Association for Renaissance Scholarship and Enlightenment (ARSE)?

Customer Reviews:

A disappointing read .......2007-06-11

I really had to work to stay with this to the end, and wasn't worth my time. The renaissance stuff was tedious, a really disappointing read.

Entertaining amusing mystery series set in college town .......2007-05-14

This lastest clever mystery by Joan Hess moves you from your armchair to a college town coping with a medieval fair with a cast of characters funny but believable.

don't like renaissance fairs.......2007-05-09

I disliked this book. I don't like Renaissance fairs as it is, and I far prefer Hess's Maggody books to the Claire Molloy stories. This book had conversations that went on way too long with the "thee" and "thou" Renaissance speech that I find tedious. She also tossed in some quotes that seemed unnecessary and self-serving. Sure showed me that I know nothing of literature. I think I've bought all of Hess's books. From the beginning I observed that Hess's phrasing is so trite, it's almost high school quality. (No offense to articulate high schoolers.)

I do enjoy the interaction between mother and daughter, which is probably why I still buy her Molloy stories.

A laugh a minute in a Renaissance murder setting.......2007-05-01

The Renaissance Fair in my state is among the oldest continuously operating Renaissance Fairs in the United States, and will celebrate its 37th anniversary this year. I have attended the fair numerous times, and know people who participated.

I have often wondered what transpires behind the scenes at the fair--and Damsels in Distress answers this question. Murder most foul. An excellent who-done-it with motives scattered among the Renaissance Fair participants. The story hosts a royal court rift with jealousy, infidelities, and greed. Farberville, Arkansas is a small, quaint college town about to host its first Renaissance Fair. Through it all, our heroine, Clarissa Malloy, must walk a tightrope between bookseller, mother of a teenager, amateur sleuth, and fiancee of Police Lieutenant Peter Rosen.

Clarissa is drawn into the inner circle of the royal court much against her will. She's privy to a secret that could shatter her daughter and her upcoming marriage. Then, when one of the participants dies in a suspicious house fire, Clarissa finds herself sniffing out the clues. She is also torn between being glad Peter is away, because what he doesn't know about her involvement in the crime won't hurt her or him--and being upset that Peter's mother is trying to set him up again with his first wife who is rich, powerful, and beautiful.

This is the 16th Claire Malloy Mystery, but there is no need to know Claire's previous history in order to enjoy Damsels in Distress, but it might very well encourage you to give the other books in the series a read.

Armchair Interviews says: Humor abounds at the Renaissance Fair.

Laugh Out Loud Fun.......2007-04-26

The only problem I have with this series is waiting for the next installment! Claire is planning to become Mrs Peter Rosen, finally, but before she can say "I DO" - she unwittingly becomes "Lady Clarissa of Farberville" when the first annual Ren Fair gets underway. This has all the loveable, humorous characters from earlier books, daughter Caron and her friend Inez, the sci fi hippy, and the entire Farberville police department. There were pages that were laugh out loud funny, and the book is worthy of a second read.

Malpractice in Maggody: An Arly Hanks Mystery (Arly Hanks Mysteries)

Average customer rating:

I love Maggody
Funny and Entertaining
Evolving?
Fair
Surprising

Malpractice in Maggody: An Arly Hanks Mystery (Arly Hanks Mysteries)
Joan Hess
Manufacturer: Pocket
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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Damsels in Distress: A Claire Malloy Mystery

ASIN: 074344390X

Download Description

When the beautiful young receptionist found drowned in the garden pool is identified as a local girl from nearby Farberville, it's clear the case may not only involve the suspicious characters who've recently moved to town, but also some of the citizens of Maggody, who may have a secret or two to hide themselves. There's the doctor who can't resist a dose of his own medicine and a roster of patients that reads like a who's who of tabloid headlines, as well as the local pastor who gets his spiritual inspiration with a little help from the sacramental wine, and the mayor's wife who makes it her business to know everything about everyone. Soon Arly finds herself on the trail of a killer and discovers she may be the only innocent person left in town.

Customer Reviews:

I love Maggody.......2007-05-13

Interesting new twists for our heroine in this one. A must read for fans of Maggody. All the usual from that most amusing place.

Funny and Entertaining.......2007-03-23

I had quite a few laughs with this one.The people who are forced to be together at the rehab center start acting up and it is hilarious.When it comes to showing the childish behavior of spoiled celebrities,Joan really nailed it here.The best dialogue in the book occurs when the 'inmates' start griping.Get your hands on the book.If your down and need a few laughs,this will get it done for you.

Evolving?.......2006-12-26

This read like a transition to a more serious Arly, which I very much hope doesn't actually happen. I found it disappointing that, like every other fictional female sleuth, she suddenly needs a man to solve her problems; the strong and caustic loner is going all domestic. If it's true to the trite formula that applies to Hess's other series, Jack will start complaining about Arly sticking her pretty inept nose where it doesn't belong in the next installment, especially given the ending (which just make me groan -- and why the heck do Ruby and Estelle KNOW this in the first place? That's just gross). And all the discussion about her New York Socialite past was scary -- does the character really need to go there? I could see this going in an interesting direction if Jack is suddenly out of the picture and Arly is allowed to return to character, given the not-too-surprising ending, but otherwise this might be the death of the series.

Fair.......2006-09-09

I was so glad to see another Maggody book! And, I liked it - but...think it dragged in parts - I almost felt as if this was the "wrap it all up" book - because it seemed every single citizen of Maggody had to be mentioned - no matter how obsurely. I liked the book - just not as much as I've liked the others. The humor was not as sharp.

Surprising.......2006-07-18

I have found the Maggody series to be boring and irritating for the last several novels. This new one actually surprised me with several departures from the formulaic. There were actually a few likeable/sympathetic characters for a change. And a little witty dialogue!

Maybe if we continue to see a few more of these positive changes, there is hope for this series.

The Goodbye Body (A Claire Malloy Mystery)

Average customer rating:

Now You See It, Now You Don't
Not as good as I had hoped...
A page turner
A fun read
Golden Goodbye

The Goodbye Body (A Claire Malloy Mystery)
Joan Hess
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Paperbacks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 0312989067
Release Date: 2006-04-04

Book Description

Claire Malloy runs a bookstore in the normally quiet college town of Farberville, Arkansas-an enterprise which provides the verging-on-meager living for her and her deeply sarcastic teenage daughter Caron. So when emergency work forces Claire and Caron to abandon their apartment for a few weeks, they are in no financial position to put themselves up in style and Claire is thrilled to accept a customer's offer to let them stay at her well-stocked, well-equipped palatial home while she is traveling.Of course, nothing is ever that easy. No sooner do Claire and Caron ensconce themselves than disquieting events start to occur-dubious people show up looking for the 'traveling' owner of the house; the owner herself turns out not to be who she claimed and is now seemingly on the run; and a dead body keeps turning up-and subsequently disappearing-around the grounds of the house. Determined, for once, to stay out of the mysterious doings, Claire's hand is finally forced when the disappearing body turns out to be only the first corpse to turn up...

Customer Reviews:

Now You See It, Now You Don't.......2005-09-02

Claire Malloy, owner of The Book Depot, in Farberville Arkansas is having a bad day. There are rats in her kitchen and she is going to have to move out while the problem and other emergency work is taken care of. This could take weeks.

Fortunately, Dolly, one of her customer's at the store is going away for a few weeks and wants Claire to housesit for her.

So she moves into the palatial estate with her daughter Caron and Caron's best friend Inez. What could be more perfect?

Not this. No sooner does she move in than Caron and Inez claim to have found a dead body in the back yard. The body has disappeared by the time the police show up and Claire tries to convince herself that the girls really hadn't seen anything.

Then things start to get strange. Madison and Sara Louise, claiming to be nieces of Dolly show up and claim their car had broken down while coming down to see Dolly and they needed a place to stay.

Other strange people seem to be lurking around the area and when Claire see's a dead body in the yard, which also disappears before the police can show up makes her worried about everyone's safety, which proves true, when the much seen dead body shows up in the freezer in the garage.

Who is the man? What was he doing there. Where is Dolly, who has disappeared and appears not to be who she says she is. What is going on, why are the FBI investigating and are they in danger?

Claire decides to investigate with the help of Lt. Peter Rosen, "her boyfriend" the web of secrets, lies and more murders as she wonders if maybe they shouldn't have stayed at the "Dew Drop Inn."

Highlights:

Claire Malloy, she is a very adult acting character. Serious-minded, but you almost have to be if you're a widow raising a teenager alone and trying to get along on an iffy business like a book store.

Peter Rosen, who is a great boyfriend and friend. He doesn't like her investigating, but helps all he can because he knows he won't be able to stop her.

Caron and her best friend Inez. Typical middle of the group teenagers, they're not in the "A" group of teenagers, although they want to be, but they're not in the "Z" group either. They are actually the funniest characters in these books.

A complex mystery. A lot of twists and turns. A very quick read.

The sci-fi fan pot-head, who spends most of his time trying to shop lift from her store. He's been in since the first of this series and add just a touch of humor whenever he appears.

Lowlights:

For the first time, Claire does some really dumb things. When you're house sitting, you don't let two total strangers move in without asking the home owner. And when they're obnoxious, and insulting to your daughter and her friend, treating them like maids and making it miserable for them to live in the house you throw them out. I didn't understand Claire's insisting that they stay, except as a plot maneuver to move the story along.

Except for Peter & Inez there aren't a lot of reoccurring characters that appear in this book. Claire needs a wider circle of friends.

Minor problems, but still a very good read.

I think this series has one of the longest time between books, the last book "Out On A Limb" came out in 2002 and it was a little difficult to get back into the characters.

Check out Joan Hess's, Maggody series, with Arly Hanks. I don't enjoy it as much as the Claire Malloy series, but it's also a good series.

Not as good as I had hoped..........2005-08-20

I expected more out of this book, I have enjoyed the series in the past, although the daughter Caron is irritating! I really thought the story dragged quite a bit in this book, and must agree with others that our main character did some really dumb things.

A page turner.......2005-08-09

Joan Hess has done it again. The latest Claire Malloy mystery is a hoot and hard to put down. I have read all of the books in the series and am waiting patiently for the next book. If you're an avid fan like myself, don't miss out on this new installment in the long-running series.

A fun read.......2005-08-08

NOTE: Do not listen to any negative review posted here. I've enjoyed most of the Claire Malloy mysteries thus far, and THE GOODBYE BODY doesn't dissapoint. The story is chock-full of surprises, twists and turns, and plenty of laugh out loud moments.

I like cuddling up with a new Claire Malloy mystery whenever possible, and this is one of Hess's best mysteries, and one of Malloy's most bizarre adventures.

If you've enjoyed other Claire Malloy mysteries, don't pass up this interesting romp. I'm looking forward to Hess's next book in the series.

Sara

Golden Goodbye.......2005-07-08

Joan Hess does not disappoint in this latest Farberville installment. I've never read a book by Hess that didn't make me laugh out loud!

Claire Malloy, daughter Caron, and Caron's friend Inez are house sitting for a mild mannered, souffle-making, tango-dancing Book Depot customer. But things at Dolly Goforth's palatial home are not what they seem, i.e. the dead body that keeps popping up in the oddest places. Dolly has warned Claire about the multitude of cleaners/maintenance people coming by, but never mentioned disappearing cadavers, visiting relatives, or her past connections to some unsavory factions of society. The doorbell, true to form, rings and rings. Half the fun of this book is seeing who's on the other side of the door.

With a wacky style that's like nothing else out there, The Goodbye Body held my interest from start to finish. A trip to Farberville is pure escape!

Miracles in Maggody (Arly Hanks Mystery)

Average customer rating:

Mirth in Maggody
Good for giggles and getting away from it all.

Miracles in Maggody (Arly Hanks Mystery)
Joan Hess
Manufacturer: Dutton Adult
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0525940510

Amazon.com

Sharyn McCrumb says "Joan Hess is the patron saint of comic mystery," and that endorsement by a fine writer of mostly non-comic mysteries should be good enough for anyone who likes a chuckle with their chills. For the uninitiated, Maggody is the small Arkansas town where Arly Hanks rules as police chief and where trouble usually begins with an M--as in the previous adventures as Madness in Maggody, Malice in Maggody, Martians in Maggody, Mischief in Maggody, and Much Ado in Maggody. (Well, it does make the books easy to identify.) In this latest, just out in paperback, Hess brings greedy televangelist Malachi Hope to town, and all hell breaks loose.

Customer Reviews:

Mirth in Maggody.......2000-08-12

Miracles in Maggody is one of a series of mysteries set in the mythical town of Maggody, Arkansas. Joan Hess has created a town full of interesting (and very funny) people. Living in Maggody might be hell; reading about Maggody is heaven. If you were turned off by the Claire Malloy series by Hess (and who isn't irritated by heroines who can only unmask a killer by doing something incredibly stupid), don't worry. The Maggody series is blessed with humor, wit and charm and a likable heroine. Miracles in Maggody unfairly stereotypes fundamentalist Christians. But Hess unfairly stereotypes most other ethnic and religious groups -- and does it with so much light hearted style -- that even a dyed in the wool fundamentalist like me enjoyed the book.

Good for giggles and getting away from it all........1998-09-15

Serendipity is one of my favorite states of mind and finding Joan Hess and her sheriff/heroine Arly Hanks was a serendipitous treat a few years ago. In the latest edition that I picked up in paperback, Miracles in Maggody, Arly is once again the oasis of sanity in the odd little town of Maggody, Arkansas, as she takes on evangelist Malachi Hope and his entourage which includes his wife Seraphina and "adopted" daughter Chastity. The plot won't be much of a surprise to mystery lovers--or even television or movie watchers (I thought of the Steve Martin movie Leap of Faith while reading). But if you are unacquainted with the genre of comic mysteries, the Arly Hanks series is about as good as you'll get for a starting point. Like many authors who write a series centered on a main character, Ms. Hess allows the reader to pick up any single edition and feel comfortable with the charaters, their background, and the setting. The Maggody series is so place-specific, though, that I highly recommend reading them in order. This town is full of the rarest of characters, many of them in-bred, and each book seems to build on their collective quirks and foibles and unexpected delights--to say nothing of belly laughs--so reading them in order is more like moving to Maggody and getting to know the town characters over a period of time. Don't expect sex (well, not much and not really x-rated) or rough language or even convoluted plot lines. But the mystery hangs together well enough to keep you intrigued, as well as the subsidiary plot lines. And even though I guessed the "bad guy" long before the denouement, it didn't spoil the fun of getting away to the backwoods of Arkansas for a few hours.

Average customer rating:

Not Her Best work
Terrific book, I read it in one day!
Murder at the Pearly Gates
Getting more high falutin'
MAGGODY AND THE MOONBEAMS SHINES!

Maggody and the Moonbeams
Joan Hess
Manufacturer: Pocket
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 0743406583

Book Description

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....

Customer Reviews:

Not Her Best work.......2005-01-25

when ever Hanks and Co. leave Maggody (ie Moonbean or Maggody in New York) the stories generally are not as fun to read. This is no exception. Stick with the Maggody based works they are much more enjoyable.

Terrific book, I read it in one day!.......2004-07-16

I loved this book so much I read it in one day! The many characters in Maggody are just that characters. It is a small town in Arkansas where Arly Hanks is the Police Chief. She has her hands full in this book as she is roped into being a chaperone for the church youth group. They are going to Camp Pearly Gates to do some volunteer work to built bleachers. Mrs. Jim Bob Buchanon, the mayor's wife, and Brother Verber, the local preacher, would make it interesting enough, but then she also has the high school shop teacher and ten teens to keep in line.

When the body of a white-robed woman turns up on the campgrounds, life gets even more complicated for Arly. Then there's the man she found fishing on the campgrounds. Not to mention all the reported sightings of ghosts. Once her mother Ruby Bee and her best friend Estelle show up, things get even more interesting.

Ruby Bee runs Ruby Bee's Bar & Grill. Due to a recent fire in the kitchen, she is out of business for a couple weeks. So she brings all her food up to the camp to feed the kids. They are happy because the menus that Mrs. Jim Bob had prepared were nutritional but not what the kids would want to eat!

As Arly begins investigating the apparent murder, she uncovers a community of women and children living on the campgrounds but that has a lot of mystery as to who they are and where they came from.

All the different characters plays such an important role in this book. It is told from multiple points of view, which at first I found difficult to follow. Once I got to know the various characters, I found that this story couldn't be told from one point of view. It is very well written!

I highly recommend this book.

Murder at the Pearly Gates.......2004-01-28

Sometimes it is hard to keep a long running series feeling fresh and fun, but Joan Hess manages to bring a bit of revitalization to her Maggody series by sending Police Chief Arley Hanks off with some hormone laden teens, the good Brother and Mrs. Jim Bob to Camp Pearly Gates.

While Arley tries to ride herd on the cosmetic mad girls' bodies, Mrs. Jim Bob works on their souls and the good Brother works on a bottle of sacramental wine.

Meanwhile back in Maggody, Mr. Jim Bob is enjoying his new found freedom with some friends he has made over the internet.

Then one of the girls at Camp Pearly Gates stumbles over a body of a local cult member and things begin to get complicated, as Arley says.

A fun romp in the woods with the Maggody crew. Actually I have to note that the description of Camp Pearly Gates raised certain childhood memories of church camp-- laced with the scent of mildewed towels and sweaty sneakers.

Getting more high falutin'.......2003-01-21

I have always come to the Maggody stories for light entertainment rather than edification. The jokes were often corny and the characterization crude but the mixture worked. In this one there are a number of highbrow references and Brother Verber reveals a childhood trauma that may account for his character flaws. Even the relatioship between Raz and Marjory is getting more psychologically complex. Where is all this leading? I'll keep reading to find out.

MAGGODY AND THE MOONBEAMS SHINES!.......2002-09-10

Every time I take a fictional visit to the rural Arkansas town of Maggody (population 775 who all seem to be Buchanons of some sort or other with yet another one on the way), I always look at the publisher's line on the bottom of the title page ... Simon & Schuster with its list of offices in New York, London, Toronto, Sydney and Singapore. It completely mystifies me trying to imagine what readers in Singapore think about the criminal justice system in Maggody.

Anyway, this trip into the world of high crime and comedy starts with Ruby Bee Hanks burning up the kitchen of Ruby Bee's Bar and Grill. Add Duluth Buchanon's wife running off with his children and Raz Buchanon searching for a live-in companion for his pig Marjorie. And last, but not least, Arly getting shanghaied into being a chaperone to a church group of ten out of control teens (Billy Dick, Big Mac, Darla Jean et al), who are supposed to spend a week rebuilding Camp Pearly Gates under the unfortunate guidance of Mrs. Jim Bob Buchanon (the mayor's wife) and Brother Verber (the town's preacher).

Once at Camp Pearly gates, everyone one starts seeing what they think are angels, ghosts and/or aliens, and Darla Jean trips over a dead body in the woods on a dark and stormy afternoon.

Book Description

Murder is going to the dogs. . .Bookstore owner and amateur sleuth Claire Malloy has donned another hat (or is that a collar?)-as a petsitter extraordinaire. Her furry charges are Miss Emily Parchester's beloved basset hounds, Nick and Nora, and two very good dogs they are. Everything is just ducky....until they vanish. Other neighbors' pets have also disappeared, and no doubt a dognapper is on the prowl. . .Switching to her sleuthing chapeau, Claire quickly locates the shabby abode of Newton Churls, who runs a black market in stolen animals. But instead of a pen filled with purloined pooches, Claire finds one very dead Newton-and it appears his own pit bull terriers did him in. Or did they? Claire smells a human rat behind the brutal murder. And mysteriously, Nick and Nora are still missing. Now Claire is doggedly determined to find them....and run a killer to the ground.

Customer Reviews:

Not her best, but still good!.......2003-11-08

Roll Over & Play Dead reveals Hess as her usual entertaining, witty self, but this time it's with a twist: she takes on the controversial issue of animal testing. Most of the general public really doesn't know (and may not want to know) what goes on in the world of animal testing. I do know; I've been in some animal testing labs. The world of animal testing is much uglier & more unconscionable than animal research scientists would have you believe. Hess always writes a good story, and this time she includes a worthy cause that definitely needs more press. I'm impressed that she tackled the issue!

Sheer propaganda!.......1999-05-26

I have recently become a dedicated Joan Hess fan. However, I have been reading her books out of order. Yesterday I started "Roll Over and Play Dead" ready for another light, funny story. Unfortunately, I got a speech from a soapbox. On page 28 one of the "good 'guys'" states: "The National Institute of Health gives away over three and a half billion dollars of your tax dollars so researchers can cut animals up, cripple them, blind them, burn them, infect them with diseases, and in general torture them. Over seventy million animals die this way every year so that someone can determine that you really shouldn't drink paint solvent or put it in your eyes."

WHOA! Where to begin? In the context of this story the reader is led to believe that the majority of these poor animals are pets - cats and dogs. NOT!!! Yes, I have been involved in animal research. I, like the vast majority of whole animal researchers, use rats. Never have I caused a rat undue pain (they are anesthetized by legal and moral code). Never have I pounded nails in a skull or any of the atrocities put forth in this book. In fact, I have never even heard of such a thing occuring in a lab. On the other hand, I HAVE heard of such things in pets homes from a vet tech student of mine. Such horrible cruelties are much more commonly afflicted upon animals by their "loving" owners.

I stuck with this book through the end even after countless assults on scientists and the necessity of medical research. I have never worked with dogs but I still take offense at the insults steeped high in the course of the story.

I respect the views of animal rights groups. However I fully agree with a poster hanging in the lab where I worked. It shows a group of protesters and the caption reads "Because of animal research, they have 20.9 more years to protest." The next time you pop an antibiotic to cure your bronchitis, or a pill to lower your blood pressure thank a scientist and a group of rats.

Out on a Limb (A Claire Malloy Mystery)
Average customer rating:

Unique Storyline

A disappointing addition to the series

Just so-so

Fun book to read

Great addition to series

Out on a Limb (A Claire Malloy Mystery)
Joan Hess
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Minotaur
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 0312986327

Book Description

Faberville bookstore owner Claire Malloy is ruminating over the state of her love life when she gets disturbing news. Elderly Miss Emily Parchester is up a tree. Chained to an old oak, packing a thermos of tea and a gun, the retired schoolteacher is ready to go down with the ship, or rather the tree, before she'll let another historic piece of Farberville be bulldozed in the name of "progress," i.e., developer Anthony Armstrong's condominiums.With Miss Parchester armed, and therefore dangerous, Claire fears this noble act will end tragically. Unfortunately, it does-when someone murders Armstrong. And suddenly Claire herself is out on a limb: a baby has been left on her doorstep, the child's teenage mom is suspect number one in Armstrong's death, and Claire needs to find the real killer fast. Especially when she discovers Miss Parchester knows more than she's willing to tell......

Customer Reviews:

Unique Storyline.......2004-02-06

Joan Hess is one of my favorite authors, so my opinion of Out on a Limb is biased by the fact that I was sure I would like it before I bought it.

The best part of this book was the unique storyline. As you have no doubt read the description supplied by the publisher, I won't rewrite it here. I will just say that while other humorous mystery writers use the same storylines over and over, Hess comes up with fantastic new ideas each time. I loved this story about the Green Party, and I love the recurring characters in Claire Malloy's life -- in this case, Miss Parchester.

Even if I had guessed the ending of Out on a Limb before the last page of the book, I enjoy the style of Hess' writing so greatly that I cannot wait to see what Claire will do next.

If you like the Maggody books or have read the other Claire Malloy books, I recommend this one. It's a light, easy read that will at times make you Laugh Out Loud Caron Malloy-style.

A disappointing addition to the series.......2003-11-18

Joan Hess is always a great read, but this Claire Malloy adventure wasn't up to her normal standard. Luanne and Caron were the actual stars this time, which was lots of fun, but Claire's lackadaisical parenting and business skills were just too prominently featured for me to enjoy the plot (would China Bayles give her the time of day? A smidge of personal growth wouldn't be too out of place in this series!) -- and the ending didn't make any sense, not because of the "who dunnit," but because the logistics were very questionable. Finally, not a single character mentioned the the baby to the police, even in passing? I guess I'll have to wait for the next installment to have a better "Joan Hess fix".

Just so-so.......2003-04-18

Potboiler; passes the time when there was nothing more interesting at the library. The cop boyfriend is a really cardboard character. A bunch of weird excentics. Won't check out any more. Try Ann Cranger or Deborah Crombie for a GOOD read.

Fun book to read.......2003-02-15

this was a fun book to read & it kept you guessing.

Claire sure knows how to get around a question when the police ask her something. She kept everyone guessing through the whole book & the ending is a surprise.

Another wonderful book by Joan Hess

Great addition to series.......2003-02-07

Claire Malloy, bookseller and amateur sleuth, is a person I would love to have living next door. She is wickedly funny and incredibly sharp. With a cast of supporting characters who weave in and out of the main storyline, her neighborhood seems the most interesting in Farberville, Arkansas. Humor and an intriguing storyline make this a welcome addition to the Claire Malloy series which seems refreshed with every entry. I recommend them all for fun reading.

The Murder at the Murder at the Mimosa Inn

Average customer rating:

Pretty Good Mystery
MURDER ISN'T A GAME!
Deadly Game
A classic Joan Hess mystery!
The title is the best thing about the book

The Murder at the Murder at the Mimosa Inn
Joan Hess
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Minotaur
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 0312971788

Book Description

When you make a game of murder, be careful who the players are....Who could resist the mock-murder weekend at the charming Mimosa Inn-- certainly not bookstore owner and amateur sleuth Claire Malloy, who decides to bring her petulant daughter Caron along for some detecting. As the guests settle in for a weekend of sleuthing, dressed as their favorite literary detectives, many a Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot stand poised to solve a murder. But fiction becomes alarmingly real, as the mock-murder victim isn't just playing dead-- he's really been bashed to death. More determined than even to find the killer, Claire combs the grounds of the lovely inn for this most uninvited guest.

Customer Reviews:

Pretty Good Mystery.......2005-07-04

This mystery reminds me of the Agatha Christie novel, And Then There Were None. Guests come to the Mimosa Inn for a "mock" murder weekend only to find that one of the actors has actually been murdered. It was interesting to discover all the actors' true identities as their mock "storylines" had me convinced that they were someone else. The silly thing about this book is Claire's lack of supervision of her daughter with a murderer running around. Also, I think reading the first novel would be advisable as there is obviously a prior storyline between the Detective and Claire. Overall, it was a fast, light read.

MURDER ISN'T A GAME!.......2003-04-01

Taking a break from the daily bookstore grind, Claire decides to get away from it all and drafts her daughter Caron to accompany her on a mystery murder weekend at the Mimosa Inn. Her boyfriend Peter Rosen (an investigator with the Farberville police department) scoffs at the whole idea of solving a pretend murder. This only makes Claire more determined to take part in the mystery murder weekend and become the person who solves the murder.

To complicate matters, Lt. Rosen shows up at the Inn shortly after Claire, who is positive he is only there to show her up. Clues are dispersed to the mystery participants up until the point when the murder victim turns up murdered for real.

With a situation like this, it's a given that Claire will try to out-sleuth Peter, and only get herself in harm's way. And with Joan Hess's comic flair and skillful plotting it turns into a pretty interesting read. It's the kind of book you want to read when you just want to get away from it all for a bit. Actually I enjoyed the book so much; I grabbed her A Diet To Die For from my bookshelf as my next book to read. (Also reviewed today on Amazon.)

Deadly Game.......2002-06-29

Here's an intriguing tale in the "traditional/cozy" mystery genre. Claire Malloy drags her reluctant teenaged daughter, Caron, to a murder mystery weekend at the Mimosa Inn. Claire, bookstore owner and amateur detective, is determined to solve the mystery and win the prize: champagne. It's not that she wants to outwit the charming and disarmingly sexy local police detective, Pete Rosen. It's just that...well....The game progresses until, suddenly, the "victim" turns up dead. Really dead.

This is an early Hess mystery -- the second, I think, and her devil-may-care style is just developing. MURDER AT THE MIMOSA INN is unpretentious and good entertainment, almost as much fun as actually attending a murder mystery weekend.

Sunnye Tiedemann (aka Ruth F. Tiedemann)

A classic Joan Hess mystery!.......1999-11-08

Joan Hess, creator of the Maggody series, introduces a new slueth in this amusing romp. Claire Malloy is wonderful as the bored bookstore owner looking for some excitement in her life. Claire's daughter Caron is every mothers' teenaged nightmare. The book provides a great introduction to this series of amateur detective fiction at it's funniest.

The title is the best thing about the book.......1998-09-18

Joan Hess's "The Murder at the Murder at the Mimosa Inn" begins with great promise as Claire Malloy takes her daughter to the Mimosa Inn for a mystery murder weekend. Claire is obsessed with the idea of solving the mystery and winning the Champagne prize, and her efforts are amusing as she runs around gathering clues and viewing the other guests with inordinate suspicion. For roughly the first half of the book, the story is enjoyable, particularly when Peter Rosen, an actual cop and Claire's friend, lover, and competitor, shows up on some sort of secret mission.

When the mock murder is interrupted by a real murder, though, the story turns into a farce of tragic proportions. Claire turns out to be obsessed with interfering in the investigation of an actual murder while placing her daughter in jeopardy. It is a reasonable criticism of mysteries, particularly cozy mysteries such as this, that murder is often treated too lightly. Here, especially, the real murder never takes on the feel of anything other than the entertaining diversion of the staged theme murder for the weekend.

Amazon.com

When Farberville, Arkansas, plays host to its first-ever mystery convention--Murder Comes to Campus--local bookseller Claire Malloy finds herself in the midst of barely controlled mayhem. Bad enough that she is surrounded by peevishly capricious authors; bad enough that Roxanne Small, renowned (and feared) mystery editor, arrives unexpectedly, to the disgruntlement of said authors. But add in the news that Claire's amour, police detective Peter Rosen, has decided to do a little propagating of the species--with his ex-wife--well, all things considered, Claire would rather be in Philadelphia. Or just about anywhere without temperamental authors, irritable teenage daughters who have mastered the art of Speaking in Capital Letters, and sudden death.

But when one of the convention attendees dies in a suspicious accident, and Roxanne Small turns up at the bottom of a cistern with a severe case of shattered skull, Claire decides that selling books to rabid fans takes second place to ferreting out the unlovely skeletons in the publishing world's closet. A Conventional Corpse finds Claire in typically acerbic form; Joan Hess is a master at presenting a decidedly cockeyed world in precise and amusing language. Claire's opinion of her glibly sarcastic daughter is typical: "Two years until I could pack her off to college, I reminded myself as I closed her door. Or perhaps I could surreptitiously sign her up for the Peace Corps and arrange an assignment to a country in which headhunting was still a popular sport. Or leave her in a basket at the door of a convent in a newly autonomized country such as Azerbaijan--sans passport."

This is the tone that has won Hess many fans, but every character, unfortunately, sounds exactly alike: detectives, authors, innkeepers, vagrants--they all speak in the same voice. The overall effect is one of limited imagination. In addition, the denouement will leave many readers perplexed, renouncing as it does the constraints of logic, motive, and probability. Claire Malloy fans, though, will more than likely be pleased enough with the return of their favorite bookseller to read in a forgiving frame of mind. --Kelly Flynn

Book Description

Farberville, Arkansas, is playing host to its first-ever mystery convention with five major mystery writers-each representing a different subgenre of the mystery world-making the trek to the local college for "Murder Comes to Campus." Bookseller Claire Malloy is looking forward to meeting some of her favorite writers and, of course, selling books to the attendees. But her plans for a calm, profitable weekend are soon laid to waste when the organizer is hospitalized and Claire is dragooned into running the show. Finding herself in the midst of barely controlled chaos, Claire has to deal with five writers, each with a distinct set of idiosyncrasies and difficulties (including one who arrives with Wimple, her crime-solving cat, in tow). With Claire's own love-life woes with local police detective Peter Rosen added in, things have never been worse....until things get worse. One of the conference attendees dies in a car accident, Wimple the cat disappears from Claire's home and cannot be located, and Roxanne Small is nowhere to be found-making it evident that in Farberville the murder mystery is more than a literary genre.AUTHORBIO: JOAN HESS is a winner of the American Mystery Award and the author of twelve previous Claire Malloy books, including Dear Miss Demeanor and Strangled Prose, as well as the Maggody mystery series. A member of Sisters in Crime and a former president of the American Crime Writers League, she lives in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

Customer Reviews:

What a disappointment!.......2001-08-30

I could hardly wait for the next Claire Malloy book. I'm just glad I didn't waste money on the hardcover. Instead of funny quips and jabs Claire is just plain annoying. Has Joan Hess run out of new things to say? I finished the book because I paid money for it but it was a difficult read, I'm sad to say. I always looked forward to her Arly Hanks and Claire Malloy series, but next time I'll check them out at the library so I don't dish out the cash.

Cat, Kids and Authors.......2001-07-15

A new Claire Malloy mystery is a reason to celebrate. A Conventional Corpse is an excellent addition to the series. The backdrop of a convention attended a group of eccentric authors is perfect for murder. The characters are delightful and well written. The teenagers add spice. The frightfully spoiled cat was a hoot.

Joan Hess always entertains but I think her plot twists in this book were especially clever. Also her character's anger toward her on again off again boyfriend rang true. Although as an incurable romantic I wanted to see them get together. In fact it is my hope that one book will contain a wedding and another perhaps a honeymoon with murder of course.

I recommend this book to all the Claire Malloy fans.

Paging Arly Hanks.......2001-04-17

I started reading the Claire Malloy mysteries because I am a huge fan of Joan Hess' Maggody, Ark. series. While never as good, the Malloy books were always a fun, quick read. Lately, however, the series seems to have taken a distinct turn for the worse. While the Maggody books continue to be ribald, wry and blissfully silly, the Malloy books have become muddled, badly written and stale (culminating in this negligible installment). It's interesting how the same writer can miss so consistently with some characters and hit the target so often with others. I've decided to skip Claire Malloy's future exploits and stick with Sherrif Arly Hanks and friends.

Not as much fun as I'd hoped for........2000-11-02

I'm a big fan of this series, which features widowed bookstore owner Claire Malloy, and I have been eagerly awaiting this latest entry for some time. Although it was enjoyable to visit with these characters again, the laughs were fewer and farther between than I'm used to from this writer, and the mystery was quite a let-down.

The titular "convention" is a mystery convention with five major mystery writers arrived in Farberville from out of town. Claire, who hopes to make a small fortune in book sales during the convention, ends up in charge when the organizer is hospitalized. Between herding the errant authors from one place to the next while keeping track of her own teenage daughter, Claire hardly has time to rebuff the apologetic overtures of her estranged boyfriend, Lieutenant Peter Rosen. But convention chaos becomes the least of Claire's worries when a conference attendee dies under suspicious circumstances.

There's a lot of Hess's trademark charm in this book, including the characterization of the mystery authors, each a unique and interesting personality. Claire is a wonderful character, and her relationship with her daughter is fun and realistic.

Unfortunately, the plot just isn't strong enough. Hess goes to a great deal of trouble to depict the complex and frequently hostile relationships between the authors, even though these relationships have very little to do with the mystery. The resolution of the mystery is startlingly weak and poorly thought out. And the bizarre subplot involving Peter Rosen, which is presumably meant to be humorous, is so far out of character as to be contrived and distracting. Hess doesn't need to work this hard for laughs.

Despite the disappointing ending to this book, I hope I don't have to wait too long for the next Claire Malloy mystery.

Disappointed.......2000-10-06

This book just didn't grab me. I finished it but the end was kind of anticlimatic. The thing that bothers me most is that the main characters never seems grow or change. Caron has been sixteen(and speaking in CAPITAL LETTERS) forever just as Claire has been Forty and in a going nowhere relationship with Peter Rosen. Enough already. This series needs a major overhaul!

Average customer rating:

Poisoned Pins (A Claire Malloy Mystery)
Joan Hess
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Minotaur
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

General | Mystery | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

Women Sleuths | Mystery | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

General | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Mystery & Thriller Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

General | Mystery & Thrillers | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books

All 4-for-3 Deals | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
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ASIN: 0312349173
Release Date: 2007-04-03

Book Description

Claire Malloy loves her life. But how did it go by so fast? A bookstore owner, part-time sleuth, and full-time single mother, Claire is about to turn the big four-oh! Good thing her teenage daughter, Caron, has just been recruited by the Kappa Theta Eta girls—whose sorority house is next door to the Malloys’—to be a consultant for the cosmetics empire My Beautiful Self, Inc. At the very least, Claire can get a little help with those fine lines around her eyes…but at what cost?

Turns out there’s a high price to pay to look one’s best. After a series of dangerous and suspicious incidents, including a hit-and-run “accident” that kills a sorority sister, it becomes clear to Claire that the beauty business in Farberville, Arkansas, is getting pretty ugly—and with every new makeover another dark circle rises from beneath the surface….

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