MAGGODY IN MANHATTAN

by Joan Hess ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 25, 1992

Arly Hanks, Police Chief of Maggody, Arkansas, is forced out of her sleepy everyday routine after Ruby Bee, her diner-owner mom, wins a trip to New York as a finalist in the Krazy Koko-Nut cooking contest. Ruby's frantic call from jail brings Arly to New York's Chadwick hotel, ostensibly in the process of renovation, where the finalists are staying. Turns out that Durmond Pilverman, another contestant, was found naked and slightly injured in Ruby's bed, and Ruby was arrested and briefly held in the ensuing commotion. But that's just a start to the jumble of goings-on at the Chadwick--as a body turns up in the dumpster outside; another is found in the raunchy club where contestant Gaylene dances; teen-aged contestant Catherine seems to be a drunken nymphomaniac; cartons of Krazy Koko-Nut are laced with cocaine; and the mob is running the hotel. Woven through all this is Arly's hot affair with Durmond--plus scandalous news from home. The fine line between farce and shambles is thoroughly breached in this new chapter (Malice in Maggody, etc. etc.), which starts promisingly but winds up massively overdosed on absurdity and silly plot complications. Die-hard fans will probably love it.

Pub Date: Sept. 25, 1992

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: 272

Publisher: Dutton

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1992

Categories: FICTION