Colorado Parks & Wildlife Research Library

Fans of the Maggody (Arkansas) series (Malice in Maggody), and there are many, will revel in this entry, which boasts the usual cast of rednecks, salacious preachers and inbred miscreants who keep Ariel "Arly" Hanks, the town's female chief of police, ever alert. Arly's mother, Ruby Bee, is taking a four-day Elvis Presley Pilgrimage with her best friend, Estelle Oppers. Their five fellow travelers prove to be a smarmy and acrimonious group, and it...

"Chief of Police Arly (Ariel) Hanks is still hiding out in her hometown of Maggody, Arkansas (pop. 755), the land of moonshine and Ruby Bee's Bar & Grill, country roads and Nashville on the radio, cheatin' hearts and, well, maybe murder." "It all starts when Matt Montana, country music's number one superstar of the year, decides it's a great PR move to come home to Maggody for the holidays. For a town in the grip of a recession, the news means Christmas...

When charismatic evangelist Malachi Hope arrives in Maggody to set up a religious theme park called City of Hope, Arly Hanks, the local lady sheriff smells trouble once more. Two dead women later, she knows she is right.

Maggody, Arkansas (pop. 755) is perceived of as a two-bit hick town, filled with one-bit hicks. But Mrs. Jim Bob Buchanan seeks to change that perception with her latest schemeá charity golf tournament. This presents a bit of a challenge, since no one in Maggody plays golf and there is no course. But when the prize for the first hole-in-one is announcedá top of the line bass boatńearly everyone in town develops a new-found interest in the sport....

A new supermarket in the small town of Maggody threatens several other small business owners. When supermarket tampering results in death, the police investigate.

Rumors fly that the new Stonebridge Foundation, a posh rehabilitation center surrounded by a brick wall and protected by a Spanish-speaking guard and a mean dog, is a lunatic asylum. When a young woman is found drowned in a pond on the grounds, police chief Arly Hanks investigates with her customary aplomb and humor, aided by a less than supportive cast of helpers.

Hank the Cowdog, head of ranch security, bravely faces the dangers of Picket Canyon to unravel the mystery surrounding an unusual cat.