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Joan Hess

ジョーン・ヘス

Joan Hess

Pen Names: Joan Hadley（Used for Theo Bloomer mystery series）

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1949-01-06 （Unknown）
Died
2017-11-23 （Austin, Texas, U.S.） age 68
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Residence History
Fayetteville, Arkansas, U.S. → Austin, Texas, U.S.

Career

Occupations
writer, mystery fiction writer
Active Years
1986-2017
Affiliations
Sisters in Crime, American Crime Writers League
Memberships
Sisters in Crime (member), American Crime Writers League (former president)
Nominations
1987 Strangled Prose Anthony Award for Best First Novel Finalist, 1988 Mischief in Maggody Agatha Award for Best Novel Finalist, 1992 The Last To Know Agatha Award for Best Short Story Finalist, 1993 O Little Town of Maggody Agatha Award for Best Novel Finalist, 1994 Anthony Award for Best Novel Finalist, 1995 Miracles in Maggody Agatha Award for Best Novel Finalist, 1995 Miracles in Maggody Lefty Award for Best Humorous Mystery Novel Finalist

Awards

Agatha Award
1990
Work: Too Much to Bare
Category: Best Short Story
Organization: Malice Domestic
Result: Winner
Macavity Award
1991
Category: Best Mystery Short Story
Organization: Mystery Readers International
Result: Winner

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Strangled Prose

1986 Mystery

First in Claire Malloy series. Bookstore owner Claire Malloy gets involved in a murder.

murderbookstore

Malice in Maggody

1988 Mystery

First in Maggody (Arly Hanks) series. Female police chief in small town Maggody solves crimes.

small townhumor
Adaptations
  • [Television] Arly Hanks (1993)

The Night-Blooming Cereus

1986 Mystery

First Theo Bloomer mystery (as Joan Hadley). Retired botanist solves mystery in Israel.

travelfamily

Bibliography

  • Strangled Prose
  • The Murder at the Mimosa Inn
  • Dear Miss Demeanor
  • A Really Cute Corpse
  • A Diet to Die For
  • Roll Over and Play Dead
  • Death by the Light of the Moon
  • Poisoned Pins
  • Tickled to Death
  • Closely Akin to Murder
  • Busy Bodies
  • A Holly, Jolly Murder
  • A Conventional Corpse
  • Out on a Limb
  • The Goodbye Body
  • Damsels in Distress
  • Mummy Dearest
  • Deader Homes and Gardens
  • Murder as a Second Language
  • Pride v. Prejudice
  • Malice in Maggody
  • Mischief in Maggody
  • Much Ado in Maggody
  • Madness in Maggody
  • Mortal Remains in Maggody
  • Maggody in Manhattan
  • O Little Town of Maggody
  • Martians in Maggody
  • Miracles in Maggody
  • The Maggody Militia
  • Misery Loves Maggody
  • Murder@maggody.com
  • Maggody and the Moonbeams
  • Muletrain to Maggody
  • Malpractice in Maggody
  • The Merry Wives of Maggody
  • The Night-Blooming Cereus
  • The Deadly Ackee
  • Future Tense
  • The Painted Queen

Adaptations

  • Malice in Maggody adapted as 1993 CBS TV pilot Arly Hanks

Style & Themes

Literary Style
humoroussatiricallight-hearted
Recurring Motifs
small-town eccentricsbookstore and college townquirky characters

Legacy

American mystery author renowned for Claire Malloy and Maggody (Arly Hanks) series, pioneering humorous small-town mysteries. Agatha Award winner for short story.

In Popular Culture

  • Malice in Maggody was adapted into the 1993 CBS television pilot Arly Hanks.

Trivia

  • Maggody has a fictional population of 755.
  • Farberville is modeled after Fayetteville, Arkansas.
  • Completed Elizabeth Peters' final Amelia Peabody novel, The Painted Queen.