Joan Hess Books In Order
Book links take you to Amazon. As an Amazon Associate I earn money from qualifying purchases.Publication Order of Claire Malloy Books
Strangled Prose | (1985) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Murder at the Murder at the Mimosa Inn | (1986) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Dear Miss Demeanor | (1987) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
A Really Cute Corpse | (1988) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
A Diet to Die For | (1989) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Roll Over and Play Dead | (1991) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Death by the Light of the Moon | (1992) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Poisoned Pins | (1993) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
To Kill a Husband | (1994) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Tickled to Death | (1994) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Busy Bodies | (1995) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Closely Akin to Murder | (1996) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
A Holly, Jolly Murder | (1997) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
A Conventional Corpse | (2000) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Out on a Limb | (2002) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Goodbye Body | (2005) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Damsels in Distress | (2007) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Mummy Dearest | (2008) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Deader Homes and Gardens | (2012) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Murder as a Second Language | (2013) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Pride v. Prejudice | (2015) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Publication Order of Theo Bloomer Books
The Night-Blooming Cereus | (1986) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Deadly Ackee | (1988) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Publication Order of Arly Hanks Books
Malice in Maggody | (1987) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Miracles in Maggody | (1988) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Mischief in Maggody | (1988) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Much Ado in Maggody | (1989) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Madness in Maggody | (1991) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Mortal Remains in Maggody | (1991) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Maggody in Manhattan | (1992) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
O Little Town of Maggody | (1993) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Martians in Maggody | (1994) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Maggody Militia | (1997) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Misery Loves Maggody | (1999) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
murder@maggody.com / murda@maggody.com | (2000) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Maggody and the Moonbeams | (2001) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Muletrain to Maggody | (2004) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Malpractice in Maggody | (2006) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Merry Wives of Maggody | (2009) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Publication Order of Amelia Peabody Books
Crocodile on the Sandbank | (1975) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Curse of the Pharaohs | (1981) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Mummy Case | (1985) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Lion in the Valley | (1986) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Deeds of the Disturber | (1988) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Last Camel Died at Noon | (1991) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Snake, the Crocodile and the Dog | (1992) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Hippopotamus Pool | (1996) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Seeing a Large Cat | (1997) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Ape Who Guards the Balance | (1998) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Falcon at the Portal | (1999) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
He Shall Thunder in the Sky | (2000) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Lord of the Silent | (2001) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Golden One | (2002) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Children of the Storm | (2003) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Guardian of the Horizon | (2004) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Serpent on the Crown | (2005) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Tomb of the Golden Bird | (2006) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
A River in the Sky | (2010) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Amelia Peabody Omnibus | (2012) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Painted Queen | (2014) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Chronological Order of Amelia Peabody Books
Crocodile on the Sandbank | (1975) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Curse of the Pharaohs | (1981) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Mummy Case | (1985) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Lion in the Valley | (1986) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Deeds of the Disturber | (1988) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Last Camel Died at Noon | (1991) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Snake, the Crocodile and the Dog | (1992) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Hippopotamus Pool | (1996) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Seeing a Large Cat | (1997) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Ape Who Guards the Balance | (1998) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Guardian of the Horizon | (2004) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
A River in the Sky | (2010) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Falcon at the Portal | (1999) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Painted Queen | (2014) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
He Shall Thunder in the Sky | (2000) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Lord of the Silent | (2001) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Golden One | (2002) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Children of the Storm | (2003) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Serpent on the Crown | (2005) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Tomb of the Golden Bird | (2006) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Amelia Peabody Omnibus | (2012) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Publication Order of Standalone Novels
Publication Order of Short Stories/Novellas
Publication Order of Short Story Collections
Death of a Romance Writer and Other Stories | (2002) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Big Foot Stole My Wife! and Other Stories | (2003) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Deadly Ackee and Other Stories of Crime and Catastrophe | (2003) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Caveat Emptor and Other Stories | (2016) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Publication Order of Malice Domestic Books
Malice Domestic 1 | (1992) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Malice Domestic 2 | (1993) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Malice Domestic 14 | (2019) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Each book is an anthology, with the listed author credited as the editor of the book. |
Publication Order of Crosswinds Books
Sylvia Smith-Smith | (1987) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Shock Effect | (1987) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Lou Dunlop: Private Eye | (1987) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Lou Dunlop: Cliffhanger | (1987) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Kaleidoscope | (1987) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Angel In The Snow | (1988) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Publication Order of Anthologies
Sisters in Crime 2 | (1990) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Malice Domestic 1 | (1992) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Women of Mystery | (1992) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Fine Art of Murder: The Mystery Reader's Indispensable Companion | (1993) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Women of Mystery II | (1994) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Malice Domestic 3 | (1994) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Year's 25 Finest Crime and Mystery Stories 1993 | (1994) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
More Malice Domestic | (1997) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Vengeance is Hers | (1997) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Funny Bones: 15 New Tales of Murder and Mayhem | (1997) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
First Cases, Volume 2 | (1997) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Once Upon a Crime | (1998) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Murder for Revenge | (1998) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Women of Mystery III | (1998) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Mom, Apple Pie and Murder | (1999) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Crime After Crime | (1999) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Malice Domestic 9 | (2000) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
For every writer getting published is the most challenging task. Writers often get disheartened and quit writing after a couple of failed novels or projects. But Joan Hess is really a breed apart. Failure does not affect her, even in her early career, it took her years to settle down, but she kept trying. The same happened to her as a write. If it was not for her high level of commitment great series like The Maggody Mysteries would have never came to existence.
From a huge early struggle to huge success, Joan Hess has proven that she is a champion writer. Her flawless writings and perfect narration places her in the pool of some excellent writers of all times.
Early and Personal Life
Joan Hess was born on Jan 6, 1949 as Joan Edmiston, in Fayeteville County and lived in Arkansas for a major part of her life. She now resides in Austin, Texas. She was born to J.D. Edminston a grocer and H. Edmiston a building contractor. She received her B.A. in 1971 from University of Arkansas and M.A. from the Long Island University in 1974. Her early career started as a preschool teacher. Here she realized her potential in arts. She married J. Hess in 1973 and had two kids Rebecca and Joshua Hadley. They divorced in 1986.
Writing Career
The writing career of Joan Hess was much different than most of the writers around the world. She started her writing career as a source of income in 1984 when she quit her teaching career in preschool. The writing got hold of her and she wrote some great pieces in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, Mystery Scene, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine and many more. She was counted in The Year’s 25 Finest Crime & Mystery Stories in 1997.
But instead of writing crime and mystery she chose romance to start up her personal career as a writer. She did not succeed even after almost half a decade of trying with romance genre and wrote 10 complete unpublished titles in this genre.
In 1986, she finally decided to change her genre to mystery which was not her personal favorite, but somehow she understood that she is better at mysteries than romance. “Strangled Prose” her first mystery title came out in 1986 and since then she has never looked back.
She has more than twenty timeless mystery publications with great series like The Maggody Mysteries and The Claire Malloy Mysteries. These timeless pieces have placed her in the pool of some legendary mystery writers of all times.
She has been five times nominated for the famous Agatha Award and she was the winner in 1990 for her short story “Too Much to Bare”.
There were a large number of other awards won and nominations by her that included Agatha Awards, McCavity Awards, Anthony Award, American Mystery Award, etc. A great writer backed by a large number of awards proves her excellence as a writer in her genre.
Strangled Prose
Strangled prose was the first title published by Joan Hess, she did a remarkable job in creating the characters and the novel has a very decent flow of narratives. The trademark humor and sarcasm was already there in her first title itself. Even the stubborn and independent women character was also there as the lead heroine. The twists in the novel were really surprising although a few of them can be judged by a good reader. There were impressions of it being the first book, with minor problem with tenses at some places.
The story revolves around a girl who narrates the novel, the character is called Claire. The narrative had a little problem as if Hess was confused weather to reveal the victim or not. At the end, it was a power packed first project which gained a lot of success and fame to the writer which fuelled the writer inside her. And she has never looked back ever since. A few minor flaws in this novel were never repeated again.
The story of the novel revolves around Clair Malloy, who hosts a publication party for her friend Mildred who wrote Professor of Passion. A militant feminist member of the faculty takes control of the party and start telling parts of the novel which indicate Claire as a character. Later, she is found dead and Claire is seen as the culprit. The story is Claire’s fight to prove herself “NOT GUILTY”.
Malice in Maggody
This is the first book from Arly Hanks Series that earned the most of the fame and success for Joan Hess. The story is about a character Arly Hanks who is a police officer who is trying to recover from a divorce. Life in Maggody was slow and peaceful as she wanted and the only crime in the area was a car wreck on highway once a month. But she faced a challenging day when she came across two big cases on a single day. A convict escapes the prison and a sewage treatment plant specialist who is posed as a threat to the neighborhood goes missing. With no support from the residents, the lady officer takes control of the situation to solve these mysteries. Joan Hess has tried her best to add spice to the novel with a good quantity of humor and mystery. The twists are perfectly planted and it is a pleasure to read the novel.
The twists are well disguised making it more interesting to read, there is a surprise for everyone. Unlike most mystery novels, the novel perfectly disguises all its twists which make it a perfect novel to read. It is said that the best period of the Joan Hess books started with this book.
Another great part of this book is that Joan Hess does a marvelous job by using back-woods southern humor. She plants humor and mysteries very beautifully throughout the novel.
The book Malice in Maggody was the basis of the story of the CBS TV Series Arly Hanks, this was a huge achievement for Joan Hess.
Book Series In Order » Authors »
I’m wondering why Elizabeth Peters’ books are listed on the page with Joan Hess’s books. Am I missing something?
Hi Patricia – it’s the Amelia Peabody series which is listed, as Joan wrote The Painted Queen in that series with her. Currently we don’t have anything set up to display only the books that author has written so the entire series is displayed. Cheers.
The good lady has sadly passed – RIP.
It has been seven years since we last heard from Arly Hanks. Will there be any new books in this series? The last was a bit of a cliffhanger.