Misery Loves Maggody

By: Joan Hess

Narrated by: C. J. Critt

Joan Hess, highly acclaimed author, is known for her wonderful sense of the bizarre and talent for spinning a web of intrigue. She perpetually packs her unique mystery series with murder and mayhem in the not-so-sleepy town of Maggody, Arkansas.

Maggody Police Chief Arly Hanks is all shook up when she hears that her mother collapsed during a pilgrimage to Graceland and is in a Memphis hospital. Another member of the tour is pushed to her death from a hotel balcony. A prominent Maggody citizen stands accused of the murder. Arly's suspicious mind tells her to snap into action--it's now or never--before the touring residents of Maggody are returned to sender ... in a hearse.

Voicing the perfect amount of wit and satire along with the fast-paced dialog, narrator C.J. Critt gives listeners a real treat, as this mystery spins out of control and back again.

Return to Maggody.©1998 Joan Hess (P)2001 Recorded Books,LLC

Choppy and hard to follow.

Would you listen to another book narrated by C. J. Critt?

Not sure.

Was Misery Loves Maggody worth the listening time?

It wasn't a bad story but it did not flow at all which made it difficult to follow as well as frustrating at times.

change in narrators 😢

hilariously funny and amazing as always unfortunately there was a change in narrators. Don't get me wrong I am a huge CJ Critt fan, But she doesn't capture the essence of Arkansas in any of the characters. gone are those southern accents. by the end of the book I did enjoy the read because I love CJ Crip but I would have much rather have had Courtney Patterson. She amazingly captured the story and all of the characters with all of the accents. The change in narrators is the only reason for the four-star review. The book and story itself five star.

Not much character development

This is my first exposure to the Maggody series. I knew it would be a light and humorous read, but the character development was full of negative stereotypes like the southern fundamentalist preacher and the collector of velvet Elvis portraits. The narrator seems to use a Wisconsin accent for some characters although I think the women are all from the south. It really hasn't held my attention either as a mystery or as humor.

Funniest Yet!

A friend of mine turned me on to Joan Hess' Arly Hanks series some time ago and I was more than delighted to find a few of them here on Audible.com.

"Misery Loves Maggody" is one of the funniest Maggody books yet. I was laughing so hard the tears ran down my face. If you love some great humor with your mysteries, I highly recommend this book (series). Also, the narration by CJ Critt is superb!

FUNNY! 😂

Hysterical cozy mystery loaded with characters who exhibit all kinds of crazy! Giggle, giggle, guffaw, guffaw….only made more hysterical by the narrator who does a really bang up job! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣. Yep. That’s right: I really enjoyed it!!!

Great story

Another terrific Maggody story by Joan Hess. I cannot get enough of my trips to this little town. my 1 and only complaint here would be that we lost Courtney Patterson as the narrator and the new one is just so robotic. it is actually tough to listen too.

Stephanie Plum moves to Arkansas

I kept waiting for Arielle to answer the phone and having it be Morelli a
on the line.
You producers need to realize that in audiobooks, the readers voices are associated with certain characters. Sorry for he type casting but it’s true.
Couldn’t even make past chapter 1

Maggody is the central character of these stories, and when they move away from Maggody they weaken.

The familiar characters are out of place in a different setting, and the story drags.

Love the book. Not the reading.

My grandparents were from the south. My great uncle was from Arkansas. C.J. Critt is a well respected reader, but she makes all the characters in Maggody Arkansas sound like they're from Wisconsin! Its so jarring to hear southern phrasing with a Midwest accent that I can barely manage to listen, even though this is one of my favorite series.

Awful - horrible waste of time

What would have made Misery Loves Maggody better?

I never write reviews and hesitate to write only when I dislike something but this was truly awful. Uninteresting characters; horrible dialog; the story built around an event we can't care about, etc. I'm sorry there is a refund option.