Joan Hess has 7 audiobooks on Listento.it, narrated by 3 narrators, with an average listener rating of 2.5★ across 13 ratings. The most-rated is The Painted Queen.
The Painted Queen
Summary
Egypt, 1912. Amelia Peabody and her dashing archeologist husband, Radcliffe Emerson, are once again in danger as they search for a priceless stolen bust of legendary Queen Nefertiti and Amelia finds herself the target of assassins in this long-awaited, eagerly anticipated final installment of Elizabeth Peters' best-selling, beloved mystery series. Arriving in Cairo for another thrilling excavation season, Amelia is relaxing in a well-earned bubble bath in her elegant hotel suite in Cairo when a man with a knife protruding from his back staggers into the bath chamber and utters a single word - "murder" - before collapsing on the tiled floor, dead. Among the few possessions he carried is a sheet of paper with Amelia's name and room number and a curious piece of pasteboard the size of a calling card bearing one word: "Judas". Most peculiarly, the stranger was wearing a gold-rimmed monocle in his left eye. It quickly becomes apparent that someone saved Amelia from a would-be assassin - someone who is keeping a careful eye on the intrepid Englishwoman. Discovering a terse note clearly meant for Emerson - "where were you?" - pushed under their door, there can be only one answer: the brilliant master of disguise, Sethos. But neither assassins nor the Genius of Crime will deter Amelia as she and Emerson head to the excavation site at Amarna, where they will witness the discovery of one of the most precious Egyptian artifacts: the iconic Nefertiti bust. In 1345 BC the sculptor Thutmose crafted the piece in tribute to the great beauty of this queen, who was also the chief consort of Pharaoh Akhenaten and stepmother to King Tutankhamun. For Amelia, this excavation season will prove to be unforgettable. Throughout her journey, a parade of men in monocles will die under suspicious circumstances, fascinating new relics will be unearthed, a diabolical mystery will be solved, and a brilliant criminal will offer his final challenge...and perhaps be unmasked at last.
©2017 MPM Manor, Inc. (P)2017 HarperCollins Publishers
Pride v. Prejudice
Summary
Semiretired bookseller and former single parent to a challenging teen, the not-so-newly remarried Claire Malloy finds herself entangled in yet another case of felonious doings in this latest cozy. Claire Malloy, for as long as she can remember, has been the local bookseller, owner of the Book Depot, and the widowed mother of teenage Caron, who frequently speaks in all caps. But her life has changed dramatically in recent years. Claire has married her longtime beau, Deputy Police Chief Peter Rosen. Still the owner of the Book Depot, Claire has passed the day-to-day running of it on to her very efficient employees. With Caron inching ever closer to college, there's but one thing that remains steadfastly unchanged - Claire's astonishing ability to attract, find, or even just randomly stumble across trouble. Summoned for jury duty, Claire is humiliated when the prosecutor, harboring a grudge against her husband, dismisses her in a spectacular enough fashion to make the local news. As a result Claire decides revenge will be the next dish she serves. She hunts down the defendant in the case, a woman accused of murdering her husband, and offers to help prove her innocence. And not just because Claire wants to humiliate the prosecutor. There are only two problems: One, the defendant is looking guiltier by the minute. Two, the worst day imaginable has finally come - Claire's dreaded new mother-in-law is coming to visit, and life in prison is starting to look good.
©2015 Joan Hess (P)2015 Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Misery Loves Maggody
Summary
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.
©1998 Joan Hess (P)2001 Recorded Books,LLC
Damsels in Distress
Summary
A renaissance fair is coming to the relatively quiet college town of Farberville, Arkansas. Though resistant to getting involved, Claire Malloy, local bookseller and mother of the perpetually petulant teen Caron, finds herself drawn into the strange inner workings of the group putting on the fair. But a dark mood falls over the festivities when one of the organizers is a victim of arson, and her body is found in the burned wreckage of her rented house. Someone is definitely dead - but is it murder?
©2007 Joan Hess (P)2008 BBC Audiobooks America
The Merry Wives of Maggody
Summary
Maggody, Arkansas (pop. 755) is regarded by most as a two-bit hick town, filled with one-bit hicks. But Mrs. Jim Bob Buchanon seeks to change that with her latest scheme - a 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 announced - a top of the line bass boat - nearly everyone in town quickly develops a profound interest in the sport. Sheriff Arly Hanks, who has better things to worry about, just wishes it would all go away. When Tommy Ridner beats the odds and sinks a hole-in-one to win the boat on the first day of the tournament, it looks like it's all over...until the next morning, when he's found dead, his head caved in by a golf club. Now, according to the rules, the prize is once again up for grabs. Arly Hanks is faced with a complicated investigation - and darned near everyone in town is a suspect.
©2009 Joan Hess. All rights reserved. (P)2009 BBC Audiobooks America
Mummy Dearest
Summary
Claire Malloy - Arkansas bookseller and widowed mother - after a long courtship has finally said "I do" to her swain, Lieutenant Peter Rosen. Now they are on their honeymoon in Luxor, Egypt. That is, Claire is on her honeymoon - accompanied by Caron, her teenaged daughter, and Inez, Caron's best friend and frequent partner in adventure. Peter is mostly away on various mysterious consultations with equally mysterious government agencies for his new mysterious job. Claire is intent on a quiet, uneventful honeymoon, but things go from bucolic to creepy, when Caron and Inez are chased through darkened deserted alleys, by persons unknown, and a student of their acquaintance is kidnapped by two young men on horseback in a scene reminiscent of a Valentino film. Something is clearly afoot in this tourist paradise, and Claire will stop at nothing to find out what it is. Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award.
©2008 Joan Hess (P)2008 AudioGO
Murder@Maggody.com
Summary
Award-winning author Joan Hess packs mayhem, outrageous characters, and hijinks into this rollicking mystery set in rural Arkansas. Beleaguered chief of police Arly Hanks has her hands full when modern technology moves into small town Maggody, bringing with it controversy and murder. Maggody's high school has a new computer lab. Folks are calling the internet the Devil's workshop, but the adult computer class is filling up. Soon friends are exchanging E-mail, and the preacher is posting sermon notes. But when some mighty unusual images flash across monitors--and a pretty computer student is found dead in an abandoned shack--the town demands Arly find the answers. With tempers flaring and rumors raging, it will take all of Arly's low-tech resourcefulness to find the cold-blooded killer. Narrator C.J. Critt's sense of timing hones the hilarity and keeps you guessing throughout.
©2000 Joan Hess (P)2001 Recorded Books,LLC