Much Ado in Maggody

Joan Hess. Onyx Books, $5.99 (256pp) ISBN 978-0-451-40268-4

When a bank teller is demoted after returning from maternity leave, the women of Maggody, a sleepy little Ozark town, rally; police chief Arly Hanks winds up with a murder on her hands as the offending bank goes up in flames. ``While Hess still draws her characters broadly, Maggody and the engaging Arly begin to grow on the reader in this quite readable mystery,'' said PW. (Sept.)

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