MAGGODY AND THE MOONBEAMS

Joan Hess will delight her fans with this installation of the Arly Hanks mystery series, another whodunit filled with Southern satire and folksy dialogue. Arly is recruited to chaperone a group of youngsters to Camp Pearly Gates, but things get complicated when one of the girls stumbles over the dead body of a "Moonbeam," a member of a local cult who sports a shaved head, scarlet lipstick, and a white robe. C.J. Critt plays the characters to the extreme, with high-pitched tones for the ragings of the religious zealot, Mrs. Jim Bob, and warm, mothering tones for Arly's pre-menopausal mom, Rubella Belinda. The strong characterizations soon settle into an appropriate tone and tempo as the twists and turns of the humorous story line capture the listener. F.L.F. (c) AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine [Published: DEC 03/JAN 04]