On this page

This page lists novels and short story collections that feature the bookstore owner and amateur detective Claire Malloy.

Cover images are of the first US edition and a recent paperback or digital edition.

Strangled Prose

Joan Hess

1986

A Claire Malloy novel.

"Professor of Passion, the smutty new romance from Mildred Twiller - a.k.a. Azalea Twilight - isn't the kind of book Claire Malloy likes to hock at her bookstore, but Claire agrees to host a book party for her friend's trashy tale. As torrid as the novel is, it's nothing compared to the evening. After the party, poor Mildred is found dead in her home - strangled with a tightly knotted silk scarf. Now it's up to Clair to find Mildred's killer, and it won't be easy - the two-bit author had offended nearly every faculty member she worked with at nearby Faber College. But who could have hated Mildred with such smouldering passion?"

The Murder at the Murder at the Mimosa Inn

Joan Hess

1986

A Claire Malloy novel.

"Who could resist the mock-murder weekend at the charming Mimosa Inn-- certainly not bookstore owner and amateur sleuth Claire Malloy, who decides to bring her petulant daughter Caron along for some detecting. As the guests settle in for a weekend of sleuthing, dressed as their favourite literary detectives, many a Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot stand poised to solve a murder. But fiction becomes alarmingly real, as the mock-murder victim isn't just playing dead-- he's really been bashed to death. More determined than even to find the killer, Claire combs the grounds of the lovely inn for this most uninvited guest."

Dear Miss Demeanor

Joan Hess

1987

A Claire Malloy novel.

"Who knows what evil lurks in the halls of Farbervilles' high school-or what blackmail is hidden in Miss Demeanor's Falcon Crier advice column? Certainly not bookstore owner and amateur sleuth Claire Malloy - until her daughter Caron persuades her to substitute for disgraced column editor and journalism teacher Emily Parchester. Surely Miss Parchester cannot be guilty of embezzlement. But the petty charges graduate to murder when Principal Weiss gets his last licks from Miss Parchester's peach compote. Miss Parchester herself, last seen at a local sanitarium, is suddenly missing. And now it's up to Claire to find someone who's been schooled in the fine art of murder."

A Really Cute Corpse

Joan Hess

1988

A Claire Malloy novel.

"When Claire Malloy's best friend Luanne Bradshaw goes down with a badly sprained ankle, someone must fill in her shoes as Thurberfest beauty Pageant coordinator and usher a bevy of aspiring beauty queen through the two-day event. Enter Claire Malloy to the rescue. But this is one job Claire would gladly be fired from. Now, already fending off a hostile theatre owner, and overly-aggressive personal trainer, an incontinent show-dog, a fifteen-year-old daughter with more growing pains than she can count, and a talent contest in need of some talent, Claire must face one more problem--someone is trying to kill the reigning Miss Thurberfest. When a ghastly murder scene signals the culprit's success, Claire's investigative instincts take over, but when she digs too close to the truth, the race is on to discover the killer's identity before Claire herself is crowned the next victim."

A Diet to Die For

Joan Hess

1989

A Claire Malloy novel.

"Claire Malloy .... gets roped into accompanying a chubby heiress named Maribeth to Faberville, Arkansas's hottest new fitness centre. Personally, Claire thinks the best way for Maribeth to lose 160 unnecessary pounds would be to dump her abusive husband. But while Claire's teenage daughter Caron unsuccessfully tries every fad diet she can find (as long as it doesn't mean cutting out pizza), Claire has to admit Maribeth's commitment to diet, workouts, and supplements is working...until things go horribly wrong. Besides becoming moonstruck over the big-muscled fitness instructor, Maribeth is acting loony outside the gym as well. And when she ends up "accidentally" dead, Claire starts to exercise her instincts for crime . . . and hunt for a killer."

Roll Over and Play Dead

Joan Hess

1991

A Claire Malloy novel.

"Bookstore owner and amateur sleuth Claire Malloy has donned another hat (or is that a collar?) - as a petsitter extraordinaire. Her furry charges are Miss Emily Parchester's beloved basset hounds, Nick and Nora, and two very good dogs they are. Everything is just ducky...until they vanish. Other neighbours' pets have also disappeared, and no doubt a dognapper is on the prowl. . . Switching to her sleuthing chapeau, Claire quickly locates the shabby abode of Newton Churls, who runs a black market in stolen animals. But instead of a pen filled with purloined pooches, Claire finds one very dead Newton-and it appears his own pit bull terriers did him in. Or did they? Claire smells a human rat behind the brutal murder. And mysteriously, Nick and Nora are still missing. Now Claire is doggedly determined to find them...and run a killer to the ground."

Death By the Light of the Moon

Joan Hess

1992

A Claire Malloy novel.

"For bookseller and amateur sleuth Claire Malloy getting a root canal beats going to a Malloy family reunion. But it is time her fifteen-year-old daughter Caron visits her deceased father's relatives. Now Claire and Caron have arrived at Malloy Manor, a run-down mansion in Louisiana's bayou country...where the mosquitoes are big enough to barbecue, the swamp is crawling with alligators, the butler looks like he stepped out of a teen slasher movie, and the wheelchair-bound matriarch, Miss Justicia, races around the grounds cackling like a loon. It's the perfect setting-for a murder. Before a night has passed, Miss Justicia is sleeping with the fishes. The police call it a "tragic accident." Caron is all for calling a cab. But Claire wants to have a closer look at her "loving" relatives since she has a hunch leaving Malloy Manor isn't going to be all that easy...and neither is staying alive."

Poisoned Pins

Joan Hess

1993

A Claire Malloy novel.

"Claire Malloy loves her life. But how did it go by so fast? A bookstore owner, part-time sleuth, and full-time single mother, Claire is about to turn the big four-oh! Good thing her teenage daughter, Caron, has just been recruited by the Kappa Theta Eta girls-whose sorority house is next door to the Malloys' - to be a consultant for the cosmetics empire My Beautiful Self, Inc. At the very least, Claire can get a little help with those fine lines around her eyes...but at what cost? Turns out there's a high price to pay to look one's best. After a series of dangerous and suspicious incidents, including a hit-and-run 'accident' that kills a sorority sister, it becomes clear to Claire that the beauty business in Farberville, Arkansas, is getting pretty ugly - and with every new makeover another dark circle rises from beneath the surface."

Tickled to Death

Joan Hess

1994

A Claire Malloy novel.

"Murder is no laughing matter-especially when it comes to marriage. So before Luanne gets in too deep with her new flame, a dentist named Dick, she'd like her best friend to do a background check. Did Dick murder his two previous wives? That's what Arkansas bookseller and amateur sleuth Claire Malloy intends to discover . . . Everything Claire turns up on this would-be blue-beard keeps leading her down a slippery slope. The police are determined to prove Dick guilty of double homicide, but Claire's not so sure. Something about his story just doesn't add up. But if Dick didn't do the deed, who did? The only thing Claire knows for sure is that Luanne won't have a moment's rest until she finds out."

Busy Bodies

Joan Hess

1995

A Claire Malloy novel.

"Since his recent arrival, avant-garde artist Zeno Gorgias has been turning heads and attracting gawkers in the otherwise tame college town of Farberville Arkansas. Zeno's 'interactive' art - featuring an undressed woman lounging beside a coffin on his front yard-is neither welcome by the community nor punishable by law. But as local bookseller and amateur sleuth Claire Malloy is about to find out, sometimes there's a dark side to one's freedom of artistic expression . . . Strange things keep happening to Zeno and his oeuvre. First, his estranged wife comes to town, demanding he be committed to a mental institution. Then Zeno's house mysteriously goes up in flames. And if that's not enough, a dead body is found inside of the infamous coffin. Now that Zeno has been arrested for murder, it's up to Claire to figure out what on earth is going on in Farberville."

Closely Akin to Murder

Joan Hess

1996

A Claire Malloy novel.

"At first it seems like a prank. How could Veronica Landonwood be the voice on the other end of the phone when she died three decades ago? But as Arkansas bookseller and amateur sleuth Claire Malloy is about to find out, her cousin "Ronnie" is very much alive - and in trouble. And could use Claire's help . . . Today, Ronnie is a renowned scientist living in Chicago. But when she was a teenager, she had a run-in with a famous Hollywood producer in Acapulco, Mexico. He attempted to sexually assault her-and she killed him. Having served time in prison, Ronnie finally put this episode behind her . . . until now. Just when she has a real shot at the Nobel Prize, a ruthless blackmailer is threatening to expose the secrets of her past. Can Claire help to preserve Ronnie's reputation and keep her out of harm's way?"

A Holly Jolly Murder

Joan Hess

1997

A Claire Malloy novel.

"Claire Malloy's bookstore is quiet . . . deadly quiet. Breaking the silence is a little old lady looking for volumes on pagan rituals, applied magick, and Celtic mysticism. Claire is intrigued and-miffed that her lover, Farberville police Lieutenant Peter Rosen, says she's in a rut-happily accepts an invitation to welcome the winter solstice at dawn. Claire expects wild chanting or even nude dancing. Instead she ends up sitting on a stump watching the Arch Druid clean her bifocals. Then winter arrives and so does a dead man. Someone has shot the wealthy benefactor of Farberville's neo-pagans. Now Claire is mixing some snooping with her Christmas shopping."

A Conventional Corpse

Joan Hess

2000

A Claire Malloy novel.

"Farberville, Arkansas is playing host to its first ever mystery convention. Murder Comes to Campus is playing host to five major mystery writers representing all areas of the field. Dragooned into running the show when the original organizer is hospitalized, local bookseller Claire Malloy finds herself in the midst of a barely controlled disaster. Not only do each of the writers present their own set of idiosyncracies and difficulties (including one who arrives with her cat Wimple in tow), the feared, distrusted, and disliked mystery editor of Paradigm House, Roxanne Small, puts in a surprise appearance at the conference. Then when one of the attendees dies in a suspicious car accident, Wimple the cat disappears from Claire's home, and Roxanne Small is nowhere to be found, it becomes evident that the murder mystery is more than a literary genre."

Out On A Limb

Joan Hess

2003

A Claire Malloy novel.

"Faberville bookstore owner Claire Malloy is ruminating over the state of her love life when she gets disturbing news. Elderly Miss Emily Parchester is up a tree. Chained to an old oak, packing a thermos of tea and a gun, the retired schoolteacher is ready to go down with the ship, or rather the tree, before she'll let another historic piece of Farberville be bulldozed in the name of "progress," i.e., developer Anthony Armstrong's condominiums. With Miss Parchester armed, and therefore dangerous, Claire fears this noble act will end tragically. Unfortunately, it does-when someone murders Armstrong. And suddenly Claire herself is out on a limb: a baby has been left on her doorstep, the child's teenage mom is suspect number one in Armstrong's death, and Claire needs to find the real killer fast. Especially when she discovers Miss Parchester knows more than she's willing to tell."

Big Foot Stole My Wife & Other Stories

Joan Hess

2003

A short story collection.

"In this latest collection by Joan Hess, we see a variety of moods and styles, all displaying why she is such an enduring favorite for readers everywhere. Included are two Claire Malloy stories and a case from the Maggody Files."

The Goodbye Body

Joan Hess

2005

A Claire Malloy novel.

"When emergency work forces Claire and Caron to abandon their apartment for a few weeks, they are in no financial position to put themselves up in style and Claire is thrilled to accept a customer's offer to let them stay at her well-stocked, well-equipped palatial home while she is traveling. Of course, nothing is ever that easy. No sooner do Claire and Caron ensconce themselves than disquieting events start to occur - dubious people show up looking for the 'traveling' owner of the house; the owner herself turns out not to be who she claimed and is now seemingly on the run; and a dead body keeps turning up - and subsequently disappearing - around the grounds of the house. Determined, for once, to stay out of the mysterious doings, Claire's hand is finally forced when the disappearing body turns out to be only the first corpse to turn up."

Damsels in Distress

Joan Hess

2007

A Claire Malloy novel.

"A Renaissance Fair is coming to the relatively quiet college town of Farberville Arkansas, which is not the sort of news that usually sets local bookseller Claire Malloy's heart racing. But with Claire's daughter, Caron, being the perpetually petulant teenager that she is, and her fiancé, Police Lieutenant Peter Rosen, away, she finds herself drawn into the strange inner workings of the group putting on the fair. Stranger still: A Ren Fair volunteer has just been found burned in the wreckage of a rented home. Who is this woman, and why haven't any of her associates ever met her in the flesh? When the fair is set to open, tensions expose the dark secrets and malevolent schemes that lurk beneath the surface. Now, with Claire's dreams of a blissful wedding hanging in the balance, she has no choice but to fling herself into the battle and match wits with the killer."

Mummy Dearest

Joan Hess

2008

A Claire Malloy novel.

"Claire Malloy has finally said 'I do' to her swain, Peter Rosen of the local police department. Now they are on their honeymoon in Luxor, Egypt. Well, Claire is on her honeymoon, accompanied by her daughter Caron, and Inez, Caron's best friend and frequent partner in adventure. At the glamorous Winter Palace in Luxor, Claire is intent on a quiet, uneventful stay involving shopping, and tourist sites. But despite her determined efforts to avoid trouble, the tenor of the trip quickly switches from sleepy to creepy. First, Caron and Inez are chased through darkened deserted alleys by persons unknown. Then a blond college student of their recent acquaintance is kidnapped by two young men on horseback in a scene reminiscent of a Hollywood horror film. Something is clearly afoot in this tourist paradise . . . and now Claire will stop at nothing to find out what."

Deader Homes and Gardens

Joan Hess

2012

A Claire Malloy novel.

"Now that she's back from her honeymoon, Claire Malloy must face the reality of her home life: It's too close for comfort. A two-bedroom apartment is a formula for disaster for her new husband, Police Chief Peter Rosen, and her teenage daughter, Caron. Time to go house hunting-before they all kill each other. Figuratively speaking, of course . . . Or not. Ever since Claire found the perfect home-a well-preserved large house on a large plot of land in Hollow Valley-she has been up to the roof with problems. Not only has the real estate agent gone mysteriously missing but soon Claire learns that the house's previous owner died in circumstances labelled "accidental." And new bodies from Hollow Valley are starting to pile up . . . Now it's up to Claire to dig up the dirt-and unearth a killer. Can she solve the mystery before her dream house turns into a living nightmare?"

Murder as a Second Language

Joan Hess

2013

A Claire Malloy novel.

"Longtime bookseller and single mother Claire Malloy has something she hasn't had in quite a while: spare time. She agrees to help Caron and her best friend Inez in fluffing up their college applications by volunteering as an ESL tutor with the Farberville Literacy Council. But her modest effort to give back quickly becomes a nightmare when she's railroaded onto the Board of Directors of the troubled nonprofit. Vandalism, accusations of embezzlement, epic budget problems, and a cacophony of heavily-accented English speakers are just the tip of the iceberg. Just as she decides that it might be best to extricate herself, Claire gets a frantic call from her husband, Deputy Chief Peter Rosen. One of the students, an older Russian woman named Ludmilla, famed for her unpleasantness, has been murdered in the offices of the Farberville Literary Council. For the first time ever, Peter actually asks Claire for her help."

Pride v. Prejudice

Joan Hess

2015

A Claire Malloy novel.

"Summoned for jury duty, the prosecutor on a murder case, harbouring a grudge against her husband, decides to humiliate Claire and dismiss her. Having done so in spectacular enough fashion to make the local news, Claire decides that 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. And 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."