"Desert Noir"

"Desert Noir" is author Betty Webb's first Lena Jones mystery. Lena Jones was shot and left for dead at age four and has the scar to remind her. That experience plus living in a series of foster homes has left her afraid to form close attachments so she holds friends - and the man in her life, Dusty (a real live cowboy) - at arm's length.

Lena recently decided to retire from the police force after being shot in the line of duty and has opened a detective agency with Pima Indian, Jimmy Sisiwan - a computer whiz. Lena's home is above their office in old Scottsdale in the heart of art gallery row. When a local heiress and art gallery owner, Clarice Kobe (who befriended Lena when she moved into the area) is murdered, Lena is more than willing to hunt down the killer. She sees Clarice's abusive husband as the most likely suspect but her pursuit of justice also leads to her exploration of Clarice's family as well as enemies Clarice might have made. Ultimately, solving this murder puts Lena's life at risk again and uncovers some family secrets that throw suspicion on all of Clarice's family as well as painting a not so nice picture of the murder victim herself.

While pursuing one of her leads, secrets of Lena's are also uncovered as one of her "suspects" knows the Hispanic woman who discovered 4 year old, Lena, lying by the highway and took her to a local hospital. Lena has always wondered about this woman who didn't stay to tell her story.

An ultimate showdown with a killer almost ends Lena's life but it also uncovers a bizarre twist to this story -- don't miss it! I'm already looking forward to reading the second book in this series.

Webb is a great writer -- creating word pictures of the Arizona landscape as well as sharing local history with the reader that not only enhances the story line but enlightens the reader about some of the issues of the area.


pazt