Desert Shadows (Lena Jones Mysteries) [Hardcover]

Betty Webb (Author)

Book Description

Series: Lena Jones Mysteries | Publication Date: August 1, 2004

After Scottsdale publisher Gloriana Allerton is poisoned at the annual Southwestern Publishers' Convention and a Pima Indian friend is accused of the murder, Lena Jones begins to investigate the seldom talked about side of the business--racist publishing. To her horror, Lena finds herself rubbing elbows with extremist politicians and members of local fascist groups.

Though she becomes a target for murder because of her investigations, an attempt against Lena Jones' life pales in comparison to what happens when she is granted a meeting with the Aryan Brotherhood leader at the Arizona State Prison complex. On her way to the Death Row visiting room, a Black trustee nicknamed "Green," because of his startling green eyes, looks into Lena's face.

And calls her by her mother's name.

Found shot in the head at the age of four, her memory gone, the green-eyed Lena Jones had been raised in a series of abusive foster homes which left her emotionally--and physically--scarred. For years, Lena had searched for her biological parents with the same intensity with which she searched for killers. But now, with a possible answer to her identity right in front of her, Lena begins to realize that the truth may come at a very high price...

Her own life.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Loyalty, compassion and a sharp sense of humor help Arizona PI Lena Jones survive as she continues to struggle with her troubled past in Webb's third socially conscious, thought-provoking mystery (after 2003's Desert Wives). When Gloriana Alden-Taylor, the 75-year-old patrician founder of controversial Patriot's Blood Press, is fatally poisoned at the banquet held at the annual Southwest Book Publisher's Expo (SOBOP), Lena's Pima Indian partner, Jimmy Sisiwan, enlists Lena's aid in trying to prove the innocence of the chief suspect, Jimmy's cousin Owen, "a Bronze Star–winning Afghan War hero." Lena soon discovers that many people had the opportunity to slip deadly water hemlock into the victim's salad, ranging from the Reverend Melvin Giblin, who happens to have been a former foster father of Jones, to the fanatical racist author Randall Ott and his equally vicious lady friend. As the suspense builds, the author touches on such issues as consolidation in the book industry, the plight of foster children, mother-daughter relationships, animal rescue programs and more. The glorious Southwest landscape once again provides the perfect setting for Webb's courageous heroine.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

At the ripe old age of 76, Gloriana Allerton, doyenne of Scottsdale, Arizona, high society, was murdered during a reception at a book exposition, just as her imprint, Patriot's Blood Press, was starting to earn acclaim in Southwest publishing. To Lena Jones, an ex-cop turned private eye, the accused--Owen Sisiwan, an Afghanistan war vet who worked for Gloriana doing odd jobs to help support his family--seems an unlikely suspect. As Lena starts digging into the circumstances surrounding Gloriana's murder, a slew of potential suspects emerge, opening up an Agatha Christie-like whodunit replete with greedy relatives, extremist politicians, and hate groups. Simultaneous with this investigation, Lena faces her own past as she reluctantly uncovers the mystery behind her nightmares. This third in Webb's series makes good use of both tony Scottsdale and the small-press publishing scene. Lena makes a refreshing heroine; being raised by nine different foster families gives her unusual depth. Solid series fare. Mary Frances Wilkens
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 243 pages
• Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press (August 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 159058113X
• ISBN-13: 978-1590581131
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,510,996 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Former journalist Betty Webb is a prize-winning mystery novelist whose books are based on true crimes, including human rights abuses. Publishers Weekly called her novels "mysteries with a social conscience." She lives in Arizona, where her Lena Jones mysteries are set.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Lena Jones Returns with a Vengeance, August 9, 2004

By 

Bibanon1 "Bibanon1" (Petaluma, CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Desert Shadows (Lena Jones Mysteries) (Hardcover)

I am a big fan of Betty Webb because she not only offers a great detective story with a strong female protagonist but also embeds various social issues within her stories as well. The most compelling part of the DESERT SHADOWS plot lies not within the mystery itself but within the mysterious background of Lena Jones. I find the hints about her past the most interesting part of the book and I can't wait to find out more!

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars terrific private investigative tale, July 27, 2004

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Desert Shadows (Lena Jones Mysteries) (Hardcover)

At the Southwest Book Publisher's Expose, Gloriana Alden-Taylor eats salad when the owner-publisher of Patriot's Blood Press starts to feel chest pains. She keels over, foams at the mouth and shortly dies. An autopsy reveals she was poisoned with hemlock sprinkled on her salad; the police arrest Gloriana's employee, Pima Indian Owen Sisiwan for the crime. Earlier that day, group of conference attendees led by Sisiwan went on a field trip where the poisonous plant grew.

Former police officer Lena Jones opened up her own agency after she was wounded on the job and her employee Johnny is Owen's cousin. She knows Owen could never kill a seventy-something year old woman even if she was a racist who treated Owen like a second-class citizen. Her publishing house published books that would appeal to the Aryan nation and they made a lot of money that she used to fix up the house she loved. Lena is determined to find out which of the many people who had a motive to kill Gloriana did the deed.

The protagonist is a person who keeps people at a distance because of the abuses she suffered in foster care, but in spite of the traumas she experienced, Lena is a determined woman who will go the extra mile to see that justice is served. The villainess of DESSERT SHADOW has so many enemies including her employees, her own family and the authors she could not care less about; it is impossible to figure out who the perpetrator is. The juxtaposition of the beauty of the Sonora Desert to the trappings of so-called civilization makes Betty Webb's latest work a terrific private investigative tale.

Harriet Klausner

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Reading third in series was almost murder..., August 30, 2010

By 

broiderqueen "army mama" (Southern Oregon) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Desert Shadows: Publishing Can Be Murder (Lena Jones Mysteries) (Paperback)

From "Desert Shadows:Publishing Can Be Murder":
"But everyone who contributes to hate, whether by speech or by printed word, is morally culpable for the pain their words cause others."

This is the 3rd in the Lena Jones series by Betty Webb. The first two books were excellent so I was disappointed as I plodded made my way through "Desert Shadows". The writing and story seemed to be off-kilter all the way through the book. There were a few good stretches. I enjoyed Webb filling in some of Lena's back story through her visits to the therapist she is having to see for anger management issues. But the main story - the murder at a publisher's convention - seemed to fall apart in spots and in my opinion, never did become cohesive. There were too many side characters and none of them were developed enough (plus I think more than one of them were schizophrenic - changing demeanor and personality almost from one page to the next). I think the way the love interest - Dusty - has been dealt with in this book and vague references in book two(after a very strong romantic start in book one) isn't convincing. There seem to be some important pieces of his storyline edited out.

I guess I just couldn't get as involved in this book as the first two. They both reached out and "grabbed" me almost from the first page. Not so with this one and I kept reading and waiting. I'm not giving up, though. I'm not saying this book is terrible - just not as good as the first two. If you are reading the series I would say read this one. There are pieces to be picked up in Lena's continuing life story.