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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Convincing detail in polygamous cult, March 21, 2003
Private Detective Lena Jones helps rescue a 13-year old girl from her non-custodial father and the man the father has promised his daughter in marriage to. But when the prospective groom, a 'prophet' in a polygamous Mormon sect, ends up killed, Jones's client is the only suspect. And Jones knows that that local sheriff won't go looking for any other suspects. He appears to sympathise with the polygamous rather than with the abused children. Jones knows what it is like to be a deserted child and goes underground in the cult compound, pretending to be one of the wives. Author Betty Webb writes about the evils of polygamy and child abuse with authority while fully integrating these into an intriguing mystery. The prophet made plenty of enemies and had enough money to make even his best friend want to murder him. But who would he have trusted enough to lend his own shotgun to? Jones finds that the code of silence is in effect in the compound. The men barely talk to the women, and the women live in fear of more abuse, and in fear of one another as they scrabble for what little authority any woman can hold in a male dominated sect. Serious mystery readers will quickly guess the killer, but will want to keep reading to see how Jones finally guesses the identity. Jones' terrible taste in men makes me glad she's not my detective, but it also makes for a more interesting read.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
a dark and chilling novel, July 16, 2004
This review is from: Desert Wives (Lena Jones Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)
In this second installment in the Lena Jones mystery series, Lena is hired by her client, desperate mother Esther Corbett, to rescue her daughter, Rebecca, from the polygamist compound of Purity at the Utah-Arizona border. The rescue goes perfectly, but on the way out of Purity, Lena and Rebecca stumble over the dead body (short-gunned) of Solomon Royal, the leader of the compound. And because a few witnesses saw (Esther's almost senile father included) Esther and Solomon arguing over Rebecca's future (sixty-something Solomon was scheduled to marry thirteen year old Rebecca) hours before Solomon was found dead, Esther is the number one suspect in that homicide. Now it's up to Lena to prove her client's innocence, clear her name and prevent Rebecca from becoming a child bride. But in order to do this, savvy and independent Lena will have to go undercover as one of the compound member's new "wife." Can a thoroughly modern and strong willed Lena curb her ways in order to fit in, in spite of all the horrors and injustice she will witness? Whether she likes it or not, Lena will have to bite her tongue and pretend to be a submissive wife in order to learn all the dirty little secrets that Purity has to hide so that she can find the real killer and so reunite Esther with Rebecca... "Desert Wives" makes for compelling reading not so much for the mystery at hand, but because of Betty Webb's stark and incisive look at the dark reality of the lives of the women in the Purity polygamist compound. Where Webb describes how insular these women's lives are, and the extent to which they are controlled, exploited and manipulated, "Desert Wives" makes for absorbing and chilling reading. Unfortunately, where the mystery subplot is concerned, and Lena's undercover investigation into who murdered prophet Solomon Royal, there were definite shortcomings. I think that the authour spent too much time showing us how difficult it was for Lena to adjust to the confining life in the compound, and not enough time trying to find out what was actually going on in Purity. So that towards the end of the book, when a character (who knows that Lena has gone undercover), shortly lets Lena know that she's not "listening" and that the clues are there for her to discover, I was in total agreement. There are plenty of suspects, and even a plot twist or two, but Lena's final realisation as to who the murderer really was, truly came out of no where for me. Perhaps I missed a crucial bit somewhere, but I rather doubt it. So, all in all, if you're of a mind to read a dark and chilling account of what life for a woman would be like in a polygamist compound, and a book that has plenty of ambiance and atmosphere and that renders up the beauty of the Utah-Arizona desert, then you're bound to want to read "Desert Wives." However, if you're looking for a really compelling and intriguing mystery novel, be forewarned that mystery-wise "Desert Wives" falls a little short of expectations.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fast paced, entertaining, and informative, May 9, 2005
"So in the end, what kind of monsters wouldn't protect their own daughters? I touched the scar on my forehead again. Sometimes monsters were called mothers."
In the voice of Private Detective Lena Jones we hear years of misery and betrayal, as she tries to recover from being shot by her mother while still a young child. Like the visible scar on her forehead, she is still scarred inside, and finds it hard to let down her barriers and live life.
Her mother's betrayal becomes even more poignant as she enters into a secretive group of polygamists who own an entire town on the Utah/Arizona border. These mothers, too, are betraying their children. Desert Wives begins as Lena hides in the high desert, waiting for 13-year-old Rebecca, a girl she is helping to escape Purity and a forced marriage to the Church's prophet. The girl's parents were both raised in the community, but left to find a better life. They divorced when Rebecca's father returned to his polygamous roots. After he takes Rebecca back to Purity, Lena is hired by the girl's mother to help her escape.
After aiding the girl's escape, a joyous reunion between Rebecca and her mother is destroyed as law enforcement officials from Utah arrive in Arizona and accuse Rebecca's mother of the murder of Prophet Solomon Royal-Rebecca's intended groom. Lena realizes the only way she will be able to prove her client's innocence is to somehow find her way inside the reclusive community, posing as a sister wife.
Once inside the town of Purity she learns that woman are not valued here, except for breeding, and the secrets of the town are much deeper than anyone could ever have known. In addition, local law enforcement, with ties to polygamy through their Mormon ancestors, turns a blind eye to the treatment that women and girls receive from the men of Purity.
Lena discovers the town is filled with felons and child abusers, and the primary source of income is the welfare collected by the sister wives and their many children. The deeper she digs, the nastier the secrets are, until she finds her own life in peril. The leadership of Purity is willing to commit murder to keep prying eyes away from their assets.
Author Betty Webb, who lives in Arizona, is very familiar with the terrain she covers in Desert Wives. With excellent descriptions, great characterizations and a dead-on portrayal of the men who practice polygamy, she cuts a knife through Utah's dirty little secrets, and exposes the roots of a system that goes back to the state's pioneer days.
Fast paced, entertaining, and informative, this book keeps the reader hooked until the end, and the killer, when finally revealed, is a total surprise.
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