“In Jones’s electrifying 10th…Scottsdale, Arizona, PI Lena is approached by Harold Slow Horse, one of Arizona’s leading artists…[and] gets on a trail that leads her at long last to answers about her troubled past…” —Publishers WeeklyAt the age of four, Scottsdale private eye Lena Jones was shot in the head and left to die on a Phoenix street. After her rescue, she spent years in the abusive … After her rescue, she spent years in the abusive foster care system, never knowing who her parents were and why they didn’t claim her. When Desert Redemption begins, she still doesn’t know her real name.
Lena’s rough childhood—and the suspicion that her parents may have been members of a cult—keeps her hackles raised. So when Chelsea, the ex-wife of Harold Slow Horse, a close friend, joins a “new thought” organization called Kanati, Lena begins to investigate. She soon learns that two communes—polar opposites of each other—have sprung up nearby in the Arizona desert. The participants at EarthWay follow a rigorous dietary regime that could threaten the health of its back-to-the-land inhabitants, while the more pleasure-loving folk at Kanati are dining on sumptuous French cuisine.
On an early morning horseback ride across the Pima Indian Reservation, Lena finds an emaciated woman’s body in the desert. “Reservation Woman” lies in a spot close to EarthWay, clad in a dress similar to the ones worn by its women. But there is something about her face that reminds Lena of the Kanatians.
While investigating, Lena’s memory is jolted back to that horrible night when her father and younger brother were among those murdered by a cult leader named Abraham, who then vanished. Lena begins to wonder if either EarthWay or Kanati could be linked to that night, and to her own near-death. Could leaders of one or both shed light on what had happened to Lena’s mother, who vanished at the same time as Abraham?
All these mysteries are resolved in Desert Redemption, the tenth and final Lena Jones case, which can also be enjoyed on its own.
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“Desert Redemption” by Betty Webb is the tenth and final installment in the “Lena Jones Mystery” series. Regular readers will anxiously read for the wrap up of several backstories. New readers should not be discouraged; “Desert Redemption” can be enjoyed on its own, and Webb has included all the background information necessary to follow along with the exploits of Lena and Jimmy.
Lena Jones and Jimmy Sisiwan are living in an Airstream on the wild expanse of the Salt River Pima / Maricopa Indian Reservation with their horses and cats. Jimmy is building a house, a three-bedroom house, just for them. Lena and Jimmy are partners in Desert Investigations. Lena, like most former foster kids, does not handle the change well, even when the change is for the better, but she is devoted to Jimmy.
“I still couldn’t figure out why it had taken me so long to love him, why I’d taken so many side roads with so many men. Thank God— who maybe did exist, after all— I’d finally come to my senses.”
The story is character driven, and the action is presented in Lena’s first-person narrative. Readers learn about people she meets and places she goes through her conversations and observations. In alternating chapters, she recounts dreams, memories, and nightmares from thirty-five years earlier. It is now time for Lena to face her past, and she finally retrieves the cardboard banker’s box of childhood memories that had been temporarily shoved away.
Every day, Desert Investigations fields phone calls from the artists, residents, parents, politicians, and general Scottsdale citizenry who have been “done wrong.” Harold Slow Horse, a friend, is worried that his ex-wife has become involved with a cult masquerading as a retreat or health resort for new back-to-the-landers who want to get off the grid. The daughter of a local political candidate has disappeared along with her boyfriend. The body of an unidentified young woman has been found on the Res. Multiple investigations weave in and out of the story, interlinking and deviating as Lena and Jimmy explore the social problems, criminal activities, and personal tragedies that bring clients to Desert Investigations. They diligently search, but find more questions than answers. Difficulties intensify; the body count escalates, and not every investigation has a successful conclusion.
Through Webb’s words, the beauty and the geography of the area jump from every page.
“Mother Nature’s wild citizens, wilder even than the local teens, greeted the day’s glory with joy and trepidation. Ground squirrels, jackrabbits, and deer mice scurried between various kinds of cacti, while a chorale of birds sang from mesquite and ironwood trees. In the lightening sky above, a bald eagle drifted along a thermal, deciding which scurrying creature to kill first.”
In “Desert Redemption,” Webb brings a startling closure to Lena’s troubled past and things might just finally work out for Lena. I was given a review copy of “Desert Redemption” by Betty Webb and Poisoned Pen Press. The book has a nice shout-out to “Y Is for Yesterday” as Lena reads Sue Grafton’s final book, and laments that she must say farewell to Kinsey Millhone, as do we all. Alas, it is time for readers to say goodbye Lena Jones as well, ten wonderful books, and many, many wonderful stories.
We have reached the 10th book in the Lena Jones “Desert” series – and, according to “official biographer” (my choice of titles) Betty Webb, the last, at least for awhile. Ms. Webb has used the adventures of Scottsdale detective Lena Jones to explore various southwestern social issues, such as polygamous cults and careless mining of uranium AND abandoning of said mines. Which is NOT to say these books subject the reader to a soapbox; the warnings are mixed within traditional mysteries.
“Desert Redemption” is no exception. Lena Jones discovers an emaciated corpse during a desert horseback ride – and it’s not the only one discovered in and around the Valley of the Sun. WHO is this person, HOW did she die, or more critical, HOW did she get to her final resting place? Readers wonder along with the protagonist, “How does this tie to the alleged health facility outside of Tucson and/or the cult that their management warns Lena about – if indeed it does?” Oh, and just to keep things interesting, let’s toss in a pair of runaways, one of whom happens to be the child of a US Senate candidate.
Ms. Webb ALSO addresses a bigger mystery that has been at the root of Lena Jones’ mysteries since she was introduced in “Desert Noir” so long ago – who IS she really? AND did her biological mother REALLY shoot the young Lena in the head, and if so, why?”
I disagree with the author on one important point – there is no reason to end the series now. YES, we solved a mystery that has been at the root of the series since its beginning. So what?? Life goes on – how many of us have an unanswered question from an earlier point in our lives, and does that life simply cease once we get an answer? Typically … no. Take a break if you need to, Ms. Webb, move on to other projects if you’d like, but please don’t think that Lena has ridden off into the sunset to early retirement!!
Oh, by the way, that is one incredible cover!! The model looks EXACTLY as I’d always envisioned Lena Jones to look, almost as though she’s been the inspiration for the character all along!
RATING: 5 stars. A great book.
An unbridled portrayal of one woman’s traumatic journey to uncover the mystery of her past.
Private Investigator, Lena Jones, knows very little about her past. She was shuffled between one abusive foster home after another throughout her entire life. That is, after she was found in the street with a bullet in her head. All she wants are answers of who she really is, where she came from, and what her real name. Unfortunately, the answers that she looking for may not be ones she’s ready to hear.
This narrative is forthcoming and raw. It’s the tenth and last book in the Lena Jones series but can definitely be read as a stand alone. The cast of characters are well-developed and support a tightly woven plot, full of mystery and suspense. Webb does an excellent job with keeping the plot pace accelerated and the reader engaged the entire way through. Excellent read.