Book Review - Desert Noir (A Lena Jones Mystery) by Betty Webb

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Betty Webb is a local author who has published two prize winning mystery series - Lena Jones and the Gunn Zoo series. This is the first book I read of hers and the first in the series.

I had the feeling throughout the story that I had missed the first book even though this is where her story started. Lena Jones is a private detective who has left the police force due to an injury. Her good friend is murdered and Lena uses her police and private detective skills to solve the mystery. She is aided by her business partner Jimmy Sisiwan a Pima Indian and computer geek she sets out on the trail of the killer.

Was it her abusive ex-husband, a competitor in the art gallery world of Scottsdale, Arizona, a tourist or someone else with a vendetta?

I enjoyed the side story the author incorporated into the main murder mystery about Lena's past. I appreciated that we learned about Lena in small doses - by her taste in music, the things in her apartment, what she eats and so on. The author does a great job of showing us who Lena is without spelling it out for the reader. We are allowed the time to absorb her character.

I'm not sure I liked the odd twists in the story but they did lead me in a different direction than I expected. The climax incorporated some wonderful elements of danger and kept me on the edge of my seat.

I will read the next book in the series to see where Lena goes on her next journey.

Happy trails,

Leslie


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