Desert Redemption
By Betty Webb
4.5/5
()
Currently unavailable
Currently unavailable
About this ebook
"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 Weekly
At 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 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.
Betty Webb
As a journalist, Betty Webb interviewed U.S. presidents, astronauts, and Nobel Prize winners, as well as the homeless, dying, and polygamy runaways. The dark Lena Jones mysteries are based on stories she covered as a reporter. Betty's humorous Gunn Zoo series debuted with the critically acclaimed The Anteater of Death, followed by The Koala of Death. A book reviewer at Mystery Scene Magazine, Betty is a member of National Federation of Press Women, Mystery Writers of America, and the National Organization of Zoo Keepers.
Read more from Betty Webb
Desert Wives Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Desert Run Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Desert Redemption Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Puffin of Death Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Panda of Death Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDesert Vengeance Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Anteater of Death Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDesert Wind Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Koala of Death Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Otter of Death Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Desert Lost Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Desert Shadows: Publishing Can Be Murder Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDesert Rage Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Desert Cut Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Llama of Death Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to Desert Redemption
Related ebooks
The Broken Bridge: A Succulent Sleuth Cozy Mystery: Succulent Sleuth Series, #1 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe President's Child: A Novel Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Secrets of the Blue and Gray: SECRETS OF THE BLUE AND GRAY series featuring women spies in the American Civil War Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSufficient Grace: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Stolen: Tokyo Lost, #2 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPink Moon (Single Moms, Second Chances Series, Book 3) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Legacy of Beulah Land Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBluegrass Homecoming Trilogy Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWit and Wisdom of America's First Ladies: A Book of Quotations Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFrozen: Tokyo Lost, #3 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Doctor's Calling: A Matter of Conscience Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Saga of Caty Sage Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Beautiful Lies Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Melody Lingers On by Mary Higgins Clark (Trivia-On-Books) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Seer Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Prodigal Son: A Carmine Delmonico Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Lucy Gets Her Life Back (Single Moms, Second Chances Series, Book 2) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Kiss and Tell Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFlowers For Elvis Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Appalachian Justice: Cedar Hollow Series, #1 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCane: A Novel Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Eternal Conductor Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Bedrock Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Summer We All Ran Away: "A fascinating tale of the meeting of lost souls..." Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAlmonds and Raisins Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Red Leaves: A Novel Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Deadening: Olivia Callahan Suspense Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMilk and Honey on the Other Side Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBishop's Rock Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Mystery For You
Pretty Girls: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5None of This Is True: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hallowe'en Party: Inspiration for the 20th Century Studios Major Motion Picture A Haunting in Venice Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Murder Your Employer: The McMasters Guide to Homicide Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Complete Short Stories Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Pale Blue Eye: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Paris Apartment: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Stories of Ray Bradbury Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Still Life: A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Last Flight: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Pieces of Her: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Hunting Party: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Murder of Roger Ackroyd Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Big Sleep Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Good Daughter: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Pharmacist Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Dark Side: A Collection of Mysteries & Thrillers Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5False Witness: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How to Write a Mystery: A Handbook from Mystery Writers of America Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Woman in the Library: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Murder Under a Red Moon: A 1920s Bangalore Mystery Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The ABC Murders: A Hercule Poirot Mystery: The Official Authorized Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Life We Bury Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The People Next Door Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Jack Reacher: A Mysterious Profile Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Finlay Donovan Is Killing It: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Kept Woman: A Will Trent Thriller Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dean Koontz: Series Reading Order - with Summaries & Checklist Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Reviews for Desert Redemption
10 ratings2 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Wow. That was. Wow.As usual with Lena Jones Mystery series books there's a ton going on in this novel. There's a lot with Jimmy, which is awesome, and there's quite a bit in the past too which is super revealing. This book sorta seemed to me like the present/past colliding in an awesome (well, for the reader at least) way.Lena is on a couple of missing person sort of cases in this one, while also sorta poking her nose into a murder case that her 'friend' Sylvia is on.I'm not sure why, but, I got into this novel in the series much faster than some of her previous books in the series. It was a running start and it didn't even come close to slowing down until near the end. It was amazing. And it kept me guessing quite a bit and that's always fun in a mystery/thriller (and it's a bummer if I guess the answer/killer too soon).An awesome book that was a great read on multiple levels.I received this book via Netgalley thanks to Poisoned Pen Press.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Betty Webb is a bit of a Jekyll-and-Hyde. She writes the light and humorous Gunn Zoo mysteries that are a delight to read, and she writes the much darker Lena Jones series, much of the material of which came from her years as a reporter. I love both series, but my heart has always been with Lena, partly because of how Webb depicts Arizona and the Phoenix metropolitan area. Webb's Lena Jones series has been consistently excellent, often dealing with important topics like polygamy, and because of her past, Lena is always on the side of children.It hurt to read Desert Redemption knowing that it's the last book in the series. I haven't always agreed with what Lena has done, but she's become more than a friend through the years. Someone is always telling Lena "You can't do everything" to which she always replies, "But I can always try." You have to have a great deal of respect for someone like that. Everything she's done, everything she's suffered, everything she's fought for, has all led her to the final outcome of this book. Desert Redemption is a bone-deep, satisfying conclusion to this series-- and it contains The Best Last Sentence of a book or series ever. You can read it as a standalone, but I sincerely hope you don't cheat yourself. If you and Lena haven't met, start with Desert Noir.