Desert Noir

Feels a little bit like Grafton's Kinsey moved to Arizona and got a sidekick...Lena is a runner and drives a beat up car, a former police officer turned P.I...but there was more to this, some nice interweaving of the Native American mythology, Hispanic culture, mystery surrounding Lena's parents, and details of the Arizona arts scene and desert. All in all, I liked it and will be reading the next in the series (Desert Wives).

This book does indeed include noir elements as the title might suggest.

Anyone who has ever lived in the Phoenix area will recognize much of the setting. Longtime residents will appreciate the author's commentary on the changes to their hometown. The Phoenix area has changed over the years from a "big town" with clean air, wide vistas, and low crime to a sprawling metropolis with smog and the usual big city problems. The author's own heartbreak over these unflattering changes is evident through her main character, Lena.

Lena Jones is a likeable wiseass investigator who tries not to think about her tragic childhood in the foster care system. She has patchy memories of her own parents and life with them before becoming a ward of the state. show more She begins the book as an atheist, but a strange mystical experience in the desert as she struggles to survive leads her to believe there is something more than what is on the everyday surface of life. She's not sure what it is or what to call it, but it serves to help her avoid a consuming hatred and bitterness when faced with the evil actions of others. She is able to see the sad and tragic souls buried beneath ugly and criminal behavior and it is this that allows her to do her job compassionately.

As a first novel, I found the plot well crafted and the characters affective (yes, I do mean affective); the author makes you feel something, sometimes strongly, for each of her characters. I was a bit disappointed in the rather high number of "typos" the publisher failed to correct before printing.

A well done regional mystery. I'll be back for more from this author. show less

What I liked about this book: good sense of place, strong characterizations.
What I didn't like about this book: too much sermonizing.
Still I liked the main character, Lena, an ex-cop private detective with a brutal childhood. Yet throughout the book I could do nothing but think, you really need a good therapist. Don't know why anyone in any recent history would not have tried to find one.

I really enjoyed this book. At first I thought it was a bit cheesy, but as I got to know the main characters, especially Leena, she kinda grew on me. The story line and plot was well thought out and clever. A great fun page turner! Looking forward to the next book!

First book in the Lena Jones Mysteries and it is a very good book. Lena is a former cop, now a private investigator. Her partner in her business is a Pima Indian (Arizona), her significant other is a worker on a Dude ranch and her former boss is trying to get her to come back to work for him, in an office since the bullet that shattered her hip prevents her from field work.

When a gallery owner across the street from her office is killed, Lena is first hired to prove the almost-ex-husband didn't do it, then works on her own to discover the culprit. With a nasty family, at all levels, a puzzle about Lena's own past and some great history and background on Scottsdale/Phoenix Arizona, this is a page turner from beginning to end. I can't show more wait to get to the next book in the series. show less

AUTHOR: Webb, Betty
TITLE: Desert Noir
DATE READ: 02/05/15
RATING: 4.5/B+
GENRE/PUB DATE/PUBLISHER/# OF PGS Crime Fiction/2001/Poisoned Pen Press/252 pgs
SERIES/STAND-ALONE: #1 in the Lena Jones seris
TIME/PLACE: Scottsdale, AZ/present
FIRST LINES: I was admiring the view from my second story window when the screaming started.
COMMENTS: This is a book I have been meaning to read for a long time… not sure why I never started the series, just the same old adage … too many books, too little time. I really enjoyed it!. The reason I bumped it up to the top of the mt ranges of TBR was because I was going to Murder in the Magic City where Betty Webb would be attending. I have seen her at other mystery events over the years & guess I just thought show more enough is enough I really need to read one of her books! Lena Jones is one of those young women w/ a murky past -- not in the sense that she did something wrong & is making a new life, but rather she doesn't know her true beginnings. She grew up in various foster homes and doesn't know her real heritage. She is constantly on a mission to find out but not making much headway. She was only 4 when she was found on the side of the road w/ a head injury & doesn't recall how she got there or what/who went before. She is a private detective and on this 1st outing her neighbor & friend gallery owner Clarice Kobe is beaten to death in her art gallery. There is an abusive ex-husband, artist clients bearing grudges and that only skims the surface of those who really did not find Clarice someone they liked. She comes from a family that has a lot of wealth -- gained by disturbing and destroying the naturalness of the area and developing tact housing projects. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a good mystery and especially if you also want to take a virtual trip to the southwest! show less

A P. I. with a very dysfunctional history investigates the brutal murder of her friend, who is from an even more dysfunctional family. Historic, 20th Century Scottsdale provides the author with the opportunity to portray early days as it transforms into a glitzy destination.