Desert Wives: A Lena Jones Mystery

Betty Webb is a talented writer with an intriguing story. Well researched, this is a chilling view of polygamy told through a mystery novel. Well done, Betty!

"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.

In this timely second outing, gutsy PI Lena Jones, veteran of a hard-knocks childhood, can't bear to leave 13-year-old Rebecca to her fate - latest wife to the elderly Prophet of polygamous Purity, Utah, a hardscrabble compound in the middle of nowhere. Rescuing the girl (her father wants to trade her for two 16-year-olds), Lena all but stumbles over the body of the Prophet. Inevitably, Rebecca's mother is arrested for the murder.All pretty straightforward so far, but Webb ("Desert Noir") takes a turn into the all-too-real surreal as Lena, determined to find the murderer, infiltrates the community by posing as a polygamist wife. In absorbing detail, Webb sets out the daily minutiae, the religious tenets (the more children, the better heaven), domestic routines, casual brutality, and the abject position of women, whose daily humiliation and powerlessness (including the offloading of widows onto other husbands) stacks up as nothing against the monstrous secret Lena finally uncovers.Webb's writing is lively, well-paced and suspenseful. Dark humor accentuates the bleak setting. An afterward gives the background on Mormon polygamy and the state of law-enforcement disinterest. Powerful stuff.

Betty Webb has created a character who will keep you coming back for more. Lena's own tragic past is woven through every case she takes and every relationship she has. DESERT WIVES brings us a little closer to the truth - but there are still mysteries to unlock. Not only inside Lena, but also in the tightly written, suspenseful plots so masterfully delivered by this author. This is a compelling novel that I just couldn't put down. The subject matter is even more disturbing because of its awful reality. Last year, DESERT NOIR, made my Top Ten list. This year, DESERT WIVES makes the list again. Keep `em coming, Betty!HIGHEST RECOMMENDATION

Outside of the region, it's not a well-known fact that along the Arizona-Utah border, there are various polygamous communities flourishing and the authorities turn a blind eye because their family trees also contain many polygamous members. Private detective Lena Jones, based in Scottsdale, is hired by thirteen year old Rebecca's mother to get her out of the polygamy compound of Purity. The girl's non-custodial parent kidnapped her with the intention of marrying her off to the Prophet Solomon Royal in exchange for receiving two sixteen-year old wives.Lena is able to get Rebecca out safely but not before they both see that Solomon was murdered by a gunshot. A few days later Rebecca's mother is arrested for the crime because she can be placed near the scene just before the murder, yelling at the Prophet. Lena, with the help of an inside sympathizer, infiltrates the compound to discover who the real murderer is, a difficult job because many people had various reasons to want Solomon dead.After reading DESERT WIVES, reader will come away horrified that women in the twenty-first century in America can be treated like cattle and have no recourse but to endure their suffering. Betty Webb tells a compelling story and raises a social issue that most people don't even realize exists. This is one book that the audience will be unable to forget due to its subject matter.Harriet Klausner