Desert Vengeance

“Webb offers fans the profound pleasure of watching Lena mature as she comes one step closer to understanding and accepting her difficult past, while providing new readers with an introduction to this strong and genuinely likable character.” * Publishers Weekly *
“No one writes southwestern mysteries as well as Betty Webb and she proves it again in this enthralling, wonderful 9th entry into the trials and tribulations of her private investigator, Lena Jones….This is one of the best Lena Jones books I have read and I can’t wait to see where this scrappy, smart, strong but flawed character finds herself next….Highly recommended!” – Linda Riffe * Goodreads *
“Webb has outdone herself this time, not an easy task, as the Lena Jones series is one of the top shelf Arizona-based mysteries in my collection. She never steps over that threshold of over-the-top blood-and-guts description as she explores some of the heinous crimes against humanity, all the while delivering a humdinger of a thriller.” – Roz Shea * Bookreporter *
“This book cover topics that most do not like to think about. Betty Webb has written an excellent story she covers these topics from the victim’s standpoint….I highly recommend this book and series.” – Betty Louise Davenport * NetGalley *
“I always enjoy the Arizona setting of this series. Webb lives there and knows it well. Phoenix and its endless suburbs are very well represented. And the characters are well fleshed out. So many people had motives. Really enjoyable mystery…I had a hard time putting down Desert Vengeance….Great tale. Highly recommend.” – Kathryn Poulin * Mysteries Etc *
“I have read and enjoyed all of Betty Webb’s mysteries. This book, the 9th in the Lena Jones series, about a former foster child who is now a PI, was quite dark, but well-plotted and a great page-turner.” – L. Tilden * NetGalley *
“Webb, no stranger to hot-button issues (Desert Wind, 2012, etc.), takes on child molestation in a page-turner that presents both her flawed heroine and the reader with plenty of challenges to their moral codes.” * Kirkus Reviews *
“Desert Vengeance (Lena Jones Series) by Betty Webb is a difficult book to read because of the subject matter. It is an excellent book regardless of being about the murder of a serial rapist who had attacked Private Investigator Lena Jones when she was only nine. It delves into the past for Lena and shows how she has permanent ill effects from this childhood trauma, including having screaming nightmares.” – Carolyn Injoy-Hertz * NetGalley *
“Webb’s pithy first-person narration cuts to the chase without a lot of filler, making Desert Vengeance a pleasure to read. Though lean and mean, the prose carries enough quirk and nuance to convey the protagonist’s distinct, cheeky voice. Lena Jones is tough yet vulnerable, irreverent and sarcastic, yet dead serious at times. She’s the flawed hero one can’t help but love. Webb depicts her evenhandedly in terms of balanced characterization, and in relating her to the setting. The Arizona desert and its touristy towns offer up a strange bonanza of desert tropes, and Webb mines them with enough restraint to strengthen, rather than overshoot, her themes of loss and retribution.” – Scott Neuffer * Shelf Awareness *
“Former cop Lena has a fine sense of justice, which she achieves in this ninth entry of a series that features a vivid sense of place, an indomitable protagonist, and a sensitivity to painful social issues.” – Michele Leiber * Booklist *

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.

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