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. ( )

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. ( )

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). ( )

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 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! ( )

Very good, and I like that the real places in Scottsdale and Phoenix are used and not changed. Since I live in the area it makes the story much more realistic and entertaining for me