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DESERT RAGE
by Betty Webb
Poisoned Pen, October 2014
392 pages
$14.95
ISBN: 1464203121


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

Betty Webb pulls no punches in her latest Lena Jones mystery, dropping the reader into a gut-wrenching crime scene right at the beginning, then upping the tension by revealing that the apparent murderers are fourteen-year-old Alison and her boyfriend Kyle. The victims themselves are Alison's mother, father, and ten-year-old brother, and when the teenagers confess to the horrific crime, Lena is called in to find out the truth.

The truth itself turns out to be very complicated, because everyone involved with these murders has deep secrets. Lena's employer Juliana Thorsson is an ambitious politician who admits to being Alison's biological mother, although that's a secret she's kept from everyone - especially her conservative constituents. The murdered doctor and his seemingly perfect wife have secrets that lead to an amazing number of suspects, and Alison and Kyle, of course, have secrets of their own, as does Lena herself.

Alternating among sections told from Alison's, Kyle's, and Lena's points of view, Webb does a nice job of increasing tension and adding a bit of character development, but the main draw of the book is its plot, and the bulk of the interest lies in Lena's sections which make up the majority of the novel by far. In those sections, Webb follows Lena as she methodically checks alibis, follows up on leads, winds up in dead ends, uncovers possibilities, and finds herself in life-threatening situations. The results are a gritty, realistic portrayal of an investigator solving a case, and the case is convoluted enough to keep both Lena and the reader guessing, while the conclusion is satisfying and mostly believable, although Webb does cheat a bit on the reveal just to draw out suspense, and one character changes a bit more than we've been led to expect.

What is a little less satisfying is some of the editing (which was as much of a surprise as some of the twists in the novel, considering Poison Pen's high standards): a couple of scenes are repeated at different places in the book, adding confusion rather than clarity; Scottsdale's July temperatures are a bit overplayed; there's an unexpected point-of-view switch in Alison's sections; and there are one or two continuity questions. None of this is enough to distract much from the overall plot development, though, and if you're looking for a tough PI novel, this one has all the elements the genre is loved for, plus a bit more. Throughout the novel, Lena asks, "What is a mother?" but that extends to "What is a family?" and Webb proves again that there are no straightforward or easy answers to either question, both as applies to Lena's own life and those of the current characters.but don't worry if you're unfamiliar with the Lena Jones series. Lena's sections provide enough of her background to get you up to speed with what's important to know - and you're here (mostly) for the plot, anyway.

§ Meredith Frazier, a writer with a background in English literature, lives in Dallas, Texas

Reviewed by Meredith Frazier, October 2014

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


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