Desert Wives

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Praise for Desert Wives "If Betty Webb had gone undercover and written Desert Wives as a piece of investigative journalism, she'd probably be up for a Pulitzer...." -The New York Times "[An] arresting novel brimming with moral outrage." -Publishers Weekly "Reading Desert Wives is like peering into a microscope at a seething culture of toxic microbes." -Diana Gabaldon, author of The Outlander series Now in its second edition, Betty Webb's Desert Wives is a startling, real look into the polygamous communities of Northern Arizona.When private detective Lena Jones helps thirteen-year-old Rebecca escape from Purity, a polygamy compound hidden in a desolate area straddling the Utah/Arizona border, she uncovers more than she bargained for. Rebecca's mother has now been arrested for the murder of Prophet Solomon Royal, Rebecca's intended husband. So Lena enters Purity masquerading as a polygamist wife to uncover the real murderer. What secrets are the Circle of Elders so desperate to protect? Lena thinks she's put her own past behind her, but the sins of Purity's mothers and fathers force her to reexamine the scant memories of her early childhood. At the age of four she was found lying unconscious by the side of an Arizona highway, a bullet in her head. Raised in a series of foster homes, Lena does not remember her real name or the names of her parents. Are Lena's past and this new case somehow connected? Betty Webb has interviewed U.S. presidents, astronauts, Nobel Prize-winners, the homeless, the dying, and polygamy runaways. Desert Wives is second in her Lena Jones mystery series, based on stories she covered as a reporter. www.bettywebb-mystery.com

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. www.bettywebb-zoomystery.com

"Reading Desert Wives is like peering into a microscope at a seething culture of toxic microbes." * Diana Gabaldon, author of The Outlander series * "[An] arresting novel brimming with moral outrage." * Publishers Weekly * "If Betty Webb had gone undercover and written Desert Wives as a piece of investigative journalism, she'd probably be up for a Pulitzer...." * The New York Times *