Synopses & Reviews
Polygamy can be murder!
That's what private detective Lena Jones learns when she helps thirteen year old Rebecca escape from Purity, a polygamy compound hidden in a desolate area near straddling Utah/Arizona border.
When Rebecca's mother is arrested for the murder of Prophet Solomon Royal, Rebecca's intended husband, Lena enters Purity masquerading as a polygamist wife to uncover the real murderer. In doing so, Lena finds out more than she bargained for--the shocking secret the cult's Circle of Elders will kill to keep.
During her investigations, Lena also discovers more about her own past. At the age of four she was found lying unconscious by the side of an Arizona highway, a bullet robbing her of her memories. Raised in a series of foster homes, Lena does not remember her real name nor the names of her parents. She thinks she has put the past behind her, but the sins of Purity's polygamous mothers and fathers force her to reexamine the few memories she has of her own motherthe woman who shot her...
Review
"Dark humor and thrilling action inform Webb's second Lena Jones mystery (after 2001's Desert Noir), a searing expose of the abuses of contemporary polygamy. The private detective is helping a client, 13-year-old Rebecca Corbett, to flee Purity, a polygamist compound on the Utah-Arizona Border, when they stumble on the shotgunned body of Prophet Solomon Royal, the 68-year-old leader of the Church of the Prophet Fundamental-and Rebecca's finance, Rebecca's mother, Esther, welcomes the girl with open arms, but when Esther's charged with the prophet's murder, Lena takes on the seemingly hopeless task of finding the real killer. Posing as a polygamist wife, Lena infiltrates Purity, where she unearths a closely guarded secret kept by the cult's Council of Elders. Meanwhile, the savvy investigator, who as a four-year-old child was shot by her mother and left for dead, learns more about her past. Rescued and raised by an Indian woman, Lena has grown into a scarred adult. Love and easy social contacts elude her. Lenacan count on a few allies, including her Pima Indian partner, Jimmy Sisiwan, but she remains a loner, dependent on her own abilities-and the.38 strapped to her leg. The beauty of the Southwestern backdrop belies the harshness of life, the corrupt officials, brutal men and frightened women depicted in this arresting novel brimming with moral outrage. Forecast: the recent conviction of Utah polygamist Tom Green has helped bring this issue to national attention. In an author's note, Webb, an Arizona journalist, tells readers what they can do to overcome public and governmental apathy. If the nation isn't too absorbed in fighting religious tyranny abroad, this book could do for polygamy what Uncle Tom’s Cabin did for slavery." --Publishers Weekly
Review
"Desert Wives is both a modern day mystery and a novel written for a cause--the plight of women in modern polygamy communities. Private detective Lena Jones helps a thirteen-year-old girl escape a polygamy compound that straddles Utah and Arizona. The community's leader is found murdered and the girl's mother is accused. Lena goes undercover, so to speak, as a second wife to a man who is willing to help her discover who the real murderer is. She soon discovers there are far-reaching forces at work, both within and without this dictatorial community, that have their own agendas and certainly don't include her bid to exonerate the girl's mother. No one can be trusted.
I'm a convert to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and the Mormon general membership never hears anything about polygamous life since it was outlawed by the Church at the turn of the last century. In my case, however, I have traveled throughout the region in question, conducted many trainings, and spoken at many survivalist tradeshows. Because of these experiences, I have come across numerous "Fundamentalist Mormons"--at least the men. The women never came with them. The author has accurately depicted the plight of these brainwashed slaves who are kept busy producing and raising children without any but the most limited contact with the outside world. The Fundamentalist Islamics could learn some lessons from these guys about unrighteous control of women. This book is a must read, especially for Latter Day Saints, and we rated it four hearts.--Heartland Reviews
Review
"If Betty Webb had gone undercover and written DESERT WIVES as a piece of investigative journalism, she'd probably be up for a Pulitzer...Child molestation, property seizures and unexplained deaths, not to mention the whole enslavement of women and rampant swindling of the state welfare system... The factual details - supported by research and cited in an afterword - are eye-popping."--New York Times
Review
“Desert Wives is both a modern day mystery and a novel written for a cause–the plight of women in modern polygamy communities. Private detective Lena Jones helps a thirteen-year-old girl escape a polygamy compound that straddles Utah and Arizona. The community’s leader is found murdered and the girl’s mother is accused. Lena goes undercover, so to speak, as a second wife to a man who is willing to help her discover who the real murderer is. She soon discovers there are far-reaching forces at work, both within and without this dictatorial community, that have their own agendas and certainly don’t include her bid to exonerate the girl’s mother. No one can be trusted.
I’m a convert to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and the Mormon general membership never hears anything about polygamous life since it was outlawed by the Church at the turn of the last century. In my case, however, I have traveled throughout the region in question, conductedmany trainings, and spoken at many survivalist tradeshows. Because of these experiences, I have come across numerous “Fundamentalist Mormons”–at least the men. The women never came with them. The author has accurately depicted the plight of these brainwashed slaves who are kept busy producing and raising children without any but the most limited contact with the outside world. The Fundamentalist Islamics could learn some lessons from these guys about unrighteous control of women. This book is a must read, especially for Latter Day Saints, and we rated it four hearts.” –Heartland Reviews
Review
"If Betty Webb had gone undercover and written
Desert Wives as a piece of investigative journalism, she'd probably be up for a Pulitzer…” --
New York Times “Dark humor and thrilling action inform Webb’s second Lena Jones mystery, a searing exposé of the abuses of contemporary polygamy…. The beauty of the Southwestern backdrop belies the harshness of life, the corrupt officials, brutal men and frightened women depicted in this arresting novel brimming with moral outrage. If the nation isn’t too absorbed in fighting religious tyranny abroad, this book could do for polygamy what Uncle Tom’s Cabin did for slavery.” –
Publishers Weekly “Stark desert surroundings underscore the provocative subject matter, the outspoken protagonist, and the “insider” look at polygamist life. Webb’s second Lena Jones mystery, after
Desert Noir, is recommended for most collections.” –
Library Journal
Review
Two Poisoned Pen Press books recently made the Book Sense Mystery Top Ten list. Betty Webb's Desert Wives (2003, $2495) features Utah P.I. Lena Jones in a search for the killer of polygamist Prophet Solomon Royal. Jones discovers secrets from her own past when she infiltrates the Prophet's desert compound. Clarie M. Johnson won the 1999 Malice Domestic Writer's Grant for Beat Until Stiff (2003, $24.95). Pastry chef Mary Ryan finds a dead body in the pantry of a California restaurant. While cooperating with her ex-husband's policeman partner in the investigation, she discovers a link between the murder and forged wine receipts. Although Lena Jones is certainly the more troubled of the two protagonist, Webb's character bears a strikingly similarity to Johnson's Mary Ryan. Both are emotionally scarred women who rise above past traumas to confront uncertain futures. Desert Wives and Beat Until Stiff are excellent character driven novels, but they also feature tightly scripted plots that are sure to please fans of a good puzzle.
--Mystery Scene
Review
"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 DesertWives, 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."--Midwest Book Review
Synopsis
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?
About the Author
Before writing mysteries full time, Betty Webb worked as a journalist, interviewing everyone from U.S. presidents and Nobel Prize winners, to the homeless and polygamy runaways. Most of her books are based on the stories she covered as a reporter. Today she's a volunteer at the Phoenix Zoo, and is also a member of the National Federation of Press Women, Mystery Writers of America, the Society of Southwestern Authors, and Women Writing the West.