After Scottsdale publisher Gloriana Allerton is poisoned at the annual Southwestern Publishers' Convention and a Pima Indian friend is accused of the murder, Lena Jones begins to investigate the seldom talked about side of the business--racist publishing. To her horror, Lena finds herself rubbing elbows with extremist politicians and members of local fascist groups.

Though she becomes a target for murder because of her investigations, an attempt against Lena Jones' life pales in comparison to what happens when she is granted a meeting with the Aryan Brotherhood leader at the Arizona State Prison complex. On her way to the Death Row visiting room, a Black trustee nicknamed "Green," because of his startling green eyes, looks into Lena's face.

And calls her by her mother's name.

Found shot in the head at the age of four, her memory gone, the green-eyed Lena Jones had been raised in a series of abusive foster homes which left her emotionally--and physically--scarred. For years, Lena had searched for her biological parents with the same intensity with which she searched for killers. But now, with a possible answer to her identity right in front of her, Lena begins to realize that the truth may come at a very high price...

Her own life.

Reviews

At the ripe old age of 76, Gloriana Allerton, doyenne of Scottsdale, Arizona, high society, was murdered during a reception at a book exposition, just as her imprint, Patriot's Blood Press, was starting to earn acclaim in Southwest publishing. To Lena Jones, an ex-cop turned private eye, the accused-Owen Sisiwan, an Afghanistan war vet who worked for Gloriana doing odd jobs to help support his family-seems an unlikely suspect. As Lena starts digging into the circumstances surrounding Gloriana's murder, a slew of potential suspects emerge, opening up an Agatha Christie-like whodunit replete with greedy relatives, extremist politicians, and hate groups. Simultaneous with this investigation, Lena faces her own past as she reluctantly uncovers the mystery behind her nightmares. This third in Webb's series makes good use of both tony Scottsdale and the small-press publishing scene. Lena makes a refreshing heroine; being raised by nine different foster families gives her unusual depth. Solid series fare. -- Booklist

Loyalty, compassion and a sharp sense of humor help Arizona PI Lena Jones survive as she continues to struggle with her troubled past in Webb's third

socially conscious, thought-provoking mystery (after 2003's Desert Wives). When Gloriana Alden-Taylor, the 75-year-old patrician founder of controversial Patriot's Blood Press, is fatally poisoned at the banquet held at the annual Southwest Book Publisher's Expo (SOBOP), Lena's Pima Indian partner, Jimmy Sisiwan, enlists Lena's aid in trying to prove the innocence of the chief suspect, Jimmy's cousin Owen, "a Bronze Star-winning Afghan War hero." Lena soon discovers that many people had the opportunity to slip

deadly water hemlock into the victim's salad, ranging from the Reverend Melvin Giblin, who happens to have been a former foster father of Jones, to the fanatical racist author Randall Ott and his equally vicious lady friend. As the suspense builds, the author touches on such issues as consolidation in the book industry, the plight of foster children, mother-daughter

relationships, animal rescue programs and more. The glorious Southwest landscape once again provides the perfect setting for Webb's courageous heroine. -- Publishers Weekly (6/21/2004)