The Edge of Town (The Jones Family Series Book 1)

The first of three kindred novels set in the American Midwest of the 1920s from national bestselling author Dorothy Garlock's. At 21, Julie Jones is convinced that life is passing her by. Her mother's death four years ago left her in charge of caring for her father and five siblings, and dashed her hopes of meeting that special someone who would whisk her away to the glamorous big city. Then all at once, Julie's predictable existence is overturned when her father finds love with an attractive widow, and Evan Johnson, the mysterious son of the town drunkard returns home and starts courting her. With his arrival, however, comes a series of devastating tragedies as Evan's father is found murdered, and a series of brutal rapes rocks the town. In a rush to judgment, the townsfolk are all pointing to Evan as the guilty party, except for one person. Amid growing tensions, Julie Jones has been hiding a dark personal secret-and falling desperately in love. Dorothy Garlock's novels have won her acclaim from the Chicago Sun-Times as a "gifted storyteller" and praise from readers as a truth-teller about America and its people. Now in her hardcover debut, the USA Today bestselling author begins her new saga of the Midwest in the 1920s with the heartwarming story of the Jones family, who meet life's incredible challenges with bravery, humor, and zest. Julie Jones knows what she is: a country girl, not beautiful but presentable, in skirts too long to be fashionable. A responsible young woman who has been raising her brothers and sisters since her mother's death and helping her father on their hardscrabble farm. She's not exactly the free, giggly flapper the town boys fancy. Secretly, she wishes someone she could love would find her special enough to come courting. But as the country roars into the Jazz Age, neither her family nor the town of Fertile, Missouri, can remain untouched. Veterans have returned from the Great War, among them big, quiet Evan Johnson, the enigmatic son of the town bully. Crime has risen enough to warrant the town's hiring Corbin Appleby as police chief, a stranger on At 21, Julia Jones thinks life is passing her by. Her mother's death four years ago left her in charge of caring for her father and five siblings. When her father finds another woman, Julia suddenly gets another chance for happiness and romance.