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Jazz Age #1
The Edge of Town
Julie Jones is a plainspoken girl working on her father's hardscrabble farm. She's not prepared for the Jazz Age roaring through America, sweeping a flapper named Birdie Stuart and war veteran Evan Johnson into her Missouri town.
As the summer heats up, life turns explosive. A wave of terrifying crimes threatens Evan's courtship of Julie, and Birdie's schemes begin to tear her family apart. Soon everything Julie wants and believes is at stake--including Evan's freedom--and Julie Jones must decide how far she will go to fight for herself and those she loves.
As the summer heats up, life turns explosive. A wave of terrifying crimes threatens Evan's courtship of Julie, and Birdie's schemes begin to tear her family apart. Soon everything Julie wants and believes is at stake--including Evan's freedom--and Julie Jones must decide how far she will go to fight for herself and those she loves.
464 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2001
60 people are currently reading
576 people want to read
About the author
Dorothy Garlock
86 books382 followersDorothy Garlock was a best-selling American author of over 60 historical romance novels, most of them set in the American West. More than 20 million copies of her books are in print, in 18 languages. Her books have been on the New York Times best seller list seven times. She was named one of the 10 most popular writers of women's fiction four years in a row, from 1985-1988. In 1997, she was awarded the Romantic Times Lifetime Achievement Award. Garlock is also a member of the Romance Writers Hall of Fame.
Garlock worked as an editor, agent and publicist for most of her writing career. She was a native of Texas who grew up in Oklahoma then married and moved to Iowa. Garlock donated many of her manuscripts and other unpublished writings to the University of Iowa libraries.
Pen names include:
Johanna Phillips
Dorothy Phillips
Dorothy Glenn
Garlock worked as an editor, agent and publicist for most of her writing career. She was a native of Texas who grew up in Oklahoma then married and moved to Iowa. Garlock donated many of her manuscripts and other unpublished writings to the University of Iowa libraries.
Pen names include:
Johanna Phillips
Dorothy Phillips
Dorothy Glenn
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 95 reviews
August 28, 2025
3.5 stars, rounded up because I looked forward to picking the book up every time I had to put it down
Evan Johnson returns from WW I and a sojourn afterwards in Europe to his family farm in Missouri to make sure there’s still a farm left after his perpetually-drunken, foul-mouthed, slovenly, and downright mean father is gone, hopefully sooner rather than later. Evan’s mother sent him to his grandparents at the age of twelve, but Evan discovers a deep-rooted love for the land upon his return, and finds himself attracted to the oldest daughter of his nearest neighbor within minutes of meeting her.
Julie has taken on the responsibility of caring for her family after her mother passed away five years earlier, and deeply loves them. The siblings squabble and tease and fight, but their father, Jethro, is loving and hard-working and though the family is poor, they are self-sufficient and always have food on the table and a roof over their heads. Their bond is unshakable.
Then a deceitful, conniving woman named Birdie and her unpleasant daughter come to town and she catches a lonely Jethro’s eye.
Garlock captures every single detail of rural life in the Midwest in 1922 faultlessly, although I could have used fewer descriptions of meals—corn bread, corn bread, and more cornbread—and more time on the development of the relationship between Evan and Julie. One or two dates and boom! They were all in. Not unusual for the time and place, based on my own family history, but the author short-changed the romance a little. Also, Evan’s words and thoughts sounded more female than male, thinking of Julie as a jewel, a treasure, precious; it was pretty flowery language for a guy.
Apart from the romance, the author handled the murder mystery very well, the highly improbable serial rapist story decently, but fumbled the resolution of Jacob and Birdie badly. It was set up so beautifully and then, in the wink of an eye and with little fanfare, was magically resolved and quickly dismissed. All that potential, absurdly wasted. I probably should round down for that alone, but the rest of the book held my interest so I’m not going to hold a grudge. Okay, maybe a little grudge.
Evan Johnson returns from WW I and a sojourn afterwards in Europe to his family farm in Missouri to make sure there’s still a farm left after his perpetually-drunken, foul-mouthed, slovenly, and downright mean father is gone, hopefully sooner rather than later. Evan’s mother sent him to his grandparents at the age of twelve, but Evan discovers a deep-rooted love for the land upon his return, and finds himself attracted to the oldest daughter of his nearest neighbor within minutes of meeting her.
Julie has taken on the responsibility of caring for her family after her mother passed away five years earlier, and deeply loves them. The siblings squabble and tease and fight, but their father, Jethro, is loving and hard-working and though the family is poor, they are self-sufficient and always have food on the table and a roof over their heads. Their bond is unshakable.
Then a deceitful, conniving woman named Birdie and her unpleasant daughter come to town and she catches a lonely Jethro’s eye.
Garlock captures every single detail of rural life in the Midwest in 1922 faultlessly, although I could have used fewer descriptions of meals—corn bread, corn bread, and more cornbread—and more time on the development of the relationship between Evan and Julie. One or two dates and boom! They were all in. Not unusual for the time and place, based on my own family history, but the author short-changed the romance a little. Also, Evan’s words and thoughts sounded more female than male, thinking of Julie as a jewel, a treasure, precious; it was pretty flowery language for a guy.
Apart from the romance, the author handled the murder mystery very well, the highly improbable serial rapist story decently, but fumbled the resolution of Jacob and Birdie badly. It was set up so beautifully and then, in the wink of an eye and with little fanfare, was magically resolved and quickly dismissed. All that potential, absurdly wasted. I probably should round down for that alone, but the rest of the book held my interest so I’m not going to hold a grudge. Okay, maybe a little grudge.
May 11, 2011
While into the first chapter, I was thinking that I was not going to like this book at all. The main character, Julie Jones is a 20 year old girl living on a farm in 1920's Ms. with her father and 5 siblings. The fathers name is Jethro and the siblings are Jill, Joy, Jake, Joe and Jason. Silly right? I am happy to report, that I loved this story and am glad I went on rather than dismissing it.
These people were all very hard working, loving individuals who were all so well defined that I WAS able to keep all the J names straight! Julie falls in love with Evan Johnson, who comes back to his family ranch after being away from home since his mother sent him to live with his grandparents at age 12 due to his rotten, no good, drunken father. Their courtship was just very sweet.
Jethro falls for a woman who is detested by everyone in this family. He moves her and her daughter into the home and lots of problems and anguish stem from this.
There is a rapist on the loose who targets girls between 13-16, as well as a murderer. I had plenty of thoughts on who the rapist might be, but never guessed who it actually was.
This is a sweet touching story and I fell in love with everyone in this tight-knit loving farm family. There are no hot love scenes, so if you need that in your stories, you might not like this one.
These people were all very hard working, loving individuals who were all so well defined that I WAS able to keep all the J names straight! Julie falls in love with Evan Johnson, who comes back to his family ranch after being away from home since his mother sent him to live with his grandparents at age 12 due to his rotten, no good, drunken father. Their courtship was just very sweet.
Jethro falls for a woman who is detested by everyone in this family. He moves her and her daughter into the home and lots of problems and anguish stem from this.
There is a rapist on the loose who targets girls between 13-16, as well as a murderer. I had plenty of thoughts on who the rapist might be, but never guessed who it actually was.
This is a sweet touching story and I fell in love with everyone in this tight-knit loving farm family. There are no hot love scenes, so if you need that in your stories, you might not like this one.
February 16, 2008
I love this book. The synopsis here is the best one I can think of without giving away all the secrets. I bought this today at the library and read it this afternoon and evening. Could not put this book down. I cannot wait till I can read more of her books.
April 25, 2014
This book really surprised me! I can't believe I haven't heard of it before. I read a recommendation for it on the Fantastic Fiction website by Sandra Brown and decided it looked pretty good. It deserves to be much more widely read.
It is a story of a family in 1920s Missouri. The mother passed away and left 20 year old Julie (well, I think she was 15 when her mom died, but 20 when the story takes place) to tend to everyone. Every single person in the family is lovable and adds to the story, their family dynamic is fantastic and is the basis of the book. There are seperate murder and rape plots happening, and even though rape is gruesome and always makes me feel sick no matter what context its in, those plots somehow didn't take away from the relaxing and gentle vibes of the overall story. I will say that I did NOT guess who was behind it all. During the story, you get to see the father taken in by a ridiculous woman and her daughter and how the kids are all desperate to be rid of her, and Julie falls in love. Its a very sweet historical fiction novel, and I plan on doing my part to make more people read it! I am about to start on the next book in her Jazz Age series.
It is a story of a family in 1920s Missouri. The mother passed away and left 20 year old Julie (well, I think she was 15 when her mom died, but 20 when the story takes place) to tend to everyone. Every single person in the family is lovable and adds to the story, their family dynamic is fantastic and is the basis of the book. There are seperate murder and rape plots happening, and even though rape is gruesome and always makes me feel sick no matter what context its in, those plots somehow didn't take away from the relaxing and gentle vibes of the overall story. I will say that I did NOT guess who was behind it all. During the story, you get to see the father taken in by a ridiculous woman and her daughter and how the kids are all desperate to be rid of her, and Julie falls in love. Its a very sweet historical fiction novel, and I plan on doing my part to make more people read it! I am about to start on the next book in her Jazz Age series.
September 5, 2019
When I read this book a couple of years ago, I fell in love with Garlock's historical fiction and proceeded to complete the Jazz Age series. Like Julie Garwood, it's a good comfort book where you know the ending is going to be a good one. There is history, mystery, romance, justice, and closure. The other three books in the series contain the same elements. While I respect Ms. Garwood's writing, I have to say that Dorothy Garlock's stories are more subtle when it comes to describing the sexual relationships between her characters. Sometimes, less is more.
I happened upon the book at one of the local library's fundraising events. Eventually, I ended up with all four and then donated them last year to make room for others on the shelf. I should have kept this one because it's a story worth reading again.
I happened upon the book at one of the local library's fundraising events. Eventually, I ended up with all four and then donated them last year to make room for others on the shelf. I should have kept this one because it's a story worth reading again.
April 2, 2009
After my last "serious" read, i was ready for a moe-or-less light romance - and this book was it! Warm-hearted story of a farm family who lives outside of town and the romance that develops between the oldest daughter, Julie, and the returning from WWI, next-farm-over, young man, Evan. There's a mystery (about a pedophile, no less!) but in general this is nice, lite & fluffy.
October 31, 2020
The Edge of Town had a cute and catchy (sometimes suspenseful) story line, but the pages seemed to linger too long. Nothing major happened until the last 100 pages, of a 370 page book. While there was a lot of characters to keep track of, you catch on after a while. Overall, it was okay but not sure I’d recommend to anyone.
March 27, 2021
No es ni el mejor ni el peor libro que tendré este año entre manos.
No sé puede negar que es una lectura un poco lenta y cansadora donde se narran las vivencias de una típica familia de campo en la época de los 20. Julie Jones la mayor de 6 hermanos se ve obligada a encargarse de su familia a los quince tras la muerte de su madre. Esta chica trabajadora, servicial y abnegada se enamora perdidamente de un veterano de guerra que retorna a las tierras tras años de ausencia. En resumidas cuentas, desde mas allá de la mitad del libro comienzan a suceder cosas interesantes y sale a la luz un gran secreto de la familia Jones y conjunto a ello ocurre el misterioso asesinato de Walter Johnson que pondrá en un par de páginas, en riesgo la relación de los protagonistas.
No sé puede negar que es una lectura un poco lenta y cansadora donde se narran las vivencias de una típica familia de campo en la época de los 20. Julie Jones la mayor de 6 hermanos se ve obligada a encargarse de su familia a los quince tras la muerte de su madre. Esta chica trabajadora, servicial y abnegada se enamora perdidamente de un veterano de guerra que retorna a las tierras tras años de ausencia. En resumidas cuentas, desde mas allá de la mitad del libro comienzan a suceder cosas interesantes y sale a la luz un gran secreto de la familia Jones y conjunto a ello ocurre el misterioso asesinato de Walter Johnson que pondrá en un par de páginas, en riesgo la relación de los protagonistas.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 12, 2020
Julie Jones is a young woman living on a farm near Fertile, Missouri. Her mother died when Julie was fifteen-years-old. Since then, caring for five younger siblings and their father has become her job. Secretly, she wishes for a relationship with a suitable young man that would lead to marriage. Evan Johnson is the son of the neighborhood drunk and bully. He returns after a long absence, first spent living with his grandparents followed by serving in the Army during WWI. They are immediately attracted to one another. Dorothy Garlock spins another of her captivating love stories centered around people - both good and bad - living in a small town or on nearby farms during the 1920's.
February 26, 2018
SPOILER ALERT!!!!!
This book delves deeply into the dark side of man and at the same time shows the goodness that can come from tragedy. It has humor, family discord as well as mental illness which leads to some really ugly events (rape). It has family togetherness in the midst of tragedy. Once again there is some stuff in this book (spousal abuse) that some readers will not enjoy, but if you can get past that, it is a wonderful story. This is the first book in a series by this author.
This book delves deeply into the dark side of man and at the same time shows the goodness that can come from tragedy. It has humor, family discord as well as mental illness which leads to some really ugly events (rape). It has family togetherness in the midst of tragedy. Once again there is some stuff in this book (spousal abuse) that some readers will not enjoy, but if you can get past that, it is a wonderful story. This is the first book in a series by this author.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 23, 2020
Are you a country mouse or a city mouse? Set in the 1920's this sweet story is about a simple country family living near the town of Fertile. The family tie is strong but gets challenged. Mystery, murder this story has some surprising plot twist I wasn't expecting. The main characters are loveable and well developed. There are some deplorable and vulgar characters the Jones family and town folk have to weather. It's a bit challenging at times to keep all the J names straight but you will.
August 8, 2025
Very good start to a series about Fertile, Missouri where the commissioners have just decided they needed a lawman. At the same time Ethan Johnson has come home to check on his farm and his bully of a father after WW I. The Jones family is a lively bunch of 6 children, helping to work their family farm with Julie taking the lead after the death of her mother 4 years ago. Also, there is a rapist and murderer somewhere in town and he needs to be stopped. I was not able to guess the culprit.
April 16, 2020
This book kept me on the edge of my seat wondering what was going to happen. I really liked the main character. I was nervous the whole time about the terrible thing that may happen. I didn't love that part of it, but can see how it was an issue during those times. It was overall sweet and a nice ending for deserving characters.
September 14, 2020
What a great book! I was able to escape to a simpler time while reading this book. Surprisingly it also features issues present in current times. It is a story of family, a romance, and a mystery all rolled up into one. I absolutely love Dorothy Garlock's writing style and look forward to reading many more books by her
July 18, 2021
Sadie says: I loved the whole book! I couldn't pick just one part.
She also looks forward to the next one.
My review: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟/5 stars
But here's why...
I loved how the book points out a common thing from the 1900's and how much they tried to cover it up. The ending has me happy for what's to come.
She also looks forward to the next one.
My review: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟/5 stars
But here's why...
I loved how the book points out a common thing from the 1900's and how much they tried to cover it up. The ending has me happy for what's to come.
June 30, 2023
Good storyline up until the last 1/4th of the book then it went dow hill with the “hurry I’m behind schedule no time to write a proper ending” ending and typical happy ever after - interesting read until a dissatisfied ending
October 19, 2017
Loved this book! Great read! Love the twist!
December 25, 2017
Dorothy pulls you into the world of her characters by your heartstrings!
February 1, 2018
this book had several different subplots that kept the book exciting. i really enjoyed Julie Jones and her close family
March 4, 2018
Enjoyable read with a bit of mystery
January 27, 2019
This book just made me happy all the way around!
Read
November 25, 2019Love this book
April 20, 2020
I loved this book, it was so good!
July 19, 2020
I really enjoyed this book.
May 20, 2021
Very Good
August 13, 2022
Pretty standard good-girl romantic fiction. Evil men, good hearted women, highly handsome and eligible romantic lead. It was light reading at its best.
July 27, 2023
What a pleasant change from the last several, more cotemporary, books I've read! I'll definitely read more from this author.
July 29, 2024
Good book I enjoyed it
March 18, 2025
This one started my Garlock obsession! You may think you know the bad one but believe me you don't! Happy hunting...I mean reading!!!
October 29, 2025
Second time to read….VERY good!!!! I love all of her books! Can’t wait to read book 2 of this series!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 95 reviews