The Old Blue Line, J. A. Jance
The Old Blue Line, J. A. Jance
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The Old Blue Line
A Joanna Brady Novella

Author: J. A. Jance

Narrator: James Eckhouse

Unabridged: 1 hr 56 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: HarperAudio

Published: 06/17/2014


Synopsis

Butch Dixon has been taken for a ride …Not a jump in the car, see the sights kind of ride. He's been taken for everything he has. He's lost his house, his restaurant business, his savings, his car, his best friend, his faith—all to his conniving ex-wife. But that was seven years ago. He picked himself up, left Chicago, and started over in Peoria, Arizona, running the Roundhouse Bar and Grill. He doesn't look back on those bad years; there's no point. Not until two curious cops show up at the Roundhouse.Faith, Butch's ex-wife, has been murdered, and the evidence points to him. Stunned, Butch quickly realizes that the black-hearted woman is going to ruin him again, from her grave. Lucky for Butch, the Old Blue Line, a group of retired—but still sharp and tenacious—former legal and law enforcement coots, have taken it upon themselves, as a favor, to make sure he doesn't cross that thin line. After the dust settles, Butch's life is again upended—when a little red-haired ball of fire, Sheriff Joanna Brady, takes a seat at his bar.

About J. A. Jance

Sometimes it is through necessity that the best experiences are born. Such is the career of author J. A. Jance, who after many years of wanting to become a writer, found her way to that end. However, it took a lot if sacrifice and detours before she finally became the writer she always wanted to be.

Upon being denied admittance into a creative writing class by a professor who thought women belonged at home or in teaching, she gave up and married a young man who aspired to be another Faulkner or Hemingway. The only similarities to those writers was his love for alcohol. He became a severe alcoholic and proclaimed to his wife, whom he knew wanted a writing career, that he would be the only writer in that family. She grew weary of his addiction, and divorced him just two years before he died at a very young age. Jance had been writing when he was away or asleep, but she now had to find a way to support her children as a single mother. She spent her days selling insurance and her nights writing......many times writing all night. After the disappointment of not having her first book published, her agent advised her that she might be best at writing fiction. She followed that advice, and has written 22 Detective Beaumont books, 17 Joanna Brady books, and 10 Ali Reynolds books. There were also four thrillers added to the body of work.

Jance says that one of the best parts of writing is hearing from fans that her books have helped many as they were going through illness, or were sitting with a loved one who was going through difficult times. She says........"it gratified me to know that by immersing themselves in my stories, people are able to set their own lives aside and live and walk in someone else's shoes. Jance feels that she is doing the best job that she can at the best job in the world.


Reviews

Goodreads review by PamG on April 20, 2020

THE OLD BLUE LINE by J.A. Jance is a well-written novella that features one of the supporting characters in the Joanna Brady series. Butch Dixon lost everything to his ex-wife seven years ago. With the help of his grandmother, he is back on his feet and owns a restaurant/bar in Arizona. However, whe......more

Goodreads review by Jean on August 07, 2014

This is a novella about Butch Dixon before he met and married Joanne Brady. J. A. Jance is an excellent writer and this short story is fast paced but also full of detail. Butch inherited a bar and grill from his Grandmother on her death. She had trained him how to operate that type of business in th......more

Goodreads review by Mark on March 21, 2018

I've run out of paperbacks for the beach & now digging into my NOOK for books I've downloaded over the past year & this novella is one...this one provides the background of Joanna Brady's Butch...how he got to Arizona, ownership of the Roundhouse & meeting Joanna...along the way we have a murder mys......more

Goodreads review by Jennifer on December 09, 2020

Quick read! This is more of a prequel for before Butch and Joanna meet. I liked having a little back story about him!......more

Goodreads review by Voula on December 07, 2022

A very short, but good read about Butch Dixon before he met Joanna Brady. I enjoyed the story, as I have enjoyed all of the Joanna Brady stories, although, technically, this isn't actually about Joanna.......more