Ben Blue Books In Order

Publication Order of Ben Blue Books

Ben Blue is a fictional character in a series of novels written by a bestselling American author of comedy, fiction and humor novels, Lou Bradshaw. Bradshaw is a lifelong storyteller who spent most of his life working as a graphic artist and illustrator. Clients, deadlines, and vendors were all his sources of sleep-denying stress, but to combat insomnia, Bradshaw would often create stories in his mind to assume the place of what was bothering him. Soon such stories had grown to the point that they needed to be put in the paper, and taking up a pen and paper, he found something new, exciting and challenging. He soon filled multiple papers and his distraction soon transformed into a passion. Upon retiring, Bradshaw began assembling scribbles and notes into novels…. The rest is history.

To date, Bradshaw has written over a dozen novels which are six more than he was able to read during his school days. The author began the publication of Ben Blue series in 2013 when the first novel in the series, Hickory Jack was published.

Hickory Jack

In the years after the Civil War, countless lives were swept by the tide of lawlessness and restlessness. Some of these lives were transformed forever, and some ruined beyond redemption, and others were only snuffed out. Hickory Jack, the first book in Ben Blue series by Lou Bradshaw, is a tale of two young lives that were changed beyond the hope of ever being the same again.

Andy Moore aged 14 and Ben Blue aged 12 came face to face with the violence of the civil war and its aftermath as boys but responded to it as men. As the two young men grew in size and also years, they also developed the knowledge and understanding of what it took to be a man and even walk in a man’s boots. They gained significant experience that life was never comfortable, but hard and that fairness had never been a promise. They also learned the hard way that some men do a thing without a substantial reason, and they respected no law other than what rested in their holsters.

The first book in the series sets the stage for Blue’s adventurous life. The novel is characterized by integrity, honor, and a strong sense of right and wrong. Even though there are plenty of killings, the author, Bradshaw maintains a positive direction in his captivating writing with a surprising, humorous twist. Wonderfully written in the first person narrative from the main character, the tale tells the story of the lives of Jack Moore and Ben Blue from the ages of 12 and 14 until they are adults. It is a novel hard to put down as the author has written in a style that connects with the readers as these two characters undergo their experiences while growing up, through their joy and their pain, their anger and frustrations. The characters are well crafted; the adventures stories are geographically and historically sound and above all entertaining.

Blue

In the second series installment, we once again meet Ben finally settling into his new life as a rancher and the owner of the MB connected, but he is often haunted by a past that won’t lie down and rest. When trouble arises, the first name called is Ben Blue, the only experienced man, he is also the one man in Taos County who cannot and will never turn his back on trouble especially if innocent people are in the peril. However, his willingness to put his life at risk and help other could cost him the one thing that he dearly wants than all else.

Once again, Lou Bradshaw makes use of his incredible skills in crafting characters and scenes with vivid descriptions to create one captivating second series installment. Ben wants nothing more than to rear his cattle on his new ranch and establish a home for the only woman that he has ever loved. However being a temporary assistant to the United States Marshal Service he continually puts his life at risk and his service to the nation becomes an obstacle in developing his relationship with Patricia Ann Stellars.

Patricia’s thwarting dilemma is irritated intensely when one of her best friends, a teacher at a school for struggling Indian and Mexican children, Linda Tucker is taken hostage alongside with a priest and a young nun by a group of murdering rustlers who are on the run. Patty begs her husband to find her friend and kill the kidnappers if they harm Linda.

Because of his awful past experiences, while Ben is haunted by the souls of the people he has killed before, he needs no encouragement to deal with these outlaw gangs. Padre Paul one of the victims is Ben’s good friend and also the son of another well-respected friend.

Blues longtime friend, aging but yet deadly, Rubio joins the hunt after finding out that his grandson, a student at the school where Linda teaches was hurt after being pistol-whipped by one of the ruthless outlaw, Russ Rafferty.

At the same time, the elusive and vicious outlaws have a skilled warrior of their own, Paco Ramirez, leaving behind false trials and techniques to hide their tracks. However, Paco might be an expert but not a match for the veteran Rubio.

Ace High

Ace High, the third book in Ben Blue series, is narrated from three new characters point of views. It is revealed that Max Bell’s parents were Riverboat gamblers, and besides understanding the complexities of gambling, by the time Max reached his 10th birthday, he was already fluent in English, French, Latin, and Spanish.

Now grown up, he is an experienced gambler and a cattleman who has traveled to several places including Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Denver, and Cheyenne. He can handle himself either through fists or pistols, but when he discovers that his lady friend was looking for a binding commitment, he runs away quivering like a puppy to places unknown. Years pass by, and the next time he meets Izzy, she is twice a widow, and an established gambler and also the owner of Plugged Nickel Saloon based in Las Vegas. Their relationship picks up where they left off, and before their bonds strengthen, the local sheriff escapes town, not for murdering a conman in the name of self-defense but for almost killing John Slack during a poker game.

The novel plot thickens as the author expertly crafts a variety of lethal, dangerous and also lovable characters in a story full of action scenes that will leave readers glued to the last page.