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Overview
In the Texas backlands in 1885, twelve-year-old Joey Shipman's father dies under mysterious circumstances, and the boy is forced to live with his stepmother and Blair Meacham, a hanger-on at the farm. After the death of a black farmhand and friend, and another "accident" that almost takes Joey's life, the boy runs away and joins forces with his only kin--Beau Shipman, a drunk and a jailbird. Beau, along with an outlaw, a San Antonio prostitute, and a sheepman, become Joey's unlikely partners as he is trailed by their murderous Meacham , in league with Joey's stepmother in their scheme to inherit the Shipman farm.
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The six-time Spur Award-winning author of more than 30 novels now offers a story of betrayal and murder set in the American West of the 1880s. When 12-year-old Joey Shipman's beloved father dies under mysterious circumstances, he is forced to go and live with his stepmother Dulcie and her slick-talking, ingratiating live-in "cousin." 256 pp. Print ads. 50,000 print.
Editorials
New York Times Book Review
One of the best of a new breed of Western writers who have driven the genre into new territory.El Paso Herald-Post
One of those rare, rare books that will find fans of all ages.Tulsa World
Kelton is one of America's premier western novelists. Better still, he is one of America's premier novelists who writes about his beloved Southwest.Kirkus Reviews
From award-winning western yarnspinner Kelton (The Pumpkin Rollers, 1996, etc.) comes his 36th, the tale of a gentle Texas boy forced by harsh circumstances to come of age while on the run from both the law and a murderous stepmother.When Joey Shipman's father dies after a suspicious accident, leaving his farm to his 12-year-old child and thereby lighting the fuse of the boy's already mean-tempered stepmother, it's only a matter of time before the fireworks begin. Sure enough, Joey's last protector, the old family handyman, is found dead in his bunk; knowing that he's next on the list, Joey takes the first opportunity to run away, heading west to find his cousin Beau, a man he barely remembers but who is his only known kin. Beau proves to be a dedicated drunk, spending as much time in the county jail as in his own tumbledown shack. Taking reluctant responsibility for his orphaned cousin, Beau is only too happy to hand him over when Joey's new stepfather comes to take the runaway home. But when the man tries to drown the boy, Beau intervenes and, after a desperate struggle, the would-be killer is himself apparently killed. Running from the deed, the cousins fall in with a feared outlaw, who turns out to have a son Joey's age. The outlaw takes them to a hole-in- the-wall hideout, but bad blood between bandits soon has them on the run again, this time with a young ex-prostitute who was the cause of the ruckus. They join up with an old sheepherder taking his flock home for the winter, but ultimately Joey and Beau turn back toward home, determined to face the consequences of what they've done.
Adventure aplenty, and no lack of trademark historical detail, but plot and characters are a tad formulaic here, making this a less engrossing yarn than its predecessors.
From the Publisher
"The greatest Western writer of all time."--Western Writers of America, Inc.
"One of those rare, rare books that will find fans of all ages."--El Paso Herald-Post
"One of the best of a new breed of Western writers who have driven the genre into new territroy."--The New York Times