Cloudy in the West

Written by Elmer Kelton

Narrated by George Guidall

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.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: Sep 14, 2018
• ISBN: 9781501913341

Elmer Kelton

Elmer Kelton (1926-2009) was the award-winning author of more than forty novels, including The Time It Never Rained, Other Men’s Horses, Texas Standoff and Hard Trail to Follow. He grew up on a ranch near Crane, Texas, and earned a journalism degree from the University of Texas. His first novel, Hot Iron, was published in 1956. Among his awards were seven Spurs from Western Writers of America and four Western Heritage awards from the National Cowboy Hall of Fame. His novel The Good Old Boys was made into a television film starring Tommy Lee Jones. In addition to his novels, Kelton worked as an agricultural journalist for 42 years. He served in the infantry in World War II. He died in 2009.

Reviews for Cloudy in the West

[deltaqueen50 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Cloudy in the West by Elmer Kelton is the story of Joey Shipman, a young boy whose mother has died and now he is losing his father as well. His stepmother has no love for Joey, and when she finds out that the farm has been left to him, she is plotting with her new man, Blair Meacham, to murder him. Joey runs away and locates his only kin, Beau, who is a never-do-well who spends his time feeding his craze for alcohol or spending time in jail. No one believes Joey that his stepparents are meaning to do away with him.Eventually his new stepfather tracks him down and Beau is more that willing to return Joey to his care, but Beau catches Meacham in the act of trying to drown Joey and realizes what Joey said is true. They fight him off and when his body floats off down the river they are sure they have killed him. Instead of facing up to the law, Beau decides they need to run away and head into the unknown west. This is just the start of their adventures as they meet and get involved with a notorious outlaw.Cloudy in the West was a fun western that I gobbled down between other books. This story of murder and greed set in 1885 Texas was chock full of colourful characters, exciting incidents, and enough humor to keep the book light and the pages turning.