Cloudy in the West

Cloudy in the West by Kelton, Elmer. paperback edition. ISBN: 9780812575941.

02 In the Texas backlands in 1885, twelve-year-old Joey Shipmans 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 Joeys 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 Joeys unlikely partners as he is trailed by their murderous Meacham , in league with Joeys stepmother in their scheme to inherit the Shipman farm. In the Texas backlands in 1885, twelve-year-old Joey Shipmans 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 Joeys 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 Joeys unlikely partners as he is trailed by their murderous Meacham , in league with Joeys stepmother in their scheme to inherit the Shipman farm.