Elmer Kelton's the Unlikely Lawman - (Hewey Calloway) by Steve Kelton (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Elmer Kelton's Hewey Calloway, one of the best-loved cowboys in all of Western fiction, returns in this novel of his middling years, as he looks for work--but not too much work--in 1904 West Texas.

Hewey Calloway is heading north to Colorado, on a horse drive for an old friend, Alvin Lawdermilk, when he gets word that one of his hired hands is planning to rob him. After the plot is foiled, the fugitive horsehand is on the run and leaving bodies in his wake.

Deputized to help bring the criminal to justice, Hewey is bestowed with a weight of responsibility that he's long avoided. Never known for his skill--or lack thereof--with a pistol, he can only pray that he and retired Texas Ranger Hanley Baker will be enough to put an end to this trail of dastardly deeds.

Steve Kelton's The Unlikely Lawman will transport you to an Old West full of duplicity, gunfights, and the often-unforgiving hardships of frontier life.

Review Quotes

"The plot is ambitious but never meanders; though Calloway and Baker's pursuit takes them all over Colorado, including testifying in multiple trials, each distinct journey feels precisely charted and allows for Calloway's contemplative growth. The characters resonate with traditional genre values but don't fall into stereotype. Baker, in particular, is introspective and compassionate. Steve Kelton's author's note shows an obvious affection for both his rancher grandfather and his father, and The Unlikely Lawman honors his family's legacy."
--Booklist, starred review

About the Author

STEVE KELTON is retired from the San Angelo-based Livestock Weekly, where he spent 42 years, the last 25 as editor. A West Texas native, he is a son of the late Western novelist and livestock journalist Elmer Kelton. During his youth, Steve spent as much time as possible on the McElroy Ranch in West Texas's Crane and Upton counties. Managed by his grandfather, Buck Kelton, the McElroy was where Elmer and his brothers grew up. Aside from journalism, Steve is the author of the nonfiction books, Renderbrook, A Century Under The Spade Brand, a history of the Renderbrook Spade ranch in West Texas; and Grassroots Legacy, a commissioned history of the Texas Farm Bureau's first 50 years. He lives in San Angelo with his wife.

ELMER KELTON (1926-2009) was the seven-time Spur Award-winning author of more than forty novels, including the Texas Rangers series, the Hewey Calloway series, and the Buckalew Family series. He was also the recipient of the Owen Wister Lifetime Achievement award. In addition to his novels, Kelton worked as an agricultural journalist for forty-two years, and served in the infantry in World War II.