Elmer Kelton’s The Familiar Stranger

by

Steve Kelton and John Bradshaw

A round-up of Hewey Calloway tales told as his adventures during a long trail ride to Canada.

Elmer Kelton’s The Familiar Stranger is the fifth Hewey Calloway volume, a collaboration of the unpublished writings of Kelton himself and his son, Steve Kelton, and was finally brought to completion by John Bradshaw. In this book, Hewey Calloway is at loose ends in Durango, Colorado, left there after his last wrangling job went sideways. He decides to visit a friend, a retired Texas Ranger, as he considers his next move. Along the way to Hanley’s, a chance encounter at a remote cabin with a young man with smallpox puts Hewey’s conscience and health to the test. 

Hanley Baker is living in the mountains in a cabin left to him by a fond uncle, and he is not terribly enamored of the situation: the place is too difficult to farm or do much else with. So, when Hewey gets a wild hair to check out Canada, he doesn’t have to do much convincing for Hanley to come along as well. On the trail to Canada, Hewey rubs up against a diverse range of characters. While some are just down on their luck, others are in trouble of another shape and kind, and his past kindness to the sick young man and his consideration in return come back for a second round. 

The storytelling is compelling, even when the writer is only recounting a simple day in the lives of the two old friends as they make their way north through the wild, untamed wilderness. More adventurous scenes are handled equally well and choreographed to convey the ongoing action vividly and to perfection. What results is a well-told tale of cinematic quality. 

Although the fifth book in the series, readers new to Hewey’s adventures should have no trouble reading and enjoying this one as a standalone. I recommend ELMER KELTON’S THE FAMILIAR STRANGER to readers of western action and adventure stories. 

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advance Review Copy through RABT Book Tours and PR.