[QVU]⇒ Read Gratis The Transcendental Murder Homer Kelly Book 1 Jane Langton 9780140148527 Books

The Transcendental Murder Homer Kelly Book 1 Jane Langton 9780140148527 Books

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The Transcendental Murder Homer Kelly Book 1 Jane Langton 9780140148527 Books

This book is the first of the late Jane Langton's 'Homer Kelly' mysteries. It was published in 1964, and takes place in Concord, Massachusetts, storied Revolutionary War site and home of Henry David Thoreau, Louis May Alcott, and Mary Morgan, Homer Kelly's wife-to-be, although you wouldn't guess it from the way he compliments her:

"Homer looked at her curiously, and Mary bit her lip and (oh, damn) blushed. 'Come to think of it,' he said, 'you sure do have an awful lot of mouth. It sort of goes on and on, like the big bad wolf’s.'"

In a later book in this series ("Good and Dead") this author characterizes the marriage of Homer and Mary thusly: "Their connubial relation was more pugilistic than erotic." The same could be said of their courtship.

Patriot's Day in Concord is like a 4th of July celebration in other cities around America: parades; marching bands; politician's speeches; lots of picnics and cannon fire. One key event: the midnight ride of Dr. Sam Prescott (the real Paul Revere) is re-enacted around lunch time. Only this time, when out of sight of the crowd, the imitation Sam Prescott shoots and kills a wealthy citizen of Concord, who gasps out, 'Musket' before he dies in the arms of his would-be rescuer, a young Boy Scout.

As in most of the books in this sparkling series, the reader will learn quite a bit about Concord's most famous citizens. In fact, the murder victim was about to publish a stash of newly discovered correspondence purported to be love letters between such notables as Henry David Thoreau and Emily Dickinson (who lived in nearby Amherst):

"O, what rapture in Mrs. O’Flannigan’s back sitting-room! O, divine divan! I am chosen among women! And thou, O sage, hast a Queen for thy Soul-wife!"

Homer snickers at the high-flown language, but were the letters the key to the Patriot's Day murder? Or was it a more mundane family affair?


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The Transcendental Murder Homer Kelly Book 1 Jane Langton 9780140148527 Books Reviews

Yet another good read from Jane Langton. The characters in her stories are personable, and (almost) believable. Well, it is fiction.
I've loved Jane Langton's Homer & Mary Kelly mysteries forever, for the people, plots, history, AND for the remarkable drawings that were in all the Penguin editions, now mostly all out of print.

Felony and Mayhem, reprinting 'classic cozies,' is to be praised for returning the first of the Kelly mysteries to the bookshelf, but they left out Langton's clever line drawings. Maybe they couldn't get permission? Maybe they didn't think the drawings necessary.

I guess they're not necessary but are part & parcel of Langton's charm, a rare gift she shared with her readers.

So I'm giving this edition of this great book 3, not 5, stars and hope people will find and buy the out-of-print Penguin editions.
I LOVED this book, and can't wait to read Langton's other books. I was left wondering until the last moment who the guilty party was. I also liked the fact that the chapters were short, which allowed for reading a few chapters at a time, and picking up at a new chapter later. I highly recommend this
book!
Homer and Mary have become my good friends through several books in this series. I always enjoy a visit with them very much. The books are well written and the plots are always interesting. The sketches the author usually includes in the books (but not in this edition, sadly) are wonderful and serve to draw me further into the story. I see what the author sees, not just in descriptive prose but she shows me the exact way she sees the scene. You're never too old to enjoy a few pictures in your books, that's what I say. It's endeared this quirky couple to me even more now that I've been there when they first meet in this book. Read, relax. These are worthwhile books, and I recommend them.
Naturally, those of us who have read many of the Homer (and Mary) Kelly mysteries over the years will want to have this "when they first met" novel. For those not familiar with the long running series (since the mid-sixties), it is a good one to start with, not that it is the best, but because you will likely want to read more and this is the beginning of it all.
There are differences in tone between this (and, perhaps a few more of the early ones) and the later Homer and Mary books (aside from their getting married and older). Homer is still "only" a policeman, with an interest in literature, not the distinguished Professor and scholar he was to become (although he is writing a book). Mary is still not the educated professional and rather fiercely woman's rights advocate she will mature into. She is still a librarian, not yet having ' found her vocation'.
I did not, as some reviewers did, miss the the drawings which add flavor to the series, since with the advent of the , I stopped (eye) reading detective stories, relying on audiobooks (those I had purchased in digital form being automatically transferred to my kindle when acquired the company which had sold them) and robot reading of all but one that I bought from (that restricted by its publisher). As did other reviewers, I did enjoyed the authors light-hearted drawings when reading the books. As others have pointed out, they are omitted from this edition.
I found the very short chapters, which means that being quickly bounced from one chapter lead-in with quotation to another. For me this was an annoying distraction. Others might find the format adds to their pleasure.
Cozy readers, in general, should find this an intelligent, essentially non-violent, well-written mystery. The author's reference to familiar 19th Century literary-philosophical New England thought and writers, will be a pleasant break for many from the usual fare.
This book is the first of the late Jane Langton's 'Homer Kelly' mysteries. It was published in 1964, and takes place in Concord, Massachusetts, storied Revolutionary War site and home of Henry David Thoreau, Louis May Alcott, and Mary Morgan, Homer Kelly's wife-to-be, although you wouldn't guess it from the way he compliments her

"Homer looked at her curiously, and Mary bit her lip and (oh, damn) blushed. 'Come to think of it,' he said, 'you sure do have an awful lot of mouth. It sort of goes on and on, like the big bad wolf’s.'"

In a later book in this series ("Good and Dead") this author characterizes the marriage of Homer and Mary thusly "Their connubial relation was more pugilistic than erotic." The same could be said of their courtship.

Patriot's Day in Concord is like a 4th of July celebration in other cities around America parades; marching bands; politician's speeches; lots of picnics and cannon fire. One key event the midnight ride of Dr. Sam Prescott (the real Paul Revere) is re-enacted around lunch time. Only this time, when out of sight of the crowd, the imitation Sam Prescott shoots and kills a wealthy citizen of Concord, who gasps out, 'Musket' before he dies in the arms of his would-be rescuer, a young Boy Scout.

As in most of the books in this sparkling series, the reader will learn quite a bit about Concord's most famous citizens. In fact, the murder victim was about to publish a stash of newly discovered correspondence purported to be love letters between such notables as Henry David Thoreau and Emily Dickinson (who lived in nearby Amherst)

"O, what rapture in Mrs. O’Flannigan’s back sitting-room! O, divine divan! I am chosen among women! And thou, O sage, hast a Queen for thy Soul-wife!"

Homer snickers at the high-flown language, but were the letters the key to the Patriot's Day murder? Or was it a more mundane family affair?