Murder at the Gardner - A novel of suspense [Paperback]

Jane Langton (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: St Martins Pr (1988)
• ASIN: B000OTJLK2
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)

More About the Author

I've written an awful lot of books. There are eleven for middle-aged children, mostly fantasies. The ones that have hung around the longest are "The Diamond in the Window" and "The Fledgling." The seventh in the series called "The Hall Family Chronicles" came out last spring, "The Mysterious Circus," and I've just finished writing an eighth, "The Dragon Tree."

All eighteen mysteries for adults have the same protagonists, Homer and Mary Kelly. Mary is the sensible one, but I confess I like Homer's rhapsodic flights of fancy. Most of their adventures happen in Massachusetts, but I've also sent them to farflung places I wanted to visit myself, like Florence, Oxford and Venice. Most of the novels are illustrated with my own drawings, but "The Escher Twist" has ten prints by the mysterious Dutch artist M. C. Escher, and the two historical mysteries are illustrated with nineteenth-century photographs.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lyrical combination of mystery and art, May 22, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Murder at the Gardner : A Novel of Suspense: A Homer Kelly Mystery (Penguin Crime Monthly) (Paperback)

I was amazed to see that this book had only received one bad review. This is a wonderful book - one in a series of mysteries with a loveable absent-minded professor who speaks his mind and bumbles into all sorts of mischief while solving complex murders. The author also adds her own drawings, which are a nice touch. I highly recommend all the Homer Kelly mysteries-I have read them all - if you like your mysteries to have some weight too them. Not too fluffy, but not overly erudite either.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gripping plot and delightful story, May 30, 2005

By 

Roberta C. Watson (Tampa, Florida United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Murder at the Gardner : A Novel of Suspense: A Homer Kelly Mystery (Penguin Crime Monthly) (Paperback)

What I like most about reading Jane Langton's Homer Kelly novels is that I get to enjoy a gripping plot while at the same time learning something. With this book, I got to learn about the Gardner Museum while I enjoyed the suspenseful story. And her murder mysteries are set in interesting and genteel places, so that I get the benefit of the suspense without having to feel like my soul is being dragged through all the darkest places in human consciousness. Ms. Langton's writing style is also very pleasant, and I enjoy the pace of her stories. I select her books when I want to be pleasantly entertained.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars lyrical and involving, September 12, 2002

By 

Andrew Barss "andybarss" (Tucson, AZ USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Murder at the Gardner : A Novel of Suspense: A Homer Kelly Mystery (Penguin Crime Monthly) (Paperback)

Jane Langton's mystery novels always present a detailed and engrossing picture of a small, intricately structured world and the people in it (here, the Gardner Museum in Boston). Her writing style is hard to describe -- it's seemingly effortless, yet lyrical at the same time, with hidden secondary meanings sprinkled here and there. A really fine book.