The Shortest Day: Homer Kelly: Mystery at the Revels [Hardcover]

Jane Langton (Author)

Book Description

Series: Homer Kelly Mystery | Publication Date: November 1, 1995

In the midst of the traditional Christmas Revels in Cambridge, the jealous husband of an attractive stage director turns the pageantry into an unhappy affair, bringing Homer Kelly to the scene in his eleventh case. Tour.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

As this enormously appealing tale winds its way through the byzantine complexities of town and gown, smug Harvard professor and former detective Homer Kelly, in his 11th appearance (after Divine Inspiration), figures out whodunit well after his wife, Mary?and the reader. In Cambridge, Mass., the annual Christmas Revels celebrating the Winter Solstice are being meticulously planned by beauteous Sarah Bailey, whose obsessively jealous husband, Morgan, an ornithologist, is clearly pinpointed as the deranged killer of all her imagined suitors. As a folksinger, an attorney and a dancer are dispatched with grisly efficiency, the self-satisfied Homer ignores the suspicions of demure, astute Mary. Meanwhile, much of Harvard's campus is taken over by activists as a well-organized tent city is erected by the homeless of Cambridge, under the direction of a professional protestor whose cynical manipulation of the media reaches new heights of black humor. Langton's witty line drawings enrich the proceedings as journalists, do-gooders and a fine crew of sharply drawn academics (ambitious, competitive, jealous and psychotic) come in for some delicate ribbing. Neither the occasional moralizing nor the crude deus ex machina can slow the merry spin of this colorful and absorbing tale.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Langton's (Divine Inspiration, LJ 10/1/93) well-known amateur sleuth, Homer Kelly, and his more observant wife, Mary, take part in Cambridge's annual production of the Christmas Revels. Beautiful, pregnant Sarah Bailey, who is keeping her condition a secret, directs this boisterous blend of sacred and profane skits and music. Unfortunately, a series of mortal "accidents" and murder threaten this year's production. In the meantime, a group of homeless people stages a tent protest against Harvard. Homer actually has little detecting to do, but the closely knit story progresses without his help. Strong, finely tuned prose, unusually effective use of language, and the distinct flavor of Boston make this suitable for most collections.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Viking Adult; 1ST edition (November 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0670847100
• ISBN-13: 978-0670847105
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,299,801 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Christmas Mystery, December 29, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Shortest Day: Homer Kelly: Mystery at the Revels (Hardcover)

Set amidst a production of the Christmas Revels at Harvard, the mystery is solved by Homer Kelly, the big oaf, and his much more intuitive wife Mary. Intertwined with the richness of the Revels is the encampment of homeless people on Harvard's campus, themes of love and jealousy, and the author's beautiful line drawings of Cambridge. One of Langton's best.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Another Great Homer Kelly Mystery!, April 14, 2004

By 

Marian Loreti (Annapolis, MD) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Shortest Day: Homer Kelly: Mystery at the Revels (Hardcover)

"The Shortest Day" uses an unusual (for a mystery, that is) plot device to great effect: you know whodunit early in the book and follow the good characters as they try to find out what you already know. You want to shout "Look there!" to them, and you cower when you see that the villain means to strike again. In this Homer Kelly mystery, the action is centered around the annual Christmas revels, which are to take place in Harvard's Memorial Hall, in which Mary, Homer's wife, is singing and into which Homer is himself eventually dragged kicking and screaming. As the book opens, the first of a series of murders has occurred...this one witnessed by Mary, herself. This book has just the right combination of humor, suspense, and flesh-and-blood characters - plus, of course, Ms. Langton's signature line drawings - to make it a real page-turner.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I listened to an unabridged recording of this book, November 8, 2005

By 

M. C. Crammer (Decatur, GA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Shortest Day: Murder at the Revels (A Homer Kelly Mystery) (Mass Market Paperback)

I loved it. I was sorry when it came to an end. I think this is my favorite Langton so far -- beautifully written and at times very wise.

Like most Langton books, this isn't a conventional mystery -- you know very early on who the killer is -- the only suspense (and it's actually suspenseful) is who is going to be the next victim and how and when the killer will be caught.

The setting is Cambridge, Massachusetts -- Harvard to be exact. The Revels to celebrate the Winter Solstice (very Christmassy, of course) are being rehearsed. There are a number of people involved in the revels, some of whom meet an unfortunate end. The police don't seem to notice a trend, but Homer Kelly's wife Mary does and she has some suspicions about who is responsible -- not that Homer listens to her.

Other themes weave in and out -- a homeless activist is staging confrontations with Harvard University, insisting that they hand over some real estate to some homeless people. He's assembled a tent city on campus as part of the protest. Then there's an astronomist who is taking a photograph of the movement of the sun in the sky over the course of the year.

THis is an intelligent novel, with some suspense, humor, and wisdom. You feel like you're right there and can see it all (I'm ready to fly to Boston to see the Revels for myself!) I also thought it was well read and I enjoyed listening to the tapes as I drove.