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128th out of 235 books
—
255 voters
The Transcendental Murder (Homer Kelly Mystery #1)
by
Jane Langton
The peaceful town of Concord, Massachusetts, becomes a hotbed of intrigue and activity when the annual re-creation of the ride of Paul Revere ends in murder. And it falls to Homer Kelly to set things straight.
Paperback, 36 pages
Published
February 7th 1990
by Penguin Books
(first published January 1964)
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Langton, Jane. THE TRANSCENDENTAL MURDER. (1964; re-issued in 1976 under the title, THE MINUTEMAN MURDER. This ed., 1989). **. This is my first novel by this author – and probably my last. It’s a cute cozy set in Concord, Mass., that is based heavily on the literary history of the town. The town is preparing for the annual 19th of April Ceremony, the day of the celebrated battle at Concord Bridge. Later, two dead bodies turn up – men in Minuteman dress. The culprit must be found, and its up to L...more
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Published in 1964 and still in print, this is the first of Jane Langton's Homer Kelly mysteries. This has a multitude of characters, each distinct and memorable, as is the setting in Concord, Massachusetts. I usually have a low tolerance for 'travelogue' mysteries, where the author does a cursory tourist description of the setting, but Langton's deep love and knowledge of New England gives this book authenticity. The descriptions are gorgeous. I learned more about Thoreau, Emily Dickinson and Ra...more
Very evocative of place and deeply rooted in its subject matter. Can get a bit...long-winded, but then again, it is about the Transcendentalists.
I liked it because besides being a good mystery, all the allusions to the history of the area and the Transcendentalist movement made me think.
Started pretty slow but by the time the crime was committed I was hooked, it's the first book in the series and I'll be reading more of them.
Death. Murder. Mayhem: A murder mystery series off Homer Kelly. So goo you want to read them again.
Ukiah Librarian Choice
Ukiah Librarian Choice
Recommended to me originally by my fabulous sisters-in-law, I have read this book several times and loved it for years.
Wow. I hated this. Only read it because I thought I "should", it being two of my favorite things - a mystery and about Transcendentalists. I hate the dated, flippant and verbose writing style and the casual 1960s sexism. It had a "WTF" ending, not an "aha!" ending (the latter being how I like my mysteries). Back to Agatha Christie for me!
recommended by my sister Andrea and made possible by the mighty stacks of the downtown Minneapolis library
Cute and naive ..way too cute.
A light, cozy mystery with an unusual twist. The setting for the murder is 20th Century Concord, Massachusetts which allows the author to consider the effects of living in a community overshadowed by local 19th Century writers such as Thoreau, Hawthorne, and Dickinson.
I'm letting three of the Homer Kelly books represent the whole series. It's a series that has not grown on me as the years go by, and I haven't read those since the Dante one, but this one is the best!
I laughed out loud several times while reading this book. The "girding the loins" part is going down in the "Top 10 Best Lines in a Book" list.
Homer Kelly investigates a murder during the annual Paul Revere ride in Concord, Massachusetts. I really couldn't get into this one.
I recently reread this and I still love it....
Book club book for October...
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Langton was born in Boston, Massachusetts. She studied astronomy at Wellesley College and the University of Michigan, receiving a bachelor's degree in 1944. She received an M.A. in art history from the University of Michigan in 1945, and another M.A. from Radcliffe College in 1948. She studied at the Boston Museum School from 1958 to 1959.
In 1961 Langton wrote and illustrated her first book for ch...more
More about Jane Langton...
In 1961 Langton wrote and illustrated her first book for ch...more
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