The Face on the Wall

Homer Kelly #13

by Jane Langton

Homer Kelly returns to help his wife's niece, Annie Swann, who has gained success as a children's book illustrator. Annie has built a fabulous addition to her house and is renting out the old section. Part of her new area is a 35-foot wall, on which Annie plans to paint her masterpiece. However, a mysterious face keeps appearing -- no matter how often Annie paints it out. One day, Annie returns home to find her tenants' handicapped son apparently crushed by her scaffolding. When her tenants sue Annie and threaten her with the loss of her home, Homer Kelly steps in to unravel the mystery. He encounters greedy land developers and a sociopathic child in his attempts to salvage Annie's dream. Written with the author's usual clever style and inimitable humor, this 13th book is a lucky addition to the Homer Kelly series.

—Sue Reider

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Novels

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

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 children, The Majesty of Grace, a story about a young girl during the Depression who is certain she will some day be Queen of England. Langton has since written a children's series, The Hall Family Chronicles, and the Homer Kelly murder mystery novels. She has also written several stand-alone novels and picture books.

Langton's novel The Fledgling is a Newbery Honor book. Her novel Emily Dickinson is Dead was nominated for an Edgar Award and received a Nero Award. The Face on the Wall was an editors' choice selection by The Drood Review of Mystery for 1998.

Langton lives in Lincoln, Massachusetts, near the town of Concord, the setting of many of her novels. Her husband, Bill, died in 1997. Langton has three adult sons: Chris, David and Andy.

Series:
* Hall Family
* Homer Kelly Mystery

Reviews

[Becky Rippel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book Number 13 in the Homer Kelly series and one of Jane Langton's best. Annie Swann, Homer's niece and children's books illustrator, has a dream come true. A new addition to her house has a blank wall 35' long on which she is going to paint a mural of fairy stories. Eight year old, Eddie Gast, is fascinated with her work. A mentally disabled child, Eddie is a major disruption to his parents. His older sister, Charlene was a champion swimmer and the apple of her parent's eyes. When Eddie is found dead in Annie's home, his parents blame Annie and sue for everything she has. In the background there's another land grab going on which involves the death of Pearl Small. Pearl wouldn't sign the papers to sell her land to a developer, which made her husband very angry. Pearl botched an attempt to murder her husband in his sleep and he shot her in the face. Unfortunately, Pearl's brother appeared on the scene shortly thereafter and while Frederick tried to shoot him also, he escaped. The plot will keep you turning pages. And, then there's the face that keeps appearing on Annie's wall!!

[Astraplain · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fast-paced read with interesting characters. This is one of my favorites of the Homer Kelly mysteries I've read. I especially liked the fairytale/storyteller theme and the idea of the illustrated wall. This one is a keep to be re-read.

[David Wickham · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely wonderful book! Fantastic characters and a great plot. She grabbed my attention and held it, which is rarely done by an author since I've read so much over the years.

Can't recommend this book enough!

[Ashley Lambert-Maberly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh, I wish I liked it more. I loved her children's series, so, so much. But when characters in a children's book behave in a slightly artificial or theatrical way, somehow it seems more palatable then in a book supposedly pitched at an adult audience.

Her characters just didn't behave like real people. She completely lost me at one point when a girl's school decided to hold an impromptu assembly to congratulate one girl on winning a swim meet. Seriously. Like, they cancelled classes immediately, the students rehearsing the school play had to stop, everyone gathered so they could celebrate the swim meet win.

That would never happen. And to a lesser extent, it just kept on happening. There was no mystery because we knew whodunnit (there were two whodunnits, and we knew in both cases), and no mystery about whydunnit, or howdunnit ... so there was no mystery (save for "who is Flimnap," and that's not much of a one).

So it was unbelievable, not mysterious, and disappointing. Otherwise she's a lovely writer--her characters are distinct and different, she can create readable sentences and evoke a sense of place, etc., etc., but when the plot lets you down, and people don't behave realistically, it's hard to take.

(Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful. I'm fairly good at picking for myself so end up with a lot of 4s). I feel a lot of readers automatically render any book they enjoy 5, but I grade on a curve!

[Plum-crazy · Rating 3 out of 5]

With it's quirky characters & black humour, I quite enjoyed this book. The Gast family, with the exception of Eddy, were aptly named & were ghastly people! Eddy's parents wanted him out of the way & they got their wish & tried to make some money out of him at the same time....poor Eddy never got a mention after his death. I don't see really why he had to die , or really why his character was necessary, his odious sister Charlene could surely, with her devious little mind, found some other way of extorting money from their landlord.

All-in-all I found this an entertaining read & I found the snippets of fairy tales a nice touch. I particulary enjoyed the way "The Fisherman & His Wife" fitted in with Charlene's antics & it was unusual to find this sort of novel illustrated by line drawings.

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Annie Swann’s dream has come true- as a result of an addition onto her house she now has a huge wall on which to paint her fairytale characters. All is well, but it doesn’t stay that way. Someone is painting faces on her wall. How the person gets in or why the faces are painted is a mystery. Annie’s new handyman, Flimnap O’Donnell paints over each face as it appears, restoring the wall to its original appearance but new faces keep coming, each one a bit more threatening than the last. In addition, Annie’s new tenants seem to be very neglectful of their disabled son, a concern to both Annie and Flimnap. With help of friends, Flimnap, and her Uncle Homer Kelly, Annie works to resolve both of these dilemmas.

I liked the story but most of the characters were too over the top for my taste. Of all of the characters,Flimnap was my favorite by far.

[Tyffton · Rating 4 out of 5]

The face on the wall by Jane Langton is a classic cozy mystery. We follow many intertwining stories and characters, one, of course, being the detective Homer Kelly who Langton has written about many times. I believe this book is the 13th Homer Kelly novel but being the sort of book it is there is no need to read the others to thoroughly enjoy the adventures of this one. My only complaint about this book is that because there are so many stories to follow and so much going on because of it, we really miss the depth of loving a single character or feeling the true passions and emotions that a single point of view novel allows. If you’re in a reading rut then this book would definitely do the trick of pulling you out; an excellent palate cleanser.
8/10

[Melanie Barbarito · Rating 4 out of 5]

May contain some spoilers. Even though I hadn't read any Homer Kelly books, it didn't matter to the content of this one. There were interesting characters, and I was willing to suspend my disbelief for the most part. One of my questions was answered toward the end, but there were a number of cases in which calls to Child Protective Services should have, and in my opinion, would have been made by someone. Nonetheless, I kept reading way past my bedtime because I wanted to know what happened.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been binging on the Homer Kelly books and, in general, I enjoyed the earlier books in the series more because the dynamic between Homer and Mary Kelly was so much fun.

But, of the later books, this one was particularly enjoyable. I loved Mary’s niece and the colorful cast of characters drawn in to her web.

For readers who are not familiar with the series, I definitely recommend starting at the beginning, Book 1. Some series can be picked up at any point, but the character’s backstories matter in this series.

[Laurel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the 2nd novel in the Homer Kelly mystery Series that I’ve read. I love Langton’s style of writing; reminiscent of English Village mysteries. But her stories take place in the small towns around Boston and are very contemporary in their language and cultural references. I especially enjoy her literary references and being a retired Children’s Librarian; appreciated this novel’s allusions to fairy tales and Mother Goose rhymes. Her illustrations are wonderful and an added delight.

[Vicki · Rating 4 out of 5]

A children's book illustrator is besieged by problems, including being wrongly accused of causing the death of a Down's syndrome neighbor boy. The book manages to be charming and somewhat gloomy at the same time.

[Denise · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mystery book club book for this month ..
Meh. But entertaining.

[Ron Charles · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the early versions, Cinderella's wicked step-mother cuts off her daughters' toes to make the glass slipper fit.

Rumpelstiltskin doesn't just jump through the floor; he tears himself in half.

After the wolf eats Little Red Riding Hood, no hunter neatly removes her from the canine's belly.

Those Grimm stories are grim, indeed, not to mention the ghastly nursery rhymes about desperate poverty, collapsing bridges, and cannibalistic giants.

Jane Langton's "The Face on the Wall" reminds us that the horrible pleasure derived from a good mystery novel stems from those early, grisly tales.

Langton's latest Homer Kelly novel opens with a dream-come-true for Annie Swan: The new wing on her house boasts a 35-foot-long wall for her elaborate mural of the history of storytelling. Resting on the secure income from her last two children's books, Annie looks forward to quiet months of painting.

Of course, such peace is not to be had for Annie or her uncle, Homer Kelly, the disgruntled college professor who can't stop being a detective.

"Poor Homer," Langton sighs. "He had made a habit of stumbling over one dead body after another. Again and again he had been forced to set aside scholarship for the pursuit of psychopaths all over the state of Massachusetts, and in places as far-flung as Florence and Oxford."

While Annie sketches Peter Rabbit and Mother Goose, 12 miles away a domestic dispute turns deadly. Brutish Fred Small dreams of building a gated community of palatial homes on his wife's 99 acre pig farm. But Pearl won't relinquish her plans to create a forest paradise for wildlife. One night he cures her stubbornness with a bullet and begins practicing her signature.

Pearl's disappearance would have remained a minor note in the newspaper if Homer's wife hadn't remembered the name as one of her old students at Harvard. She immediately begins needling her husband to solve the case. "Homer Kelly had been Mary's husband for a long time," Langton notes. "Half a lifetime with a sensible wife had mellowed him a little. So had his experience with violent criminals."

Even as Homer reluctantly begins poking around the pig farm, another grisly scenario unfolds even closer to his niece. Having moved into her new addition, Annie rents the main house to a picture-perfect family, except that they're trying to murder their small son in a series of comically cruel accidents. When they finally succeed, they file a $2 million lawsuit against Annie.

Annie's only solace is to push ahead with her mural, but a ghastly face keeps appearing on the wall, as though to remind her that fairy tales and life aren't all curds and whey.

Coincidences start to gather like crows toward the end of the novel, but that's long been the connection between mystery and comedy. Langton knows how to propel her story forward with suspense even as she neatly braids clues and crimes with wit and horror.

"Oh Mrs. Langton, what good mysteries you write!"

"The better to entertain you with, my dear."

http://www.csmonitor.com/1998/0723/07...

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay, disclaimer: my youngest, much beloved child has Down Syndrome.

There is a child with Down Syndrome in this book.

This book is a mystery.

Mysteries, by definition, have usually bad people in them and bad things happening to innocents and not so innocents.

So, if you have a kid with Down Syndrome, you might want to skip this, even if you love the Homer Kelly mysteries of the brilliant Jane Langton. It's all just too sad.

But for the rest of you, some wonderful writing, some deft use of fairytales, and a mostly satisfying ending.

[Cece · Rating 2 out of 5]

Langton is beginning to remind me of Lemony Snicket and his Series of Unfortunate Events books. Dreadful things happening left, right and center can be fun-but this far into the series it seems like she is just trying way too hard to out-quirk the last book. I can't even really call them mysteries any more.

[Judye Heitfield]

looking for out of print books by her--her young people's books about the Hall family in Mass was riveting for my son and I when he was younger. I cannot wait for my grandkids to be old enough to enjoy them with me...but I also like her very simple adult mysteries as well...most are out of print

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Children's book illustrator sets out to create a mural of favorite childhood literature but a mysterious painted face keeps appearing on her wall. The sad part of this book is the death of a child, generally a kind of mystery I avoid.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very intriguing. It held my interest to the very end.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good, light read though a little too silly at times.

[Jane · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well-written, but so depressing

[Cori Macphee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Perfect mystery read for the dock

[Ed · Rating 4 out of 5]

#13 in the Homer Kelly series.

Homer Kelly mystery - Mary Kelly's illustrator niece is threatened with eviction and accused of causing the death of a handicapped boy.