The Memorial Hall Murder

Homer Kelly #3

by Jane Langton

When a bomb kills the most popular man at Harvard, the entire faculty is suspectAn explosion rocks the foundations of Harvard University’s stately Memorial Hall. Built a century ago to honor alumni who died defending the Union in the Civil War, the hall is a focal point of the campus. Now it is a crime scene. A corpulent body is found inside, decapitated by the blast. The dead man is Hamilton Dow, conductor of the school orchestra and one of the most beloved men on campus. The university’s president, James Cheever, couldn’t be more pleased. Dow had opposed every one of Cheever’s attempts to improve and enlarge Harvard, and this terrible accident means that Cheever’s path to complete domination of the campus is clear. But was it an accident? Homer Kelly, Harvard professor and occasional sleuth, is not so sure. Cheever was not the only man on campus who wanted Dow dead, and as Homer looks for the culprit he finds a terrible secret behind the bombing that turned the Civil War memorial into a tomb.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Christmas

562 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1978

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

[Alicia Farmer · Rating 3 out of 5]

More "cozy" than "mystery." And more quirky or even goofy than cozy. This reads like a '70s sitcom with its larger-than-life characters careening around the Harvard campus. Entertaining and harmless.

My favorite part of the book were Langton's own line drawings that appeared every few pages.

[Lynetta · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Ebullience and good humor and a sort of picnic charm of abandon and play . . . a good mystery," Eudora Welty comments on the back of the edition I read. I agree completely. A cozy to read before bedtime, the illustrations are charming, and the buildings of and around Harvard are well described. Handel's Messiah plays a big part in the book and in the resolution.

As with almost books, there is a lot of luck...Homer Kelly, a lieutenant detective, just happens to be on campus to teach a literature course with his wife. Vick just happens to take on the Messiah after Ham(ilton) Dow, (music director) happens to be killed in a bombing. President of the university, James Cheever, "was doing his damnedest to suppress the smile that was tugging at the muscles of his cheeks. His enemy was dead." (page 10)

There is a lovely, well drawn cast of eccentric characters.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good writing. Enjoyed the good book. I love the illustrations in her books.

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Can't help singing the excerpts at the opening of each chapter.

[Eugene · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ll be re-reading the eighteen volume series of Homer Kelly mysteries. Began with #3, The Memorial Hall Murders. Ahhh, just like I remembered. Cozy New England locus, all the quirky characters, and of course Homer, the quirkiest of all. While I read (and enjoy) the straightforward, reality suffused detective and police procedural mysteries, there is nothing like these “fantastic” and idiosyncratic sleuths: Inspector Pel, Commissario Brunetti, Charles Paris, Inspector Montalbano, Miss Seeton and others spring to mind.
Here Homer and Mary Kelly are co-teaching a literature course at Harvard in Memorial Hall, when a bomb blast on the north side of the building erupts, blowing out all the stained glass windows, and leaving behind a large hole open to the floors below, and a headless corpse. Homer, a retired Middlesex County detective lieutenant, and a bit of a legend from that former career, is at the site and volunteers to assist in the early investigation. And it’s not long before we move on to the quirky, the indiosyncratic, the “thinking outside the box” realm of the book, the story takes wings, and we are in thrall to Homer and his investigation. What a fun read!

[V. Briceland · Rating 5 out of 5]

The only real anachronistic note in Langton's third Homer Kelly mystery—in which she daringly sets off a bomb that destroys one of Harvard's landmarks—is the reaction of the university community to the event. I suspect a modern reader new to the series and sensitized to terrorism in the post-9/11 era would be horrified at how the students and faculty tsk, shrug their shoulders, and go about their business as if nothing's happened...and then let an amateur detective clean up the mess. As someone who grew up around university campuses in the early nineteen-seventies when violent student activism was something of the norm, I can say yeah, the apathy is entirely plausible for its time.

Otherwise, The Memorial Hall Murder manages skillfully to weave its many intricate patterns—the author's love of both Harvard's architecture and Handel's Messiah—with a real corker of a ticking timebomb to heighten its tension. There's not much of a true mystery here as Langton begins to transition into a number of inverted murder mysteries, in which how Homer Kelly discovers his culprit is more the point than whodunnit. With its taut construction, however, and truly lovable characters, this third installment marks the start of Langton's most confident sequence of novels.

[Charlene · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting setting, clearly based on a lot of research about Harvard, the history, the architecture, and the administration. Slow going at first, and more familiarity with choral groups in general and The Messiah specifically would make me appreciate it more. I enjoyed the mention of the Tom Lehrer song about Harvard and it brought to mind many of his other humorous works from the 70s. Homer at times acts like a fuddy duddy and at other times is outrageously aggressive or at least intrusive. Still, he gets the job done.

[Cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Homer Kelly book. Set in Harvard. I really like this one, maybe because I am a fan of Handel as well as a mystery lover. Many of her books have academic settings.

[Eugene Lee]

All my Harvard choir (especially HRCM) friends - this is a really fun book to read - set in Mem Hall and the subject of the murder mystery is the conductor of the Collegium Musicum!

[Dennis Fischman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think if I had read this book when it first came out, in 1978, when I was at Yale, I might have loved or hated it.

Loved it if I were new to an Ivy League school as a working-class kid from Pittsburgh and still trying to make sense of the environment (and of course, Homer Kelly's upstart comments would have tickled me silly).

Hated it because it makes the domination of elite universities (and, back then, law firms and government agencies) by white male Protestants either an assumed reality or a subject of humor instead of the scandal it should have been. There is only one character in the whole book with a name that doesn't hail from the British Isles, and she is there only to serve up baked goods in a half-baked accent.

Today, I have a more muted reaction on both accounts. I am highly skeptical that the Harvard Corporation, Board of Overseers, and President and Vice President would be either as personally villainous as some of them are or as twee as many of them appear in this book. But I did enjoy seeing how the mystery got solved, and reminiscing about Harvard Square as it used to be.

Jane Langton's life story in brief has engaged me, so I may sample some of the rest of this series as well as her Newbery Award winning children's book The Fledgling.

[Katie Fitzgerald · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this mystery set at Harvard University. Each chapter begins with a snippet of music from Handel's Messiah (a performance of which figures heavily into the plot) and every so often there is a chapter from the supposed murder victim whom only the reader knows is not the one who died. Seeing how Homer Kelly, his wife, and a few Harvard students figure out what actually happened while also uncovering some other Harvard secrets is really entertaining and suspenseful. I didn't love this quite as much as Langton's children's books, but having read this book, I am curious about the others in the series and would like to read them at some point.

[Marie · Rating 2 out of 5]

After enjoying the first and second books in the series so much, this one was so disappointing!

The first half of this book is just terrible and only by half listening to it while doing other things was I able to get through it. Mercifully, the second half was better.

JL decided to write a book with an obvious villain, a ridiculous reason for murder, and a slew of details about Harvard university governance that no one cares about. This was definitely NOT the way to continue such a good series. Hopefully book #4 will recover the charm of books 1 & 2!

[Sjervey · Rating 4 out of 5]

An unusual combination of incredible plot, extraordinary historical detail, and quirky characters. This Homer Kelly offering is set in Harvard's Memorial Hall, exploring both architecture and history of the building. I found this fascinating even though the plot was completely implausible. My sense is that these books should be read by people with a particular interest in the subject matter of the title.

[Maureen Doyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Langton at her best

A rollicking cast of characters celebrates life while it searches for the maestro, Ham. In the process, they discover the bomber-murderer trying to protect the “tradition and solemnity” of the pretentious Harvard.

[Kiwi Carlisle · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s really hard to pick a favorite book in this series, but this is mine. That might be because I used to sing in choruses, and I can HEAR the chapter headings in my mind as I read. It could also be the delightful intricacy of the plot. I recommend it 100%.

[Steve Goodreau · Rating 4 out of 5]

Found this in my neighbor's Little Free Library. Cute, quirky, fun read, filled with big-hearted characters. Plot holes for miles, but that just makes it more fun. Lots of nostalgia value for anyone with a connection to Harvard from any time period.

[Michelleluster · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a galloping extravaganza of a book with madcap characters and lots of musical references that went over my head. It was an enjoyable read but there was an element of suspense that I struggled with.

[Dogsandbooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good author to follow, intriguing Boston stories. Dpl e book via dreading

[Phillip Mclaughlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

another smashing New England mystery

a bomb goes off at Harvard, and a beloved faculty member appears to have been murdered.
The whole of the college is in turmoil.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This whodunnit was a delight. The story centers around a performance of The Messiah at Harvard. If you know the piece well, it makes the book even better. A lovely cozy mystery for Christmas time.

[Ed · Rating 4 out of 5]

#3 in the Homer Kelly series.

Homer Kelly series - An explosion rocks the foundations of Harvard University’s stately Memorial Hall. A corpulent body is found inside, decapitated by the blast. The dead man is Hamilton Dow, conductor of the school orchestra and one of the most beloved men on campus. The university’s president, James Cheever, couldn’t be more pleased. Dow had opposed every one of Cheever’s attempts to improve and enlarge Harvard, and this terrible accident means that Cheever’s path to complete domination of the campus is clear. But was it an accident? Homer Kelly, Harvard professor and occasional sleuth, is not so sure. Cheever was not the only man on campus who wanted Dow dead, and as Homer looks for the culprit he finds a terrible secret behind the bombing that turned the Civil War memorial into a tomb.

[Irene B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this mystery many years ago. Then someone gave me a copy for Christmas--we were exchanging used books. I've been carrying it around in my bag for emergencies when I'm stuck somewhere, so it's taken me five months to finish. Homer does tend to wander in his thoughts, but I thought the characters were amusing and the novel a bit droll--about a music director who ends up trapped in the basement of an exploded building for an extended duration while his choir is rehearsing above him. Each chapter begins with the musical notation for an appropriate part of the "Hallelujah" chorus, and the many drawings of places around Harvard make for an unusual mystery novel. Four stars not so much for the plot as for the amusement factor.

[Zarina · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was written in 1978. If I'm not mistaken, this book was brought over from England when my younger brother did his A-levels. I noticed that the price tag at the book of the books is a Malaysian distributor. Not sure if I was the one who bought it.

The condition of the book is good but the outer margin is so small that the letters are near the edge. But I love how each chapter begins with a short musical phase(?). Plus, there are a few illustrations which are missing in modern books.

For a change, its nice to step back in time. To the age of footwork detecting but then this book was a bit off hook. There were certain points where Homer could have solved the mystery but then, we needed to get the whole characters in and reaching the climax.

Good writing overall.

[Linda · Rating 2 out of 5]

During a choir rehearsal for “Messiah” an explosion occurs in Memorial Hall at Harvard, and Hamilton Dow disappears and is thought to be dead in the ruins. I culled this book from a shelf of old paperbacks and read it in stretches when I had nothing else to read in between library books. I kept going because I wanted to find out what really happened to Ham, but it really wasn’t worth it. I have read some of Jane Langton’s New England mysteries before and thought that I liked them more than this.

[Katherine · Rating 2 out of 5]

The pros: engaging characterizations, switching points of view that actually helped the narrative, interesting mechanics, and plenty of intrigue. The cons: the book tried to think important thoughts and tell a good story, and the two goals didn't work in tandem. And--like other "literary" novels--it was just so verbose, as though many words make a book great or important or literate. Instead, it was just pretentious and tedious, thoughts percolated over and over until they're bitter.

[Alton Motobu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Harvard music professor is killed during a terrorist bombing - his head was blown off but the body was intact - so it was assumed to be him. Prof Homer Kelly investigates and discovers the body was not the professor; it was the bomber's. The professor was trapped in a room below the rubble. He survived 6 weeks down there! Lots of descriptions of Harvard campus and surroundings. Takes place in late Oct to early Dec with 2 short references to Christmas.

[Francis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I guess what I like about Jane Langton is she tells a good yarn and her illustrations/pen drawings are superb.

However, I often struggle with her dialogue and her characters which are both one dimensional and too Pollyannish for my liking. Sort of like a good natured murder mysteries series- yeah, kinda ..oxymoronish ..in a pleasant kind of way.

[Gloria Mccracken · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like the continuing characters in this series, including the dry sense of humor of the protagonist. The only unsatisfying issue with this particular book is that one of the minor evil doers did not get an appropriate comeuppance, in my opinion.

[Vicki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Second reading...because we vacationed in Boston. Although not the primary reason for going, it was fun to visit the sites mentioned in the story. Not much character development of Homer; would be better for new readers to start at the beginning of the series.

[Terrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good "who dun it" with a Columbo-like investigator. Keeps you guessing until the end, which is unusual for me. These were written in the late 70's, so are dated, but she writes well, so worth the read.