God in Concord

Homer Kelly #9

by Jane Langton

When the retirees of the trailer park community located on a choice piece of property begin to die mysterious deaths, Homer Kelly investigates, certain that their deaths are linked to the sudden interest in development in the town. Reprint.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Ebooks, Adult

352 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

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

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Th ninth in the Homer Kelly series and the first that I've read...My wife tends to like "gentler" fiction as opposed to my usual "Kill the Terrorist" or Police/Legal procedurals, so in a spirit of compromise I accepted this recommended Jane Langton piece...Thoroughly likable characters of Concord, MA become involved in a series of murders involving a trailer park that is a hinge parcel of land for a Boston-based wealthy developer...Very Louise Penny-ish as Homer and his cronies are Thoreau fans and hope to keep Concord at Thoreau's level of inspiration...Just Okay!!!

[Bronwyn Echols · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whimsical, and erudite, one of her very best; at least Homer gets his act in gear before the book is at the three-quarters-read mark!

[Tom Godfrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is another entry in Ms. Langton's Homer Kelly series, and this time the story is about the changes in Concord and the people who oppose or support them. As usual, the mystery aspect of the tale is negligible, but the characterizations are terrific, and the evocation of a town so heavily freighted with memories of the Revolution and its legacy of American letters is ever present. This is New England, after all, a place settled by Puritans and Calvinists, and steeped in moral precepts, where those who do wrong will suffer, the righteous will prosper, and those who are truly repentant can regain the favor of God. Ms. Langton echoes these themes, so that in the end her bad guys are punished in some way, and good survives, for the most part. I don't mean to say these books are dire in any way, or heavy, but you can hear the echoes of the past in ,

[Mary]

This book was enjoyable, although the whole thing seemed a bit shallow. But I liked Homer Kelly and many of the other characters, and the themes of development, preservation, and town character are evergreen. The Dickensian names were amusing (a law firm called Pouch, Heaviside, and Sprocket, for example), and I wound up getting more out of the Thoreau connection than I expected. Now I'm going to have to read some of his work. (In fact I got out my old paperback copy of Walden and other writings right after I finished this book. I'd like to think my life has some pattern, but maybe I'm really just following random scents through the grass.)

[Charlene · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enthralling mystery, truly evil characters, and many people doing good in different ways. Concord and Walden Pond provide the setting, and snippets from Thoreau's works introduce each chapter. Environmentalists vs. big and bigger business people, the latter willing to do whatever it takes to get what they want. Groups of people in local government, young and impressionable college students, homeless and desperate, and a core group determined to protect Concord, save the land, and find a solution for the homeless combine to make this a complex and very satisfying mystery.

[Rick · Rating 3 out of 5]

This entertaining novel is set in Concord, Massachusetts, a town I know very well from my annual visits. So the settings in the book are familiar. It's too bad the story lacks depth and is full of unlikely scenarios. But as I said, it is entertaining.

[Cathleen · Rating 2 out of 5]

A modestly entertaining read. A diversion for readers familiar with New England, but the slightness of the plot and the flat characters dulled what could have been a sparkling cosy.

[Patti · Rating 3 out of 5]

A hometown author I found this book in a thrift store in Bradenton Florida.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun read. Some thoughtful points. I like that the mystery kind of solved itself.

[Martha Greenough · Rating 3 out of 5]

Evil developer tries to create mall near Walden Pond -Homer Kelly in Concord toys to stop it.
Trailer Park, homeless folk from Boston, Indian Thoreau enthusiast woos daughter of local bio teacher

[Christine Eskilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

First Langton mystery I’ve read. Nice use of New England setting but overall mundane cozy.

[B. · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[George Matthews · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delightful and entertaining read. God in Concord is one of Jane Langton's, I believe it is 18, books in the Mary and Homer Kelly mystery series.

[Christie Wyman · Rating 1 out of 5]

Snore. Could barely finish. Slow as molasses.

[Simon Mcleish · Rating 2 out of 5]

Originally published on my blog here& in August 2000.

God in Concord is a detective novel about two things I find difficult to understand. The story is about an attempt to build a new development in Concord, Mass., threatening the Walden Pond which inspired Thoreau. I personally find it difficult to get excited about any heritage less than two hundred years old - I was amazed to find a Canadian cousin of mine just as excited about the Victorian terraces which can be seen from the walls of Lincoln castle as by the castle itself. The pond itself might be worth saving from an ecological point of view, though it sounds unpleasantly neglected, but the Thoreau connection seems particularly unimportant. The pond is no longer what it was when Thoreau saw it, which means that without a restoration programme, the literary reference is meaningless. The second thing I don't really understand is why some people revere Thoreau to such an extent. Yes, he could put words together, and he was in part the inspiration of Gandhi's civil disobedience campaign, but the majority of the thoughts expressed in his writing seem to me to be banal.

Nevertheless, an emotional attachment to the pond certainly exists for some of the residents of Concord, while against it stands the developer's desire to make money. The developer is willing to use almost any method to gain permission to build, and so a somewhat stereotypical clash is inevitable. Unusually for the genre, the truth of what is going on comes to light in the course of events, rather than being deduced in a masterly fashion by the sleuth. All the Homer Kelly mysteries seem to be like this to some extent, and this makes them nice and gentle. God in Concord is perhaps a little to comfortable, but this perception may be partly due to my antipathy towards Thoreau.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jane Langton's Homer Kelly is one part absent-minded professor, one part Doctor Who (sans time travel) and one part...well, Homer Kelly. Suffering from JFS (Jessica Fletcher Syndrome), mystery and death seem to "sniff out" Homer, rather than the other way around.

The story is not just merely about scenic suburban life and the petty trifles of its inhabitants. That provides the narrative façade for an astute commentary regarding the politics of development/city planning, environmentalism and the dangers/benefits of nostalgia.

Langton's characters are vividly multi-dimensional, torn in their allegiances by both heart and mind. The author asks the reader not to pass immediate judgment, suggesting that the potential for villainy resides within us as well, under the right set of circumstances.

I think this is one of Langton's better books in the series. Highly recommended for Thoreau buffs and those readers familiar with Boston/Concord, Massachusetts.

[Deb · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoy Langton's books a lot. Her children's book, Diamond in the Window, is one of my favorites of all time. The adult mysteries are comforting -- a murder here and there, but set in a world where things all turn out well in the end, the characters you really care about will not get killed, and the kind, quirky individuals will find love (if they need it). Some of the nice things about the mysteries are: Homer Kelly, the detective figure, is a likeable Emerson scholar and lover of Transcendentalism, the enjoyable writing and sense of humor, the line drawings (by Langton) and that each has a theme, typically inspired by a literary work, sometimes with a quote at the beginning of the chapter. The theme of this book is Thoreau and Walden Pond. That said, I did not like this book as much as others of hers, those related to Darwin, Dante, Bach, Melville.

[Ed · Rating 4 out of 5]

#9 in the Homer Kelly series.

Homer Kelly series - Alice Snow is the first to die. In the morning, she and her friends at the Pond View Trailer Park watch soap operas, worrying about the lives of TV’s rich and powerful. A few hours later, a hiking Homer Kelly finds Alice lying outside her trailer, head smashed and heart stopped. Though her fellow Pond View residents do not realize it, their lives are in danger too. The state-owned park sits on Walden Pond, just north of the replica of Thoreau’s log cabin. Where the philosopher once retreated to find nature is now a hive of humanity—hemmed in by a highway, a landfill, and the planned site of a new mini-mall. The trailer park stands in the developers’ way, and when more Pond View residents die, Homer suspects murder. The developers have no qualms about killing Concord’s past—might they murder its present too?

[Maura · Rating 1 out of 5]

skip this. really. it's filled with 2-dimensional characters, most of whom are either mean, bitter &/or selfish. i probably could have lived with all that and just dismissed the book as a piece of forgetable fluff. but every other chapter, you're forced to endure descriptions like this (of a doctor whose office is heavy on the pink & flowers):

"Homer was glad to see that [Dr. Stefano] didn't match his office suite. His face wasn't part of any decorating scheme. It was lined and puckered with stillborn babies and burst appendixes and dying men and women."

arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh!

[Bobbie N · Rating 2 out of 5]

When developers propose building a shopping mall next to Walden Pond, the citizens of Concord are in a tizzy. The town needs the money, but it seems sacrilegious so close to where Henry David Thoreau spent his days contemplating nature. And the upscale touristy boutiques that Mimi Pink has been opening have all but destroyed the town's longtime small businesses. If all that weren't bad enough, the retired residents of Pond View start turning up dead, and retired detective Homer Kelly sets out to discover what - or who - is killing them.

[Jeffrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another New England book - not abut religion, but a mystery story. Homer Kelly is a great character and the books are quite simple. But, when you know the communities the are set in, it is fun to read. I enjoyed reading this whole series. I think I have read all 18, the last was written in 2005.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jane Langton's style may not be for everyone, but I love the casual pace and the way she brings in several interconnected stories that eventually resolve into one solution for the mystery. This one was about Thoreau, Walden Pond, Concord, fiscal problems of governmental units, and commercial development. It is quietly funny.

[Melinda · Rating 2 out of 5]

God in Concord by Jane Langton I have a love of Thoreau and Walden and this is set around there and involves the saving of Walden Pond and people who talk about Thoreau a lot. So that was interesting. The mystery was a real surprise ending but not all that gripping, nonetheless.

[Chris Leuchtenburg · Rating 2 out of 5]

A loony tale involving a gang of homeless in tony Concord, some amoral developers and a group of Thoreau fanatics. Imaginative and often humorous, but leisurely paced and rife with implausible events.

[Carol]

Interesting scenario -- but I couldn't get into it. Started to seem contrived.

[Margaret]

I liked this book a lot - a nice mix of characters (I especially liked Ananda), lovely illustrations (rarely seen in mysteries) and a believable plot without a lot of silliness - a very nice read.

[Kestrell · Rating 4 out of 5]

A mystery which is literary, well-written, fun and full of action, and still thoughtful and thought-provoking--all that, and Thoreau quotes too. Great book, great series.

[Toesnorth's mom]

not very good

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

A light, enjoyable mystery! There was enough humor to keep it fun and enough suspense to keep you reading.

[Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just when you think you know what will happen, you're surprised by the turns it takes. Overall I enjoyed the quotes and feel of the story.