The Shortest Day: Homer Kelly: Mystery at the Revels - Hardcover

Langton, Jane

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0670847100 ISBN 13: 9780670847105

Publisher: Viking Adult, 1995

Synopsis

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.

About this title

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 Booklist

Langton's stories are warm, whimsical, and humorous but also full of violence, murder, and mayhem. Despite the schizophrenic-sounding nature of her books, though, they're fine reads. This one is set in Cambridge, when the Revels, a much-anticipated Christmas festival featuring ancient rituals and Morris dancing, takes place. Vivacious, attractive director Sarah Bailey is determined that the celebration will be the best yet, but she's finding it hard to concentrate on the Revels because she's just found out she's pregnant, and she's not quite sure how her husband, Morgan--who's been uncommonly jumpy and irritable lately--will take the news. But what's really upsetting is that Sarah's star Revels performers are dying at an alarming rate--and she's terrified there may be a murderer loose among the cast. Enter former homicide detective Homer Kelly, who figures it's up to him to find out who's knocking off the Revels players and why. But even clever Homer can't possibly predict the chilling, sad, and strange outcome to the case. As always, Langton offers a charming story that's as cozy as a warm fire and a hot cup of tea on a cold day. Emily Melton

About this edition

• Publisher: Viking Adult
• Publication date: 1995
• ISBN 10: 0670847100
• ISBN 13: 9780670847105
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 272