Homer Kelly Books In Order

Publication Order of Homer Kelly Books

The Homer Kelly series is a successful mystery series written by the award winning novelist from America named Jane Langton. This series is comprised of 18 books in total, which were released between the years 1964 and 2005. Each of the books of this series feature the lead character in the role of Homer Kelly. Author Langton has described Homer Kelly as a professor of philosophy at the Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Over the course of the series, he is shown encountering numerous mysterious situations, which he tries to overcome with the help of his wit and intelligence. Homer Kelly succeeds in solving the mysteries every time, and while doing so, he helps in catching some very notorious criminals and brutal murderers.

One of the initial books written and published by Jane Langton in the Homer Kelly series is entitled ‘The Thief of Venice’. This book was released in the year 1999 by the Penguin Books publication. Author Langton has set the plot of this novel in Venice, Italy. The important characters described in the book include Homer Kelly, Mary Kelly, Sam Bell, Lucia Costanza, Ursula, etc. At the start of the story, it depicted that Homer Kelly arrives in the seductive Venice city to take part in a book conference. His wife, Mary Kelly, also comes along with him with eagerness to witness the rare conference. She looks forward to click some nice pictures of the book conference with the help of her personal camera. In Venice, the Kellys expected to be received by their host named Sam Bell. When they arrive, they find that Sam Bell is reveling in a holy relics’s examination, which has been entrusted to Sam by Saint Marks’s new Procurator named Lucia Costanza. Sam Bell seems pretty much convinced that Homer and Marie Kelly are frauds, only later he realizes with surprise that they are not. Soon, the tranquil getaway of the Kellys turns into an adventure of life and death. They come to know that Lucia’s husband, who was about to leave her soon, has been killed and Lucia has disappeared. Naturally, she gets labeled as the prime suspect in the murder of her husband. After sometime, the city of Venice starts to look increasingly sinister as the borrowed holy relics of Sam Bell begin to disappear one after the other. Also, his motherless daughter named Ursula begins to act in highly unusual ways. The suspenseful plot goes on to thicken with the help of the simple snapshots of Mary Kelly of the Rialto Bridge, jade green canals, an ancient Ghetto known as Piazza San Marco, various other palaces, squares, and churches in the city’s remote corners. It does not take much time for Mary and Homer to realize that Mary’s life in great danger. She is pursued across the ancient bridges maze while the city streets get overflown and flooded with the lagoon. Just as the story is about to reach its climax, a miracle happens that leads to the discovery of a treasure. Along with the treasure, the painful fate of the Venetian Jews at the time of the Second World War is revealed. Homer Kelly leaves no stone unturned in uncovering the real killer of Lucia Costanza’s husband and putting an end to the intriguing mystery.

Another mindblowing novel written in this mystery series is called as ‘The Deserter : Murder at Gettysburg’. This novel was released by the Minotaur publication in 2003. The chief characters introduced in this novel’s story include Seth Morgan, Ida Morgan, Homer Kelly, Dr. Alexander Clock, Otis Pike, Lily LeBeau, Eben, and Mary Keller. Author Langton has set this dramatic story partly in the present time and partly at the time of the Gettysburg battle. Homer Kelly and his wife, Mary, are shown trying to trace down a shameful mystery attached to one of Mary’s ancestors named Seth Morgan. Seth was a young student while serving in the Civil War. As the story proceeds further, the readers come to know the secrets related to Seth Morgan’ life that originated many years ago. The book illustrated through the use of authentic photographs from the 19th century. Some of the characters are the actual soldiers who took part in the ancient battle, while others are taken from the anonymous photographs to feature as fictional characters. Some of these characters include the pregnant wife of Seth Morgan named Ida, who searches Seth Morgan throughout the battlefield; Ida Morgan’s young brother named Eben, who goes out to bring back Ida, but joins in the war instead. Another important character of the plot of the story is Alexander Clock, who attends to Ida Morgan during her delivery in a hospital named Patent Office in Washington. More importantly, the audience is introduced to the notorious skedaddler named Private Otis Pike, in addition to his lady friend named Lily LeBeau, who is described as a buxom dancer. Langton has mentioned that no 3 days in the history of America have more drama than those of the Gettysburg battle.

The characters rush to take part in the first day’s battle, although some of them refuse to do so. The second day’s battle shows that deadly abandonment of the Union trenches. And the last day of the battle describes the deadly charge for regaining them. During the afternoon of the 3rd day, Langton has depicted the artillery duel of the military and the final repulse of assault of Rebel. As the Mary Kelly and her husband collect the clues from the past & present, they go on to solve the puzzle regarding what actually happened to Ida’s husband during the war. The final chapter of the books shows a few famous personnel from the 1860s speaking up, eventually bringing the story to an end with the Second Inaugural by Abraham Lincoln. Once again, Jane Langton has done a tremendous job and has outdone herself. She has managed to give an excellent account of historical past and has used it to set up an intriguing mystery. Just like the other books written by her, this book too consists of wit, believable and befriending characters, style, a suspenseful puzzle, and a satisfying mystery. The readers were pretty much pleased with Langton’s efforts and lauded her for coming up with such an interesting story. Even the critics praised Langton and motivated her to keep writing many more excellent mystery books in her future writing career.