From Publishers Weekly
Relying on the illusory art of Dutch printmaker M.C. Escher as a binding device and a source of clues, Langton's 16th offbeat Homer Kelly book follows crystallographer Leonard Sheldrake as he pursues the enigmatic Frieda, who disappears after they meet at an Escher exhibition at a Cambridge, Mass., art gallery. The mystery here is less about the murders that crop up occasionally in this whimsical narrative than about identity. Who is this Frieda, and who is her vindictive cousin Kitty? There's a dead baby in the past, but whose? And who was responsible for its death? Amateur sleuths Homer and wife Mary help Leonard in his search, while Leonard's own personality blurs as he drifts between reality and the twisted world of Escher's art. Langton deftly describes Cambridge and environs, given shading, as it were, by Escher's images, though readers unfamiliar with the region may be puzzled by passing allusions to such local landmarks as the T and the ship Old Ironsides. The characters hold interest throughout, except for Homer himself, whose disposition hasn't improved since his last outing, Murder at Monticello (2001). Here he's reduced to "grumbling," "growling," "glowering" and "gloom." Langton fans will lament the absence of her own charming drawings, but the Escher artwork that decorates the text offsets this loss. The geometrically challenged gazebo on the cover is a real eyecatcher. Those with a taste for lighter detective fare will find this an eerily quirky read for a winter's night. (Feb. 4)Achievement Award.Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Homer Kelly ex-cop, attorney, and Thoreau expert decides to help his friend Leonard find a woman. This is not just any woman, however, but one who likes the Dutch artist Escher, commiserates with Leonard, then disappears. Homer's puzzling search uncovers more than secrets and murder. A long-lived and worthy series. Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Book Description
Cambridge, Massachusetts, is home to Homer and Mary Kelly, Harvard University, the Mount Auburn Cemetery, and Leonard Sheldrake. Leonard, Homer's friend, often compares the many-faceted Cambridge to a favorite engraving, filled with strange power and wonder, by the twentieth-century Dutch artist Maurits Escher. So he is thrilled when Cambridge hosts an Escher exhibit. There, Leonard is smitten by a mysterious woman in a green coat named Frieda who is equally enthralled by the artist's brilliance. But Frieda hurries off without divulging her last name, her address, or her phone number.
Despite their all-too-brief encounter, Leonard is now desperately in love with this elusive woman-and desperate to find her. Homer and Mary offer to help, but soon their search takes on the aspect of an Escher-etched labyrinth in which they will encounter past murders and present secrets, modern fortune- tellers and the graveyard ghosts of Mount Auburn. A feast of art, erudition, intrigue, and humor, The Escher Twist is a fantastic read for Jane Langton's legion of fans.
The Escher Twist FROM OUR EDITORS
The search for a mysterious woman in a green coat, glimpsed briefly at an art exhibition, leads Cambridge professor Homer Kelly and his wife, Mary, into
an Escher-etched labyrinth, where every intriguing line, curve, and angle points indelibly to murder.
FROM THE PUBLISHER
"Cambridge, Massachusetts: home to Homer and Mary Kelly, Harvard University, the Mount Auburn Cemetery, and...Leonard Sheldrake. Leonard, Homer's friend, often compares the many-faceted city of Cambridge to a favorite engraving, filled with strange power and wonder, by the twentieth-century Dutch artist Maurits Escher. Leonard is a huge fan of the artist and is thrilled when Cambridge hosts an Escher exhibit. While basking in all-things-Escher during his first visit to the gallery, he meets a woman in a green coat - Frieda - who is equally enthralled by Escher's brilliance. Leonard falls instantly in love - but Frieda hurries away without telling him her last name, her address, or her phone number - though she does hint that if he knew more about her, he would not love her." Despite Frieda's warning and their all-too-brief encounter, Leonard is now desperately in love with this elusive woman - and desperate to find her. So Homer and Mary offer to help - but looking for her makes them feel as if they were lost in an Escher labyrinth as they encounter murders of the past, secrets of today, modern fortune-tellers, and the ghosts of Mount Auburn Cemetery.
FROM THE CRITICS
Publishers Weekly
Relying on the illusory art of Dutch printmaker M.C. Escher as a binding device and a source of clues, Langton's 16th offbeat Homer Kelly book follows crystallographer Leonard Sheldrake as he pursues the enigmatic Frieda, who disappears after they meet at an Escher exhibition at a Cambridge, Mass., art gallery. The mystery here is less about the murders that crop up occasionally in this whimsical narrative than about identity. Who is this Frieda, and who is her vindictive cousin Kitty? There's a dead baby in the past, but whose? And who was responsible for its death? Amateur sleuths Homer and wife Mary help Leonard in his search, while Leonard's own personality blurs as he drifts between reality and the twisted world of Escher's art. Langton deftly describes Cambridge and environs, given shading, as it were, by Escher's images, though readers unfamiliar with the region may be puzzled by passing allusions to such local landmarks as the T and the ship Old Ironsides. The characters hold interest throughout, except for Homer himself, whose disposition hasn't improved since his last outing, Murder at Monticello (2001). Here he's reduced to "grumbling," "growling," "glowering" and "gloom." Langton fans will lament the absence of her own charming drawings, but the Escher artwork that decorates the text offsets this loss. The geometrically challenged gazebo on the cover is a real eyecatcher. Those with a taste for lighter detective fare will find this an eerily quirky read for a winter's night. (Feb. 4) FYI: Langton is the winner of the Bouchercon 2000 Lifetime Achievement Award. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
Library Journal
Homer Kelly ex-cop, attorney, and Thoreau expert decides to help his friend Leonard find a woman. This is not just any woman, however, but one who likes the Dutch artist Escher, commiserates with Leonard, then disappears. Homer's puzzling search uncovers more than secrets and murder. A long-lived and worthy series. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
He met her for less than an hour in the gallery on Huron Street. They spoke, looked at Escher prints, parted. But haunted by this fleeting contact and believing in love at first sight, crystallographer Leonard Sheldrake sets out to find the woman he last glimpsed leaving the gallery in her green coat. From the attic apartment he rents from Prof. Zachariah Winthrop's widow Eloise, he ventures out on the streets of Cambridge. Eventually he finds the green coat for sale in a thrift shop. More important, he finds Homer and Mary Kelly (Murder at Monticello, 2001, etc.) looking at crystals in the Peabody Museum and recruits them in a search that unfolds like a crazy-quilt. Leonard discovers a videotape in the pocket of the coat that leads to a grave in the Mount Auburn cemetery. Mary visits her friend Barbara Strong in the Aberdeen Street Nursing Home and sees a man in a wheelchair fall to his death down a flight of stairs. Mrs. Winthrop sees a distraught mother visit her child's grave. A geologist named Leonard Underdown falls to his death from the Mount Auburn cemetery tower. The Kellys go to City Hall and find the death certificate for Patrick Fell, an infant killed 12 years ago in a traffic accident. As each piece of the puzzle slides into place, it throws the others off-kilter. Worse still, the closer Leonard draws to the object of his search, the closer to danger he places himself and everyone around him.
Art & Photography
Book Info
