Dark Nantucket Noon

I love this book. I just finished it...for the second time. It is beautifully written. The mystery almost takes a back seat to the fantastic descriptions of Nantucket, and sea and shore. I found myself delving into Rachel Carson and websites about marine life, while reading it. Jane Langton is one of my favorite authors because her books make you think about so much more than just the mystery. They introduce you to wonderful aspects of the universe that you never thought about before. i have read them all...including her "children's" books. This is one of my favorites.

I say that this book is almost too well-written because Jane Langton has such an intimate knowledge of the topic of this mystery that it put parts of the book over my head. Langton has really done her research here, with all of the details and maps of Nantucket, the Biblical and Moby Dick references, and the details of sea ecology and tides. Some of this information was a little too complex for the non-seafarer, especially regarding the sea ecology and tides. I admit that I skimmed some of it, and I believe I came away from the story with the same understanding of the murder mystery.In general, I recommend this book. If you are perplexed by the jargon as I was, skim over those parts and enjoy Kitty Clark, Homer Kelly, and the menagerie of characters presented in this well-told tale.This is the second book I have read in the Homer Kelly series. I loved The Escher Twist, and I will probably read another of Langton's books in the future. Even if it is full of over-my-head jargon.

Homer Kelly has come to Nantucket to complete his study of the men who sailed with Melville. When poetess, Katherine Clark, is arrested for the murder of her ex-lover's beautiful new wife, Homer is asked to help find the real murderer. As he investigates, it turns out that the beautiful new wife, Helen Boatwright Green was keeping secrets that someone would kill to protect. When you read some of her descriptions, especially those involving the natural world, there is a lovely moment of recognition, of her descriptions being exactly right. This is the second in her Homer and Mary Kelly series and is considered to be her best novel by many critics.