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ESCHER TWIST, THE
by Jane Langton
Viking, January 2002
242 pages
$22.95
ISBN: 0670030678


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

I haven't read any of Jane Langton's other mysteries featuring Homer Kelly, but I was drawn to The Escher Twist, her latest, because of the title. I love M. C. Escher's art, which often involves spheres and other geometric shapes, stairways that double back on themselves, and animals metamorphosing into entirely different creatures. Leonard Sheldrake, a crystallographer, also enjoys Escher's work, and he meets an interesting woman at an Escher exhibit in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Leonard is attracted to the woman, but she leaves so abruptly that he only learns her first name, Frieda. When Leonard makes the acquaintance of Homer and Mary Kelly, who have a reputation for solving mysteries, he asks them to help him find Frieda again. Their investigation turns up more than they had bargained for, including the tragic death of a young child twelve years ago. Was Frieda involved, and where is she now?

The atmosphere of Cambridge plays a large role in this novel, and the reader gets an especially good feel for Mount Auburn Cemetery, which is central to the plot. M. C. Escher's art is also important to the story; several of his prints are reproduced throughout the book, and Langton incorporates the themes of the art into her narrative. Leonard and Frieda, especially, embody the spirit of a world where nothing is quite as it seems, where reality can be bent, shifted and altered.

Even though I had not read any of the previous books in the series, I didn't feel lost as to the relationship between Homer and Mary Kelly. In this book, Homer seems to feel that his wife is overtaking him both professionally and in their hobby of detecting, and indeed Mary does seem to be the key player in the search for Frieda. I take it this was not the case in earlier books, and reading this latest entry in the series makes me want to seek out the others. The relationships of the characters and the mystery both resolve themselves satisfactorily, and the incorporation of the Escher artwork ties both strands together nicely.

Reviewed by Kathleen Chappell, May 2002

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


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