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Book Review: A Surfeit of Lampreys
Jul. 23rd, 2016 08:48 amNgaio Marsh's A Surfeit of Lampreys (a.k.a. Death of a Peer) is a thing of beauty and a joy forever, and it almost made me late for work because I was so intent on finishing. It concerns a charmingly useless aristocratic family, the Lampreys. Although more good-natured than many charmingly useless aristocrats, they are quite as feckless as any of their brethren; they lurch continually from financial crisis to financial crisis without ever quite sinking under.
This time, however, things look rather dire if they can't convince their uncle to lend them a few hundred pounds... which he refuses... and afterward turns up dead in the lift to their flat.
As this means that Lord Charles, the father of the family, inherits his brother's estate and all the money accompanying it, naturally the whole family falls under suspicion.
The better part of the first half of the book is nearly a character study of the Lampreys, so it's almost a disappointment when the murder happens. Almost. The Lampreys remain delightfully Lampreyish throughout the murder investigation. (I felt rather sorry for Frid, though, never getting to have her police interview when she was so looking forward to it.)
I do wonder sometimes what it would have looked like if Marsh wrote a work of straight-up fiction rather than a murder mystery. I suppose that the murder mystery aspect gave her the bones of the plot ready-made, though - it's hard to imagine how the Lampreys' story would wind up without a murder - so I really can't fault her for continuing to use it.
This time, however, things look rather dire if they can't convince their uncle to lend them a few hundred pounds... which he refuses... and afterward turns up dead in the lift to their flat.
As this means that Lord Charles, the father of the family, inherits his brother's estate and all the money accompanying it, naturally the whole family falls under suspicion.
The better part of the first half of the book is nearly a character study of the Lampreys, so it's almost a disappointment when the murder happens. Almost. The Lampreys remain delightfully Lampreyish throughout the murder investigation. (I felt rather sorry for Frid, though, never getting to have her police interview when she was so looking forward to it.)
I do wonder sometimes what it would have looked like if Marsh wrote a work of straight-up fiction rather than a murder mystery. I suppose that the murder mystery aspect gave her the bones of the plot ready-made, though - it's hard to imagine how the Lampreys' story would wind up without a murder - so I really can't fault her for continuing to use it.
