Surfeit of Lampreys (Audible Audio Edition) Ngaio Marsh Philip Franks Hachette Audio UK Books
Download As PDF : Surfeit of Lampreys (Audible Audio Edition) Ngaio Marsh Philip Franks Hachette Audio UK Books
Ngaio Marsh's most popular novel begins when a young New Zealander's first contact with the English gentry is the body of Lord Wutherford - with a meat skewer through the eye....
The Lampreys had plenty of charm - but no cash. They all knew they were peculiar - and rather gloried in it. The double and triple charades, for instance, with which they would entertain their guests - like rich but awful Uncle Gabriel, who was always such a bore. The Lampreys thought if they jollied him up he would bail them out - yet again.
Instead Uncle Gabriel met a violent end. And Chief Inspector Alleyn had to work our which of them killed him....
Surfeit of Lampreys (Audible Audio Edition) Ngaio Marsh Philip Franks Hachette Audio UK Books
In Surfeit of Lampreys (alternate title: Deat of a Peer) Marsh's considerable comic talent is at its best. The Lamprey family, a group of feckless but very charming Micawber-like aristocrats living in pre-war London, ask their wealthy uncle for yet another loan. Uncle refuses, soundly reproved the Lampery father, and is shortly thereafter found dead. Enter Inspector Alleyn, and the maddening search for the truth of the murder is on.I enjoyed this book, with a couple of reservations. The plot resolution is weak. There are a couple of references which will grate on the modern readers' sensibilities, even though such references are common to mysteries written in that era. However, the book is so funny, and so sharply satirical that those faults can be overlooked.
Recommended to all who love Golden Age mysteries.
Product details
|
Tags : Amazon.com: Surfeit of Lampreys (Audible Audio Edition): Ngaio Marsh, Philip Franks, Hachette Audio UK: Books, ,Ngaio Marsh, Philip Franks, Hachette Audio UK,Surfeit of Lampreys,Hachette Audio UK,B015ZVZU4E
People also read other books :
- The Six Dimensions of MLM Training eBook Dale Calvert
- Algebra 2 MathUSee Instruction Manual Steven P Demme 9781608260393 Books
- A Field Book of the Stars Illustrated Edition William Tyler Olcott 9781406867022 Books
- The Definitive Guide to Taxes for Indie Game Developers eBook Rachel Presser
- The Art Of Falling In Love edition by JD Thompson Literature Fiction eBooks
Surfeit of Lampreys (Audible Audio Edition) Ngaio Marsh Philip Franks Hachette Audio UK Books Reviews
Ngaio Marsh is one of my favorite authors, and this is one of my favorites by her. The characters are quirky and fun, and the mystery is well developed.
This is a good example of a 1930;s murder mystery with all the emphasis on timing, who went out by which door, what was so and so doing on the night of the 23th etc, etc. An artificial situation where the point for the reader was to figure out who the real murderer was. Revealed on the last page after much misdirection. Clever for its time; old fashioned now.
I'm a big fan of 'Golden Age' mysteries and Marsh is one of my favorites. I've read all of her books at least twice, sometimes more, and come away with an enjoyable although sometimes different experience each time. Her characters are almost always interesting, the puzzle out of the ordinary (but even when it's been done before she does it differently), and the world she creates is believeable and well worth a visit. Maybe not your cup of tea, but give her a try.
I totally love Roderick Alleyn and Ngaio Marsh is an excellent writer usually. So the books where she writes about families for chapter after chapter without bringing in Alleyn yet tend to be boring for me. But I did get interested in the crazy family eventually, and then the author abruptly ended the book without tying up the loose ends of what impact the resolution of the mystery had on all the family members. It felt like too sudden an ending.
This is NOT one of the best Ngaio Marsh's mystery novels. The first third is more of a description of the fun and foibles of the Lamprey family and intro to a main character, who is more of an observer of all things Lamprey. The rest is a review of the facts, step by step, over and over again by every character involved (except the serving staff). Yes, it has a surprise ending, but not very satisfactory and kind of contrived.
This book was originally published in 1940 as A Surfeit of Lampreys which was, from my view, a superior title.
The Story Set in 1938, a youthful native of New Zealand (Roberta Grey) becomes greatly attached to a fun-loving and charming English family, the Lampreys, and chiefly through her visits with them (both in New Zealand and later in London) we get an undiluted and somewhat amusing characterization of this sizeable and eccentric clan. (Marsh's subtle cleverness lands right on the mark here since a "lamprey" is a jawless fish which survives by emulating sort of an oversized leech/parasite.) This noble family tends to be lackadaisical in pecuniary matters and thus, they periodically live close to the financial edge.
Forced over time to sell most of their belongings due to their flamboyant lifestyle, the Lampreys move to a London suite and continue to live by the benefit intermittent windfalls. Ultimately, while facing their worst crisis to date the patriarch, Lord Charles Lamprey, prevails upon his rich and miserly brother, (Gabriel, aka "Uncle G," the Marquis of Wutherwood and Rune, and whose mentally unstable wife has recently taken up witchcraft!), to save them from imminent bankruptcy. It's a futile endeavor as the two brothers break into a major quarrel which is overheard by the many servants and family members at the London apartment. As a result of the squabble "Uncle G" abruptly elects to depart in a huff. Minutes later, while sitting in the lift and waiting for his wife, he receives a dreadfully mortal wound... a meat skewer through the eye and into his brain!
It's up to Chief Detective-Inspector Alleyn and Detective-Inspector Fox to glean out the facts of the slaying but the Lampreys are a tightly-knit lot and they fear that one of their own may have been responsible for Uncle G's untimely death. Newspaper reporter Nigel Bathgate, coincidentally a pal to both Alleyn and the Lampreys, is called in by the latter to help in rescuing them from a possible murder charge.
While this work appears to have all the elements of a great cozy murder mystery, it somehow doesn't click to draw the reader in to the story such as avid mystery fans have experienced with The Mysterious Affair at Styles or with The Yellow Room. In fact, Marsh herself has written a number of far superior mysteries to this one, Death at the Bar and False Scent serving as clear examples of such splendid works.
Specifically with the Lampreys, we gain almost too many suspects right off simply due to the large size of the family -- and that's in addition to numerous servants, Uncle G's wife, Roberta, and even a noxious bill collector! This bulwark of a murder tale seems a bit clogged with these suspects and I felt that Marsh just threw in Nigel Bathgate's character, (of A Man Lay Dead fame.) He really doesn't seem to fulfill any worthwhile function in this tale. We also lose touch off-and-on with Roberta throughout the story. She gets pulled in to a love yarn sub-plot which seemed like an afterthought to me.
Don't get me wrong -- this is a nice little murder mystery but so much of the information and so many of the suspects seem retrospectively superfluous. So, in summary, I say read the book but be aware that the late Ngaio Marsh (1895-1982) has offered us more than a few better titles than this one.
The Lampreys are an eccentric family — witty, vague, flippant, and fond of edgy charades. They cheerfully live beyond their means and go through periodic financial crises. During the last and worst of these crises, their rich relative is murdered right after refusing to help them out. It doesn’t look good for the Lampreys. As heirs, they are ripe with motive.
I loved the fact that the rich uncle is a loathsome creature. It’s so much easier to enjoy a murder if the victim is despicable. Uncle Gabriel’s wife is repulsive too, a bit scary, and deep into the occult.
Chief Inspector needs all his savoir faire to withstand the seductive charm of the slippery Lampreys and their madcap mannerisms — not to mention dealing with the hysterical widow. His interrogations of family member and servants are astute and entertaining.
There’s also an appealing young woman from New Zealand visiting the family at the time of the murder. She adds a nice touch of normalcy — but lies as bravely as everyone else.
I loved this book. First published in 1940, it’s a perfect product of the Golden Age.
In Surfeit of Lampreys (alternate title Deat of a Peer) Marsh's considerable comic talent is at its best. The Lamprey family, a group of feckless but very charming Micawber-like aristocrats living in pre-war London, ask their wealthy uncle for yet another loan. Uncle refuses, soundly reproved the Lampery father, and is shortly thereafter found dead. Enter Inspector Alleyn, and the maddening search for the truth of the murder is on.
I enjoyed this book, with a couple of reservations. The plot resolution is weak. There are a couple of references which will grate on the modern readers' sensibilities, even though such references are common to mysteries written in that era. However, the book is so funny, and so sharply satirical that those faults can be overlooked.
Recommended to all who love Golden Age mysteries.
0 Response to "∎ PDF Gratis Surfeit of Lampreys (Audible Audio Edition) Ngaio Marsh Philip Franks Hachette Audio UK Books"
Post a Comment