Death of a Peer (aka A Surfeit of Lampreys) - SPOILER Thread

[Susan]

Our October 2018, tenth challenge title, is Death of a Peer, also known as Surfeit of Lampreys, first published in 1940.

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…

Please feel free to post spoilers in this thread.

[Jill]

I was pleased with the ending of this, even though it was a bit gruesome. Having become very fond of the family, as the author must have wanted us to be, I couldn't help being relieved that everything worked out for them. Although I did feel sorry for poor Giggle.
I would have liked to know what happened to Robin.

[Susan]

It was, unusually, quite a violent death, wasn't it?

[Rosina]

I read this in my youth (teens) and had fond memories of it, although on re-reading it now, I swing between finding the Lampreys both tedious and unpleasantly parasitical, and enjoying the family's interactions. At the moment I am rather on the rebound, and find Roberta's fawning admiration of them at odds with the narrator's view that she is a sensible girl.

But the later incident with (view spoiler)[the Hand of Glory (hide spoiler)] has stuck in my memory.

[Susan]

Yes, I think the family do not, necessarily, seem as jolly and amusing as they probably would have done then. Considering they had young children, the parents seem really quite irresponsible. Then again, for someone brought up as Charles was, in wealth, it was difficult for him to settle down to a job - the constant problem of the younger son, destined not to inherit (unless, of course, your elder brother is conveniently murdered in a lift...).

[Sandy]

Susan wrote: "Yes, I think the family do not, necessarily, seem as jolly and amusing as they probably would have done then. Considering they had young children, the parents seem really quite irresponsible. Then ..."

But you would probably prefer it NOT to be your lift!!

[Susan]

Good point, Sandy. Luckily, I don't have one for anyone to be murdered in...

[Jill]

I do think it was fun to look onto the family, but think if you knew them,you would find them very wearing.

[Sandy]

I agree that the family would wear on me quite soon and that Robin's infatuation with them is out of character with the description as a sensible person. Perhaps opposites attract and her vacations with them was so much better than he real life.

I wasn't sure that Marsh would be able to pull off a solution without evolving someone in the family but she managed it. And was more believable than the trip down the bannister or the giant Champagne bottle.

[Judy]

Jill wrote: "I would have liked to know what happened to Robin ..."

I think it's hinted that Robin will marry Henry, when we hear that he is going to get a job and Alleyn asks if it is the New Zealander ... i.e. Robin is making sure he does get a job.

I really enjoyed this but was a bit disappointed by the ending - I felt it should have been one of the family! And I did find it rather gruesome, as others have said.

[Susan]

Yes, I agree, Judy, that the ending would have better had it been one of the family. Apparently, this is her most popular mystery, and I can see why it appeals, but there was more impact when she killed a nice character in a previous book (the ballroom one, sorry, the title escapes me this second) than in allowing characters she is fond of, to be the innocents she portrays them as.

[Judy]

I noticed mentions in a couple of reviews that apparently she says in her autobiography that the Lampreys were based on real friends of hers, and she was in a similar position towards them, as a friend of the family, as Robin in the book. So maybe this put her off making one of the Lampreys be the killer?

[Sandy]

Judy wrote: "I noticed mentions in a couple of reviews that apparently she says in her autobiography that the Lampreys were based on real friends of hers, and she was in a similar position towards them, as a fr..."

I imagine she would hesitate to turn one of her friends into a murderer. Perhaps she could have made it a spoof and had them all involved. Or, the family could have drawn straws to determine which would be the villain. A problem when including friends in your fiction!

[Susan]

That would be difficult, especially if she had singled one out as the murderer!

[Tracey]

This book was a good read this month as we approach Halloween! The end was quite ghoulish.

I mostly enjoyed the Lampreys. I found Frid a bit too over the top, though I suspect so did Alleyn, hence him not interviewing her. And the carry on with which twin was in the lift I thought was a bit tiring.

I actually felt sorry for Aunty V. She'd been drugged and manipulated by Tinkerton. Now, probably set for a life in an institution.

It was nice to see Nigel reappear (I'm a fan), though didn't think he added much to the story this time.

[Judy]

I was interested to see the mention of the Micawbers at the end, because I had been reminded of them at times, though the Lampreys have a much larger income to exceed!

[Susan]

I was also pleased to see Nigel, although I was a bit disappointed that he was, so obviously, a fan of the family and totally on their side. I thought his investigative nature might make him a little more cynical.

[Louise]

I quite enjoyed this one, though I found the Lampreys on the whole a bit tiresome.

[Judy]

Susan wrote: "I was also pleased to see Nigel, although I was a bit disappointed that he was, so obviously, a fan of the family and totally on their side. I thought his investigative nature might make him a litt..."

Yes, split loyalties would have been more interesting, and you might expect more doubt from him after all his previous cases with Alleyn. It was good to see him again, though.

[Roman Clodia]

This must be the 6th Marsh I've read and they all seem to turn on detailed interviews by Alleyn and Fox, with lots of attention on who was precisely where and when. I'd like to see a bit more variety in the way the plot is structured.

I felt a bit cheated by the solution given that we'd spent so long being introduced to the family only to have them end up a bit of a red herring.

I also found it hard to believe in a joint murder being committed in such a spur of the moment way, with Giggle just going along with it.

Very gruesome, though!

[Susan]

Yes, a much more gruesome murder than most in books of this period.

[Tara]

I really liked this book, and it was the first in the series that was a page turner for me (although I have liked them all). However, I found nothing at all charming about the Lampreys, and really I wanted one (or more) of them to be guilty in the hopes it would knock some sense into them. Given their irresponsible, overly lavish lifestyle, the last thing they deserved was to inherit oodles of money to piddle away like the rest before it. The fawning from Robin/Roberta (is this a common nickname convention?) and Nigel was just nauseating, and made me dislike them even more.

[Judy]

I thought for a while that Robin was starting to have doubts about them/see through them later on, but since she is in love with Henry, she is determined to concentrate on positive aspects!

[Judy]

The fawning from Robin/Roberta (is this a common nickname convention?) ..."

Robin was originally a nickname for Robert, so I suppose it wasn't a huge stretch to use it for Roberta - I haven't come across this anywhere else though.

[Tara]

Judy wrote: "The fawning from Robin/Roberta (is this a common nickname convention?) ..."

Robin was originally a nickname for Robert, so I suppose it wasn't a huge stretch to use it for Roberta - I haven't come..."

Interesting Judy, I hadn't heard that before, so it was a little confusing.

I think a lot of Robin's fascination with the family was a holdover from her impressions of them as a child (and the intervening years where she was able to remember the best bits about them, and put them on a pedestal), but you could see there were moments where she was uneasy about their behavior.

I also think there should have been some real consequences for all of the lying and obfuscating they were guilty of during the investigation. Despite a gruesome death occurring to a close family member, they treated it like a fun parlor game.