I had to look up the word “surfeit” before I began
reading Ngaio Marsh’s book, Surfeit of Lampreys. Surfeit means “an excessive amount.” And Lamprey is the family name of the people
in the novel – in the mansion where our story takes place. There are the two brothers, their wives,
their children, and grandchildren, a maid, and a driver – an excessive number
of Lampreys.
The family, save for Uncle Gabriel – one of the two
brothers – spend money like it is going out of style. They had been wealthy, but it hadn’t
lasted. That didn’t stop them from
spending, so they would occasionally go to Uncle Gabriel for a “loan.” The family had gathered for just this
purpose, but Gabriel was fed up, and he refused his brother the loan.
Next thing you know, he’s dead, with a skewer through his
eye.
Inspector Alleyne comes to sort it out and must deal with
a tight-knit family who is all too good at covering for each other.
[This review appears on my blog, my
YouTube channel, Amazon.com, and Goodreads.com.]
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