Good for its type

Ngaio Marsh's writings are somewhat dated now; very similar to Agatha Christie, and I bought this with that knowledge. I still thorougly enjoyed it.
The beginning I found a little tedious to the point where I was considering giving up on it; it was all very 'jolly good chappy'. But once Alleyn arrived on the scene it changed into an excellent procedural whodunnit. I read her books in the distant past and always enjoyed this detective. He's likeable and very smart.
I was also concerned about the narrator initially.. he felt a little bland at the start but completely won me over as the book progressed; excellent accents and well paced.
As with all good whodunnits, you need to keep your wits about you, but Marsh does a good job of reinforcing facts and allowing the clues to unfold.
All in all it was an enjoyable bit of nostalgia for me. I felt transported to another time and place, and that has to be one of the signs of a good book.

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Good golden age detective mystery.

Would you listen to Surfeit of Lampreys again? Why?

Yes, I enjoy Ngaio Marsh mysteries. I have read the story in book form and there is enough humor and the story is dense enough that it will stand hearing again.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Surfeit of Lampreys?

The opening. The heroine's life is wide open from the start and the reader is never sure what is going to happen to her.

What does Philip Franks bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

Phillip Franks is a very pleasant reader, he paces the story perfectly, his different character voices are excellent. You never get the feeling that he is thinking "Oh now I better put on a woman's voice". He is also good at the class distinctions, a very difficult task for modern readers of classic detective fiction of the Marsh, Christie, Sayers type. Many get the voices wrong for any characters who are not 'upper class', as Alleyn is in this book.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Yes, when the twins stubbornly stuck together and near the end when Roberta and Henry were trying to process what had happened.

Any additional comments?

If you like Agatha Christie you will enjoy Ngaio Marsh, but if you like gritty realism, or lots of blood and gore, a detective who has a troubled past/personal life and lots of scientific or DNA type evidence then this is probably not for you.

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An enjoyable period piece

Where does Surfeit of Lampreys rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This is an enjoyable audiobook and the narration is very pleasant. I don't think I'd listen to it twice but it passed the time very nicely while I was doing long commutes.

What other book might you compare Surfeit of Lampreys to, and why?

Any other Ngaio Marsh book.

What about Philip Franks’s performance did you like?

Philip Franks can do accents and voices for different characters without making you feel like screaming. There's a dozen or so characters to keep track of which is easy with the very identifiable voices.

If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

A Surfeit of Lampreys and a Plethora of Red Herrings.

Any additional comments?

The story is more than a little dated and the attitudes of the characters are definitely more difficult to understand or find sympathy for in the modern day. At times, despite being assured by the narrator and authorial comment, that these people were utterly charming I found them annoying and entirely culpable for their own problems which jarred a little.

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