Mr Campion's Coven is the newest book in an homage to Margery Allingham's Albert Campion. Released 1st Oct by Severn House, it's 256 pages and available in hardcover and ebook formats. It's
worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of
contents as well as interactive links. I've really become enamored of
ebooks with interactive formats lately.
Author Mike Ripley
has written several books featuring Campion (this is the 8th) as well as other fiction and nonfiction. He's an
experienced and capable author and this series has been an absolute joy to read. I've been a fan of golden age mystery
(especially British) as long as I've been reading, more or less, and I'm
always on the lookout for more golden age fiction since the original
authors are sadly long gone.
This installment sees Campion (the elder), Campion (the younger), Lugg, and an ensemble cast of characters trying to untangle history, genealogy, some murders, and a whiff of the supernatural without getting murdered themselves. Lugg is, as always, wonderful, and Campion (the elder) is self-deprecatingly and devastatingly brilliant.
The book honestly surprised some laughs out of me, which is no mean feat. The clues are fair-play, and the climax and denouement are wonderfully twisty and satisfying. I really love this series. For readers who are not already fans of Mr. Ripley's Campion, but who are fans of Ms. Allingham's, will find much to love here. Ripley treats the canon with the respect (and humour) it deserves. Although it's the 8th book in this series (may there be many more), it works well as a standalone.
Four and a half stars.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
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