Mr Campion’s Christmas by Mike Ripley – Review

Albert Campion had planned on a quiet Christmas to end 1962. Snowed in with family at his remote farmhouse Carterers in Norfolk, Campion thought he was blissfully cut-off from the rest of the world until a charabanc of pilgrims arrive and the ageing toff finds himself playing host to a ragtag bunch of eccentrics. The travellers destination is nominally the Shrine of Our Lady in nearby Walsingham but Campion soon discovers his uninvited guests have more than a few secrets between them, and one them goes straight to the heart of the Cold War. Whoever said life in East Anglia was dull?

Mike Ripley has done sterling work with his Campion continuation series, keeping the spirit of Margery Allingham’s character alive while adding a new sense of style and his distinctly mischievous sense of humour. The good news is that Mr Campion’s Christmas does not disappoint. And the bad news? This is the last book in the series. Ripley is not going to write any more Campion novels for love or money, but he has ended the series in fine form and this addition should also persuade readers to explore other chapters in the life of the gentleman detective.