MR Campion's Coven - (Albert Campion Mystery) by Mike Ripley

About the Book

East coast of England, 1971. Albert Campion is invited to assist Harvard student Mason Clay on a research trip to Wicken-juxta-Mare. But Wicken is already firmly on Campion's radar thanks to Dame Jocasta Upcott's beached luxury yacht, its captain very stuck - and very dead - in the mudbank. Was it a bizarre accident or something more sinister?

Book Synopsis

Albert Campion is in the bleak, remote and very muddy village of Wicken on the Essex coast on a mission to rescue Dame Jocasta's dog, but soon finds himself sinking into something far more dangerous.

East coast of England, 1971. Harvard student Mason Clay is writing a thesis on a group of settlers who travelled to America from the remote Essex coastal village of Wicken-juxta-Mare 300 years ago. Clay plans to visit Wicken as part of his research, and who better assist him with all things Essex than Albert Campion?

But Wicken is already firmly on Campion's radar thanks to Dame Jocasta Upcott's luxury yacht found beached on a mudbank close to the village, its captain very stuck - and very dead - in the mud. Was it a bizarre accident or something more sinister? Agreeing to Dame Jocasta's request to recover her beloved pet pooch, Robespierre, Campion finds himself in Wicken, surrounded by suspicious locals and tales of witchcraft, and soon discovers its past is linked to a number of current disturbing events . . .

Review Quotes

Albert remains a winning protagonist, possessed of both eccentric charm and dry wit, and this time Ripley gives him a particularly meaty case, full of noteworthy twists. Another winner in a reliably entertaining series-- "Booklist on Mr Campion's Séance"

Exceptional ... Both old and new Campion fans will hope for many more exploits - Publishers Weekly Starred Review

Filled with dry wit, laugh-out-loud banter, well-paced action, and quirky characters, this latest opportunity to follow in the footsteps of the ever-charming Campion will delight series fans old and new - Booklist

A highly satisfying showdown - Kirkus Reviews

Good Allingham, good war spy thriller-- "Marcel Berlins in The Times on Mr Campion's War"

Neatly combines humour and mystery-- "Publishers Weekly on Mr Campion's Visit"

Ripley spins a head-scratching whodunit while effectively recreating Allingham's tone and characters. This clever continuation of a beloved series keeps getting better-- "Publishers Weekly Starred Review of Mr Campion's Séance"

Sparkling, sublime-- "Kirkus Reviews on Mr Campion's Visit"

Wicked fun, sedate yet intricately plotted - a highlight in the series-- "Kirkus Reviews on Mr Campion's Séance"

Wonderfully genteel, appealingly old-fashioned, gently humorous, always entertaining, and eminently readable-- "Booklist Starred Review of Mr Campion's War"

You can trust Campion (along with his grizzly bear of an assistant, Magersfontein Lugg), just as you can trust the talented Mr Ripley-- "Crime Time on Mr Campion's Visit"

About the Author

Mike Ripley has twice won the Crime Writers' Association's Last Laugh Award, and is the author of twenty-four comedy thrillers and historical novels. He writes a hugely respected monthly review column for Shots Magazine entitled Getting Away With Murder and is also the author of Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, a 'reader's history' of the heyday of British action and spy thrillers, 1953-75, which won the H.R.F. Keating Award for non-fiction in 2017. With Mr Campion's Farewell (Severn House, 2014 and Black Thorn, 2019), he completed a manuscript left unfinished in 1969 by Margery Allingham's widower, Pip Youngman Carter. He regards the follow-ups including Mr Campion's War, Mr Campion's Visit and Mr Campion's S�ance as his attempts 'to fly solo with, and do justice to, a great fictional character'.