Mr Campion's Wings

My goodness but I enjoyed reading this book! The plotting reminds me strongly of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (by John Le Carre if you aren't familiar with that book) except with bits of the Campion lightness added in to keep it less serious. I had *worried* about Campion being in his eighties and still having to go hither and yon to investigate crimes and problems, so it made me very happy to see that Mike Ripley has set this story in 1965 when Albert has just turned 65. This Albert Campion I like quite a lot.

Lady Amanda owns Alandel Aeroplanes (I didn't know that!) and is in Cambridge to receive an honorary doctorate relating to aeronautical engineering. The champagne has just begun to flow after the ceremony when two men from Special Branch inform Lady Amanda that she must come with them, and they march her out of the party. Well, never could Albert resist untangling a web such as this! The great thing is that we get to follow along while he does it.

This Albert Campion series of crime stories as written by Mike Ripley continues to be a favorite of mine and something I look forward to each year. The stories seem to keep getting stronger with each new issue and Ripley comes up with plots that are strong enough to let Campion show how intellectual and talented he really is at solving riddles. This one includes Lady Amanda in a very favorable light but not quite enough Lugg. Maybe in the next one.

Thank you to NetGalley and Severn House Publishing for an e-galley of this novel.

Reading this delectable mystery set in 1965 Cambridge was pure joy. Written by brilliant author and archaeologist Mike Ripley, Mr. Campion's Wings takes place during the Cold War and is a continuation of Golden Age Margery Allingham's clever Mr. Campion series, the ninth written by this author. Do not allow that to cause pause for a fraction of a second...Ripley's books are every bit as crafty and wonderful! The historical references and wit are tremendous fun and are written with such a canny knowledge it is impossible to feel you are anywhere else but that era.

Aircraft designer/engineer Lady Amanda is arrested for breaking the Official Secrets Act during a special honorary doctorate ceremony. Her husband, Albert Campion, takes more of a passing interest in the Goshawk Project she is involved in, especially after murder and mayhem interrupt and create havoc. Wonderfully eccentric and quirky characters such as Lugg enter the scene, too. There is much more than merely murder on the menu...the characters make this book even more special. The humour is reminiscent of P. G. Wodehouse and the descriptions are superb! If I could give this six stars out of five I would. It is THAT good.

All Mystery lovers ought to prioritize this unmissable series, especially those who yearn for the marvels of the Golden Age.

My sincere thank you to Canongate Books and NetGalley for the pleasure and privilege of reading this fabulous book!

A rollicking murder mystery set in Cambridge (UK) during the Swinging Sixties teeming with lots of bikes and miniskirts, a buoyant university town where one is quickly immersed in a very dangerous and unsettling atmosphere of Cold War spying and counter spying so prevalent at the time in Western Europe.
Once again we have a fictional date with the winsome Albert Campion and his delightful wife Amanda as they try to skillfully untangle and elucidate some unsavory shenanigans taking place within an aeronautical engineering project in which Amanda has been involved as a program manager. But when a gruesome accident turns out to be a coldblooded murder, it triggers a race against time to unmask the killer or killers and stop the potential spies hidden among Amanda's colleagues...
An action-packed whodunit from start to finish, cleverly plotted and blessed with a cast of unforgettable characters ( I really enjoyed the overbearing Yankees), this latest Campion Adventure reminded me of an old fashioned black and white episode of the Avengers with Al & Amanda greatly relishing the opportunity to portray John Steed and Emma Peel for the greatest happiness of their faithful followers.....

A truculent and witty treat that deserves to be enjoyed without any moderation whatsoever👍

Many thanks to Netgalley and Canongate/Severn House for this terrific ARC

One of my favourite sleuths!

As always, a delight to read about now retired Albert Campion. An intelligent, take no prisoners mystery. Campion’s wife, an aeronautics whizz is in the thick of things.
It’s 1965, and Lady Amanda is taken away rather publicly by Special Branch under the Official Secrets Act. Right in the middle of a ‘do’ at Cambridge. She was receiving an honorary doctorate “for services to aeronautical engineering.”
Apparently Amanda is involved in a top secret endeavour, the Goshawk Project, “researching the possibility of producing an advance agile fighter plane and looking at structure and stress on metals.”
It’s but a small step from Amanda being escorted away to an investigation of the people involved in the project.
There’s a lot at stake here, as we discover. As Campion works towards resolution, Goshawk personnel are given another look. A fatal accident at the site might be more than it appears. Campion forges ahead, quietly observing and drawing conclusions. His Intelligence and Police experiences whisper in the background. The Cold War is rife and several threads begin to unravel.
Another fabulous Campion read!

A Canongate / Severn ARC via NetGalley
Please note: Quotes taken from an advanced reading copy maybe subject to change

In this book, Lady Amanda, Campion's wife, is arrested for violating the Official Secrets Act and Campion sets out to find out who the real spy is at Amanda's airplane research center. Set in Cambridge in 1965, With a lovely setting that makes great use of the town, the university, and the traditions, and a very exciting denoument, i loved this book.

Mr Campion's Wings is the ninth book in Mike Ripley's wonderfully written homage to Margery Allingham's Albert Campion. Released 4th Jan 2022 by Severn House, it's 288 pages and available in hardcover, paperback, 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.

This series has been an absolute joy to read from the beginning. 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 since the original authors are sadly long gone. This story turns on cold war espionage, high tech aeronautics, and the shocking arrest (for espionage) of Albert's brilliant wife, Lady Amanda. Lugg is, as always, wonderful, and Campion is self-deprecatingly and devastatingly brilliant.

The clues are fair-play, and the climax and denouement are so very satisfyingly Campion. I really love this series. Readers who are not already fans of Mr. Ripley's Campion, but who are fans of Ms. Allingham, will find much to love here. Ripley treats the canon with the respect (and humour) it deserves. Although it's the 9th book in this series (may there be many more), it works well as a standalone. Fans of golden and silver age British crime should see this as a wonderful opportunity for a long binge read.

Five stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.