Mr Campion's Memory

Lively, witty, ironic! Oh, and dangerous!

A lively piece of derring-do, although according to his wife Amanda he’s supposed to be derring-done, from our aging, yet smoothly contained, boy-like, retired supposedly, sleuth, Albert Campion.
It’s 1972 and a newspaper journalist, David Duffy, is mysteriously killed in a lay-by off the M1 near to the brutalist MacMansion of Sir Lachlan McIntyre. McIntyre is being considered for a life peerage which would have course have him entering the House of Lords.
Campion’s nephew Richard asks for his help. Richard is Sir Lachlan’s Public Relations Officer.
He wants Campion to look into McIntyre’s activities prior to 1932. His firm hadn’t deemed it necessary to go back that far when putting together their media “script”. (Training sessions covering questions the media might ask).
Just to clarify, McIntyre is the number 1 suspect on the police radar for Duffy’s demise. Richard wants Campion to use his influence to establish McIntyre’s innocence.
It turns out Campion’s name is in Duffy’s notebook, as was Lugg’s. (Comedic suppositions perform in Albert’s head around the police bringing Lugg in for questioning.)
Campion’s investigations take him back into the past happenings. Some memories are not so happy.
Albert places himself in danger, of “the heart in the mouth” variety. My heart rate has barely recovered.
A page turning, wryly written read, that brings forth old family history, looks at Campion’s relationship with Lugg, and opens Campion’s past as it blends into the now.

A Severn House ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher.
(Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.)

I'll happily read anything in the extended Margery Allingham/Mike Ripley Albert Campion collection. Ripley has taken on the job of extending Campion's natural life well past the days of Allingham, and I'm immensely grateful. Although Campion and Lugg aren't as young as they were, they haven't mentally slowed down, and Albert shows a surprising nimbleness when it comes to physical danger. I'll be sorry to see the extended series end, and hope that one of the supporting characters will step up to a starring role!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

‘‘What exactly is it you want me to remember’, Mr Campion asked him.’

London, 1972. Albert Campion’s nephew Christopher asks for his help. Christopher works in public relations, and one of his clients is Sir Lachlan McIntyre. Sir Lachlan, a construction magnate who made his fortune after World War II, is in line for a life peerage. Sir Lachlan’s elevation could be in jeopardy when he becomes a prime suspect for murder. Journalist David Duffy had interviewed Sir Lachlan shortly before he was murdered in his car near the McIntyre estate.

Lady Amanda, Albert Campion’s wife isn’t entirely pleased that Christopher has requested Albert’s help. She tells Christopher that:

‘His days of derring-do are now derring-done; they are his yesterdays.’

But the request is intriguing. Duffy’s notebook contained a list of names under the heading 1932. Albert Campion’s name is one of those included, and he has no idea why. He did not know Sir Lachlan McIntyre. What happened in 1932, and where does Albert Campion fit into the mystery? Why was Duffy more interested in Sir Lachlan’s early life than he was in his rise after World War II? Ably assisted by his companion Magersfontein Lugg, Albert Campion takes a trip down memory lane to solve this mystery.

Another very clever addition to the Albert Campion canon. Campion may be aging (he is now 72) but his investigative skills are still strong. And, with Magersfontein Lugg’s assistance, what could possibly go wrong?

Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Severn House for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

The Huntress

I really enjoy these latter day Campion novels. The author has had the great good sense to date them many years after the Allingham originals. Campion is now in his seventies, albeit sprightly and with his intelligence unimpaired. The mystery here concerns the murder of an investigative journalist who may have unearthed some skeletons in the cupboard of millionaire businessman Lachlin McIntyre. These dark deeds date back to 1932, English anti Semitic fascists and the possible involvement of a much younger Albert Campion. Witty, clever and fascinating.

1972 Journalist David Duffy is researching businessman Sir Lachlan McIntyre's life before 1945 when Duffy is murdered. In his notebook is a list of names including Campions and Luggs, and the year 1932. But can Campion remember, and solve a forty year old puzzle, and the current death.
An entertaining and well-written mystery with its likeable main characters. Another good addition to this enjoyable series.
An ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Mike Ripley continues the Albert Campion stories with Mr Campion's Memory In 1972, Christopher, Campion's nephew, asks for help with a public relations nightmare in which a captain of industry that he represents has an unfortunate interview with a journalist who is muckraking about 1932. Mr. Duffy, the journalist, is murdered but his notebook has Albert Campion's name as well as that of the tycoon Campion starts looking into fascist groups of 1932 and a lot of old scandals emerge. Campion at his best even if he is "retired"