Description: 1946, London. The crime at the heart of The Bottle Party Murder, the new detective novel from Albert Campion's godsibling Evadne Childe, bears several striking similarities to a real, recent and unsolved murder in Soho. But Evadne wrote the book before the murder occurred - so is it just a weird coincidence, or is something more sinister afoot?
Brief description: 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, Mr Campion's Fox, Mr Campion's Fault, Mr Campion's Abdication, Mr Campion's War, Mr Campion's Visit and Mr Campion's Séance as his attempts 'to fly solo with, and do justice to, a great fictional character'.Review Quotes:
Ripley spins a head-scratching whodunit while effectively recreating Allingham's tone and characters. This clever continuation of a beloved series keeps getting better - Publisher's Weekly Starred Review
Wicked fun, sedate yet intricately plotted-a highlight in the series - Kirkus Reviews
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