288 pages

4 stars

Author Mike Ripley write a la Allingham so very well. I could imagine myself reading one of her books, it was so very real.

This is a great little story about a famous mystery writer Evadne Childe whose latest book is eerily like a real murder that occurred. Similar club, similar setting, same gun left at the scene... Inspector Albert Campion and his bosses want to know just how she managed to pull this off. Was she involved? An accomplice perhaps?

Campion sets about to discover just how she did know. When it happens again, confusion reigns. Campion and his lovely wife Amanda set up an experiment to test a theory. The first attempt ends up confusing them even more. But the second test has Campion thinking.

Very well written and plotted, these books are a delight to read. I truly enjoyed it. The book is full of little asides that take the reader on alternate journeys. And Lugg, Campion's aide-de-camp, is a true delight. (I don't care about his part and apparently, neither do the Campion's.)

I want to thank NetGalley and Severn House for forwarding to me a copy of this absolutely wonderful book for me to read, enjoy and review.

I'm thrilled that Mike Ripley has taken over writing Margery Allingham's Mr. Campion series. He pens new adventures without losing the feel of the original novels.