1962, Norfolk. Boxing Day looks set to be a quiet affair for the Campions when they are snowed in at their remote farmhouse, Carterers – until a charabanc full of ‘pilgrims’ travelling from London to the Shrine of Our Lady in nearby Walsingham crashes into their imposing granite gateposts and the family unexpectedly find themselves playing host to the eccentric passengers.
But any lingering festive cheer is in short supply when a shocking discovery is made the following day, while a terrifying twist reveals that some of the guests are not who they seem. Which – if any – can they trust? Suddenly hostage to events, the Campions are drawn into a fiendish web of espionage as the Cold War comes chillingly close to home.
Published in 2024, Mr Campion’s Christmas is the winner of the 2025 Crimefest Last Laugh Award. Publishers Weekly called it “A refreshingly surprise-packed entry in an always excellent series.”
Questions for Mike Ripley
Tell us about the Margery Allingham Society – does it still exist? What are the gatherings like?
Margery Allingham, who created Albert Campion in 1929, died in 1966 leaving the novel Cargo of Eagles unfinished. It was completed by her husband Pip Youngman Carter, who went on to write two further Campion novels and had started a third when he died in 1969. You completed that novel as Mr Campion’s Farewell in 2014. “Albert Campion, born in 1900, was one of the few fictional characters to age with the century and in my stories I have tried to imagine a ‘Golden Age’ detective still active and avoiding retirement in the Swinging Sixties. Thus my novels have been set in the period 1962 to 1972.”
What was it like to get the official blessing of the Margery Allingham Society to complete and continue the Campion novels?
What do you think makes Albert Campion such a timeless and endearing character?
You’ve brought Campion into settings that evoke Golden Age tropes — how do you decide which classic elements to revive, and which to modernize or subvert?
How do you balance preserving Margery Allingham’s voice and era with adding your own stylistic touch to the books?
Mr Campion’s Christmas is the twelfth and final installment you’ve written in the series. What made this story feel like the right one to close the chapter?
Boxing Day, a snowed-in farmhouse, pilgrims, and Cold War espionage — what inspired this particular combination of ingredients?
Writing, Humor, and the “Angel” Series
You’ve twice won the CWA Last Laugh Award. What’s the secret to blending crime fiction with comedy?
Do you find humor harder or easier to write than suspense? How do you avoid it undercutting the tension?
What drew you originally to the character of “Angel,” and do you see any thematic links between Angel and Campion?
The Craft and Community of Crime Fiction
Which Golden Age writers do you think deserve more attention or rediscovery today?
You’ve reviewed over 950 crime novels and written a monthly column on the genre. What do you think is the biggest shift in crime fiction over the past 30 years?
Which mystery and crime fiction authors are your personal favorites?
You’ve edited work by Youngman Carter, James Mitchell, and many others — how does editing differ from writing, and what do you most enjoy about that role?
You’ve championed writers like Ian Rankin and Lee Child early in their careers. What do you look for in a fresh voice?
Life, Recovery, and Reinvention
You once said archaeology was your mid-life crisis. What drew you from promoting British beer to unearthing Romano-British sites in East Anglia?
After your stroke at 50, you wrote about your recovery and joined the government’s Stroke Strategy Committee. How did that experience shape your writing and outlook?
Do you think writing fiction helped in your recovery process — either physically or emotionally?
Thrillers, Espionage, and British Identity
In Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, you trace the evolution of the British thriller. Why do you think British authors so powerfully shaped the spy and adventure genres in the mid-20th century?
From James Bond’s glamor to Le Carré’s grit, Britain has produced wildly different spy archetypes. Where does Campion fit in that spectrum, especially in a Cold War context?
You recently wrote Frederick Forsyth’s obituary for The Guardian. (He died on June 9, 2025.) What did his legacy mean to you personally, and to the thriller genre at large?
Closing Thoughts
You’ve written, reviewed, edited, lectured, and even created live crime-writing shows. What continues to excite you most about crime fiction today?
What’s next for you, now that Campion’s journey is complete?
