Emily Seeton, aka Miss Seeton, Miss Ess, or the Battling Brolly, is the fictional heroine in a series of British cosy mystery novels written in part by Heron Carvic; then following Carvic's death, by Roy Peter Martin, writing as Hampton Charles (I guess preferring to focus more on his own "The Superintendent Otani Mysteries" under the name of James Melville); then picked by Sarah J. Mason (writing as Hamilton Crane), before branching out on her own with the “Trewley & Stone” series .

In each book, we find Miss Seeton using her skills as an art teach as she randomly draws psychologically and, perhaps, psychically informative sketches that allow Inspector Delphick of the Yard, and his assistant Bob Ranger, to solve the crime. The primary storyline is the seemingly naive and oblivious Miss Seeton finding herself in awkward situations, then managing to provide enough random clues and insights for the detectives to use to solve these mysteries.

I have read a number of titles in the series (of which there are 23 - 22 and a prequel). The character of Miss Seeton is standard cosy fare (elderly spinster involved in solving crimes); the villagers, distinctly unique (reference "The Nuts"); the crimes predominantly local with a few trips further afield; the community, typically English of the 1950s style. Whilst the first five stories were original and charming, as the series goes on, it does get a bit repetitive, and with so much crime in one sleepy village, I'm surprised Scotland Yard has opened a branch there! In the end, Miss Seeton comes across as a poor man's Miss Marple crossed with Inspector Clouseau as the final author, I feel, struggles to provide anything original with which to involve our heroine.

In Miss Seeton Goes To Bat ( book 14 in the series ), the village is looking forward to a summertime cricket match against their arch rivals ( for several hundred years! ) Murreystone. Although she does not totally understand cricket, Miss Seeton is happy to help when asked to sketch the cricket match and come up with a finished artwork that can be auctioned off to help raise money for the cricket pavilion that is badly in need of repairs. Some of my favorite village characters like the Colvestons as well as other endearing characters like Anne and Bob and Inspector Delphink make a reappearance in this novel and a fun new character--a retired Admiral--enters the scene. There are some great descriptions of the cricket match and a lot of humor thrown in as Miss Seeton manages to route some burglars in the countryside as well as catch a gang of coin forgers and a purse snatcher. I have enjoyed this endearing series! Thank you Farrago and NetGalley for the ARC and for allowing me to review some of the books in this series.