A little background: I read the first three volumes in Heron Carvic’s satiric Miss Seeton series. I loved the series at first, but, by the third book, the eponymous heroine, a 40-something spinster named Emily D. Seeton, had gone from being simply a bit naïve to positively doltish. I never did finish the fourth book. Carvic completed five Miss Seeton books, and then the series was taken up by two other authors, none of which I’ve read.

But when NetGalley gave me the chance to revisit the series many books later with Miss Seeton Quilts the Village — the first Miss Seeton book in 20 years — I decided to give it another go. And am I’m glad I did! (The last dozen were written under the pseudonym Hamilton Crane, as is this newest book, albeit written by someone one.)

We have the old Miss Seeton back: Perhaps not as up-to-date on modern ways, but nobody’s fool. While she still distrusts her artistic second sight, she’s civic-minded enough to go along with Detective Chief Superintendent Delphick, who is back again with his trusty Sergeant Bob Ranger. So are the Kentish village of Plummgen’s regulars, many of whom are slyly sent up as the sniping, envious gossips that they are. How wonderful! I hope that this new book is swiftly followed by many more!

In this book, Miss Seeton, as a retired art teacher, is pressed into helping with a proposed village historical quilt. Somehow that task becomes embroiled with a dictator in exile, a traitor who commits suicide, and a priceless Tudor painting; she gets ensnared in farcical situations through absolutely no fault of her own, but the result is quite funny. As I mentioned, I’ve skipped two or three dozen books, and I enjoyed it just fine.

In the interest of full disclosure, I received this book from NetGalleyand Farrago in exchange for an honest review.

Now I will admit that, despite this being the 22nd book in the series, I had never heard of Miss Seeton, never mind reading any of the books. Which is possibly because it's a parody of, rather than challenger for Miss Marple. A golden age cozy mystery this isn't!  Set sometime in the 1970s (long after suicide and Homosexuality were decriminalised) Miss Seeton is a retired art teacher, riding round her village of Plummergen on her push bike.   The other residents of Plummergen are used to Miss Seeton getting into untold "adventures" and are prone to overhearing half conversations and making up whole new stories....such as Miss Seeton wanting a new belt for her inherited sewing machine, and a whole story being fabricated over her taking part in kinky sex parties with the much younger Dan Eggleden from the Smithy (where she had gone for a replacement leather strap).    Later, seeing the police in the churchyard with a metal detector (looking for tunic buttons) only lead to gossip about body snatching and calls for the dead to be left to rest in peace.

Meanwhile, Nigel Colveden has returned from his honeymoon with his French (and therefore "foreign") wife Louise. Their wedding presents have been on display, and included an intricate Cross Stitch piece, as well as a Quilt, both from Louise's aunts. Not to be outdone, the community decide to make their own stitched item, despite varying sewing abilities, and Miss Seeton is coerced into producing drawings for the quilt. Meanwhile Summerset Cottage is being renovated for Nigel and Louise to move in.  In restoring the building after it has fallen into some state of disrepair, a rather challenging picture of King Henry VIII is found on the plasterwall, and it's not all that it seems at first look. Whilst investigating the rest of the building, a radio transmitter set is found sealed up in the priest's hole and labelled in German. Clearly there were German sympathisers or even spies in the village.

Down in Scotland Yard there is a hush hush investigation into the death - apparently by suicide - of one Gabriel Crassweller and Chief Superintendent Delphick and his sidekick in Detective Sergeant Ranger are drafted in to investigate. From the beginning both policemen believe they are only getting half truths, and it is the pictures made by Miss Seeton that sets Delphick down various routes of investigation. Meanwhile some "Spanish" "Foreigners" are in the village (really people from the People's Republic of Stentoria, recently ousted as part of a coup) and are causing no end of havoc, in no small part because of their habit of driving on the wrong side of the road and running people over. There is also the find of Nazi Gold, leading to night time searches in the grave yard and a show down between the local motorcycle gang and the people of Stentoria who are in need of funds to stage another coup in their homeland.

As I hope you can tell, there's quite a lot going on, and that's not including the set comic pieces for when the village women are following Miss Seeton around, trying to work out what she's doing and getting it all wrong (e.g. buying of black market drugs in the hat shop, when really all she went in for was some off cuts).  The quilts being made are really MacGuffins, used to move things along - they're not really central to the plot beyond pulling the village together.

I would be interested if there is anyone out there who has read both this book and those of the original author, who can possibly tell me how well it stacks up to the original books? This was much "harder work" than a Miss Marple book, which are shorter. with a smaller cast list but with similar complexity.

First, thanks to NetGalley and Farrago for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I finished this book several days ago but I felt like I needed time to collect my thoughts. This was my first encounter with this series, and unlike most people, I don't know if it was enough to make me read anymore.

At the beginning of the book I got frustrated by the overuse of the dash... every couple sentences. The emphasis the author was trying to create was diminished by the overuse.

The parts of the story that portrayed small village life consumed with gossip and imagination were the most fun parts of the story for me. The several secrets and mystery portion of the story line was all over the place. Too many competing themes that built up, but were kind of a let down at the end. For example, what happened with the quilt, what about the suicide that wasn't a suicide, etc.

The story was cute, but I wanted more substance.

If you love a civilized murder mystery with diabolical international intrigue, this book is for you. I have never read a Miss Seeton book before even though I love Agatha Christie. This was an entertaining mystery even if Miss Seeton is an interesting character. She is not as endearing as Miss Marple but still a very fun mystery.

A fun to read cozy mystery about an eccentric artist whose ideas help Scotland Yard detectives.

The original author, Heron Carvic, said he wrote the Miss Seeton stories because "Miss Seeton upped and demanded a book--and that if she wanted to satirize detective novels in general and elderly lady detectives in particular, he would let her have her head..."
After reading this book, I am very glad he let he have her way!

As of September 7th, a brand-new Miss Seeton story is available!

This book is jam-packed. Numerous plot-lines dance about each other, weaving a story that takes a couple of readings to fully unravel. And in true “Battling Brolly” fashion, Miss Seeton is somehow entangled in each goings-on, and yet remains blissfully unaware the whole time.

Miss Seeton is nobody’s fool, so it has always amused me greatly how her incessantly polite look on life can make so many people misunderstand her, or how she can be so unaware, yet her subconscious-led art can turn out so many vital clues. The authors who have crafted the series over the years have done a wonderful job of keeping this unique quirk alive and fresh for the readers.

This new title is two decades removed from the previous book in the series, and yet we pick up right where we left off with all the people of the town, and they are just as fun to read as ever. I’ve always liked how, even though it’s the “Miss Seeton” series, the author(s) give us POV from all characters therein. Getting a perspective outside of Miss Seeton’s rounds out each story, and allows us to enjoy her antics even more.

I liked how the plot dealt with several layers of history – how different events can be interpreted, and how one family, or one village can impact those around them in ways unexpected. You can’t rush ahead while reading this one, there’s a lot to process!

I hope this publication is indicative of more to come!

I received a review copy of this work from the publisher through NetGalley

amateur-sleuth, british-detective, situational-humor, verbal-humor

What fun! An unusual Scotland Yard detective, a village full of wildly imaginative housewives, an untimely death, a village needlework competition, spies, fools, Nazi saboteurs, a weird painting, and the indomitable Miss Seeton add up to a hilarious cozy mystery! The characters certainly are, and the plot is ingenious. Don't miss this light hearted romp with some very unusual goings on!

I enjoyed several of the earlier Miss Seeton stories and was looking forward to this one. Unfortunately, it's just an annoying re-write of the previous books in the series, MIss Seeton has not evolved, and I find the whole concept irritating. It was a waste of time reading this one..

This is the first book I've read in the series and while I was confused for a while, I was able to catch up. I was interested in this book because I quilt. Quilting is a very minor part so don't pick it up for that reason. However, if you like cozies set in small British villages, little old lady helping Scotland Yard, this series will work for you. However, Miss Seeton is different than others in that she doesn't believe she can really help the detectives.

Although I throughly enjoy Miss Seeton, I find I have to have my wits about me to really follow the story and all the characters. Miss Ess is a complete innocent, thinking the very best of everyone while drawing pictures that put her and her trusty umbrella in the middle of murder and mayhem. When the village of Plummergen decides to make a commemorative quilt nothing is simple. Very funny book.

I'd never read any of the Miss Seaton books before and was hoping to find a new series.
The book was okay and I finished it but I wouldn't rush to read another one.
There were too many villagers who all behaved very oddly and didn't add anything to the story. There were also lots of side stories that didn't really end. The ending itself seemed rushed after so much focus on the sewing in the middle.

Miss Seeton does it again, unfortunately this one hasn't quite the draw of the first ones - still very enjoyable but a much tamer lady.

Hamilton Crane gives us the first Miss Seeton story in twenty years, Miss Seeton Quilts the Village, Plummergen is agog with the goings on of the police, Miss Seeton and the foreigners in the village. Communist and Nazi sympathizers, priest's holes and a quilting bee done under the greatest secrecy all have something to do with a government official's suicide or is it murder? Miss Seeton draws her usual insightful off kilter drawings for the police. Mayhem results. Wonderful to see a new Miss Seeton to add tomy shelf of her books.

An English Village Full of Secrets

Miss Seeton is back. In this, the twenty-second Miss Seeton mystery, she’s returned in the same form as before. For those unfamiliar with Miss Seeton, she carries a sketch pad, umbrella, and her pictures help the police to solve crimes.

Back from a tour of the North where a golden heron was one of the featured sights, Miss Seeton is ready for another adventure. Nigel Colveden has married a French girl, the daughter of a count. The couple plans to live in local cottage and the ladies have decided that a quilt where each lady provides a square in her choice of embroidery or applique will be the perfect gift. While sketching the newlyweds cottage for inspiration on her part of the quilt, Miss Seeton’s drawing reveals something quite unexpected. This is in addition to the mural portrait of Henry VII found when renovating the Tudor cottage.

Happenings in the village are not the only secrets. Scotland yard and Miss Seeton’s old friends, Chief Superintendent Delphick and Sargeant Ranger, are involved in international secrets. Miss Seeton is helpful as usual.

If you enjoy English village mysteries, this is a fun one. The plot is full of complications, the characters are quirky, and Miss Seeton overcomes all to solve the case. I found the book rather slow. The characters take their time gossiping about Miss Seeton, the village happenings, and in the case of Scotland Yard, the new case.

If you’re a Miss Seeton fan, this book will be a delight. It’s also standalone, if you’re new to the series, but you have to love the slower pace of English mysteries. It can get a bit tiresome waiting for all the village ladies to have their gossip and get on with the action.

I received this book from Net Galley for this review.

In a sentence? As modern Russian slang would say ‘too many letters’. It is way too many letters, words, sentences, dialogues, subjects, topics, people and events jumbled up into one small village in Kent.

I only finished this book because I promised NetGalley to write a review. I like to keep my word. But this book made me work hard on my will power, way too hard. Some times I felt this book would never end. It was a very slow going, very slow (War and Peace and Cime and Punishment kept coming to mind. However, those novels had plots…)

I understand Miss Seeton is an icon in a way. There are 22 books out already and this latest one being 23rd. Miss Seeton’s creator Heron Carvic gave his charachter life back in the 60s. All nice and good. May be than Miss Seeton was ‘gentle parody of Miss Marple’.

However, I found Miss Seeton completely lacking. She is lacking in everything: presence, talents, interests, suspense and credibility. She is practically a secondary character in this book.

To think of it, I am lost to tell you who is primary character in this book and what is the plot… what is the point of the whole novel. There are a lot of plots and sub-plots. This book is very noisy. People constantly talking, gossipping, making assumptions, building theories and lines of enquiry.

The book is supposed to be a cozy mystery. I found it to be very frustrating attempt at creating mystery out of thin air. There are Nazis and Latin American dictators, lost African gold and witches, Henry VIII and devil, bike gangs and magic paintings (special superpower of the main character – Miss Seeton). There is everything and anything. But there is no structure or simple, cozy plot and narrative.

At the end of it all, I am utterly exhausted. I did not find any single aspect of this book to like, be it characters or dialogues.

I have not read any other books in the series. And I am not going to. (The writer, who took over from Heron Carvic – Hamilton Crane, simply assumes that reader knows everything and everyone in the ‘miss seeton universe’. There is no introduction or flow over to help readers along).

The book is just like all these village people in Plummergen (the main location of events) – too nousy, to noisy, gossipy, loud and lacking in sense, continuity, interest and readers’ immersion.

https://www.amazon.com/review/R24ZLPSDSMM2BJ/ref=cm_cr_srp_d_rdp_perm?ie=UTF8

I was initially somewhat conflicted when I realised this story was set in the mid-1970s, as everything about it seemed so unrealistic and maybe more appropriate for the 1950s. It was as if the whole area was caught in a time warp and Miss Seeton’s psychic drawings seemed even more improbable than usual.
However, when you enter into the spirit of the book, it just becomes an entertaining romp with a touch of farce, at the centre of which is this gentle unassuming person. Fans of the series will enjoy the book.

I have just been savoring this long awaited new addition to the Miss Seeton oeuvre. While I have had the pleasure of reading the entire series in order, each of the adventures can be read individually, and this stands alone just as nicely. Author Sarah J Mason, writing as Hamilton Crane, carefully introduces each location and character which is pertinent to this story so that you are never at a loss (although if you have read earlier tales you can enjoy the depth of your knowledge and Insider smugness).

The village of Plummergen, like any small, insular hamlet, has its own peculiarities which are exploited to the full for your amusement and delectation. Miss Seeton's subtle sensitivity which reflects as almost psychic ability in her drawings is, as always, the key to solving the various Mysteries presented. This delightful gem is a welcome addition and I really anticipate the next volume--thank you so much Farrago, Prelude and Netgalley for sharing this with me.

The first new volume in this series in over a decade, this newest novel picks up where the previous books left off. The village is still a hotbed of gossip; this time even alarming the police! Mysterious strangers have appeared in the village and there is a startling discovery in a cottage being renovated for a newly married couple.

Of course Miss Seeton's intuitive drawings provide clues not only to the cottage's mysteries but also to a perplexing case The Oracle and Bob Ranger have been burdened with in London.

With all our familiar friends, plenty of activity in rural Kent, and a couple of twisty mysteries, it's both welcome to0 lovers of cozy mysteries and to miss Seeton's many fans.