Miss Seeton Flies High

Miss Seeton Flies High by Hamilton Crane was a delightful cozy mystery read. I always (and I do mean always) look forward to sharing another adventure with Miss Seeton.

Ms. Mason writing as Hamilton Crane writes a smoothly paced plot with a enough description to make any reader feel as though they are there as Miss Seeton, Chief Superintendent Delphick, and Bob Ranger search for a kidnapped heir, drug dealers and a murderer. I cannot help but laugh as Miss Seeton goes about her life with an optimistic viewpoint and often no clue as to what is really going around her. Yet she always manages to "see" the truth and create it in her sketches. I do adore her and her outlook upon life as she sees it.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Farrago from r an advance copy of Miss Seeton Flighs High, the twenty third novel to feature police consultant and quintessential English gentlewoman Miss Seeton, the fifteenth written by Sarah J. Massey under the pseudonym Hamilton Crane.

Miss Seeton's skill at turning her lateral thinking and possible psychic abilities into seemingly meaningless "scribbles" has spread throughput Scotland Yard so when Superintendent Kebby gets nowhere in his kidnapping case he asks Chief Superintendent Delphick, main interpreter of Miss Seeton's drawings, if she could have a think about his case. What she draws doesn't much help his case but it throws much needed light on two other cases.

I thoroughly enjoyed Miss Seeton Flies High. It may not be as laugh out loud funny as some of the other novels but it is gently amusing and full of unexpected events, like Miss Seeton's trip to Glastonbury and sheep high on cannabis (this latter is based on a true story of sheep in Wales so hats off to the author for recognising its comedic value). The plot has plenty going on with three distinct plot lines, kidnap, murder and drugs although with Miss Seeton involved the lines gets blurred on a regular basis! The narrative alternates between Miss Seeton and Chief Superintendent Delphick on the one hand and a family dispute over land on the other. Initially I wondered about the reason for this secondary narrative but I soon got involved in it and forgot to wonder until all becomes clear.

I have read the entire series so naturally I have developed favourites among the characters. I was disappointed not to see the testy, highly amusing Superintendent Brinton and his sidekick Foxon but with most of the action taking place in Glastonbury this is not particularly surprising. On the other hand I was glad to see that The Nuts hardly make an appearance as I find their schtick repetitive and extremely unlikely.

The Glastonbury setting allows the author to have a field day with alternative thinking and beliefs. The novel is extremely informative on these beliefs while gently poking fun at its practitioners. Of course, with the 1976 setting and the hippy movement still in existence this is fertile ground.

Miss Seeton Flies High is another fine addition to the series so I have no hesitation in recommending it as a good read.

Miss Seeton really does tread where others fear to do so...in this new instalment of her capers she does so much more than tread. In fact, she takes to the skies. With the usual cast of tremendous but outrageous, madcap characters including our heroine, this does not disappoint. Altogether, a great, fun read and a fitting addition to the series.

I’m so fond of the Miss Seeton books. What a delight to get a new one with our old friends the Oracle, Bob Ranger, the Colvedens providing background to Emily Seeton’s oblivious detecting! Sheep, hot-air balloons, and Arthurian legends form the backdrop to drugs, kidnapping and land steals in this new edition of “Miss Seeton Flies High."

Miss Seeton is a retired art teacher whose subconscious -- or perhaps a supernatural source of insight -- creeps into her drawings. The police, led by Chief Superintendent Delphick, need only to interpret the cryptic clues in her sketches and their cases are cracked.

So when Miss Seeton heads to Glastonbury to soak up Arthuric legends for her designs for a school play... at the same time that the scion of an important family goes missing... it looks like a perfect opportunity for Delphick and his colleagues to pick up some mystical help.

Mid 20th century fun with hot air balloons, astrology, and plenty of sheep combine in a fun, light hearted, well-written mystery.

I can’t understand how I’ve managed to miss such a wonderful series for so long. But at long last I’ve discovered it, at book no. 23 in the series, so I’ve got a lot of reading to do to catch up.
The books works perfectly as a standalone story. The long-standing characters and their relationships soon become very plain and so there’s no confusion about what’s going on. Miss Seeton, or Miss Ess as the computer insists on labelling her as, works as an artist for Scotland Yard. She has a sixth sense that appears in her pictures. She can’t see it, but The Oracle, Superintendent Delphick, knows how to translate her drawings and find the clues. He needs Miss Seeton with her sketchpad and umbrella wherever there’s a mystery that needs solving.
Miss Seeton is delightfully polite and apparently harmless, but she’s quite a force to be reckoned with. She’s clever and witty and courageous. In this story, for example, she heads up to Glastonbury Tor on her own, encounters a range of eccentrics but deals admirably with them all, and also goes up in a hot air balloon. Nothing fazes this elderly lady, although I think she’s a tiny bit scared of Martha, her housekeeper!
This is a busy book with three plot lines going on – a kidnap, a murder and a missing drugs stash – and they all weave themselves firmly around our demure heroine. Her drawings provide clues to help in solving them all. All the characters we meet are rounded and fascinating, and with the hippie, late 1970s setting in Glastonbury for much of the book we get to see some alternative interpretations of the local landscape and find out a lot about the Zodiac. All very interesting.
This is a quirky, fun novel. It’s a pleasure to read and has you chuckling every few pages at the wit and the bizarreness of the situations that Miss Seeton continually finds herself in.
The cover is classy and eye-catching and all in all the book is a total delight.

Miss Seeton has a knack for being in the right place at the right time — even if it’s invariably inadvertent. So it is in Miss Seeton Flies High, where Miss Emily Seeton, a kindly spinster and retired art teacher, ends up in Gloucestershire on a holiday just as Scotland Yard beings investigating a brutal kidnapping.

In other Miss Seeton books, the poor spinster is left looking like a naïve fool; however, ever since the reboot that began with last year’s Miss Seeton Quilts the Village, the new author (writing as Hamilton Crane) sprinkles in all of the sly send-ups that readers expect from Miss Seeton novels while still respecting her intelligence. Miss Seeton Flies High also pokes gentle fun at the New Age pretensions that characterized the 1970s. Readers will love being reunited with that grand lady, Miss Seeton.

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

I have a particular fondness for a good mystery, and especially one with a female sleuth. Miss Emily Dorothea Seaton is no ordinary sleuth; she is a gifted artist who produces sketches of strange proportions when asked to consider a particular case by Scotland Yard, and the skills of Detective Superintendent Delphick - aka The Oracle - lead to his deciphering these pictures.

In this novel, Miss Seeton takes a trip to Somerset to research the legend of King Arthur for a village project. This beautiful area is done full justice by author Hamilton Crane and anyone considering a short break may well be tempted to head in this direction! When the police reach out for help with their latest case, Miss Seeton unwittingly leads them to a breakthrough in another - in the area where she has spent her holiday. There are a total of three cases in this book, and none of them are straightforward, but each and every one is incredibly enjoyable.

Like Agatha Christie before her, Hamilton Crane creates stories where you need to keep your wits about you as even the smallest detail can be the key to solving the puzzle. These stories are intricately designed and so much fun to read! Each time I have one in my reading list I seem to speed up to get to it faster. It's a series I recommend without hesitation to all lovers of a darn good mystery.

My grateful thanks once again to publishers Farrago for approving my copy via NetGalley. This is my honest, original and unbiased review.

One of the things I love about this series is its timelessness, it's often hard to tell just when a book takes place. However this books a delightful exception and not just because it has a definite time as its setting - late 1976. It also takes place almost entirely outside Miss Seeton's village in western England, mostly in Glastonbury.

A decision is made to have the Christmas play be King Arthur & Miss Seeton goes to Glastonbury to gather ideas. On the criminal side a young playboy has been kidnapped & is suspected of being held in the West Country.

Delightful capers ensue, Miss Seeton draws, and crimes are solved. It's another wonderful addition to the series.

Welcome back, Miss Seeton! I am so pleased to see this series revived and by one of its original authors. The deft touch, subtle (and not so subtle) humor, and twisted approach to crime solving continues to provide pleasure. And at this point in my life it is fun to revisit the Mod Generation in all its long haired, flared trousered (do NOT use the word "pants" in British English--they will picture you in undergarments!), flower powered glory. Miss Seeton's drawings provide clues to solving not one but three mysteries, and we are able to explore the Glastonbury countryside, home to King Arthur and Camelot. Whether or not you've read any of this series (they all stand alone, although some of the side characters develop greater depth as you read more of the tales), you will thoroughly enjoy yourself.

I've read the original Miss Seeton books, but then stopped not expecting other writers to be able to keep up the standard, which I felt had dropped in the last one anyway. This book though tells me how wrong I could be.

It is not only of the same standard, but, in my opinion better than the originals.Hamilton Crane appears to have a very clear view of Miss Seeton, which is close to my own.

What a lovely and enjoyable cozy mystery!
It was a lot of fun to read, with a great and humorous heroine and a great cast of characters.
The plot was really good and kept me guessing till the end. This book is a page turner and couldn't put it down.
I will go and fetch the other instalment in this series.
Strongly recommended.
Many thanks to Farrago and Netgalley for the ARC

Miss Seeton cracks the case again - a brilliant series of very light, easily readable crime capers. This time Miss Seeton leaves home and still picks up whodunit

I love how the author is able to have twists and turns in the story but it is also sprinkled with humor. The element of Miss Seaton's special talent is outstanding.

Could it be that I have a soft spot for Miss Seeton because she is a retired art teacher? Well, maybe, but I do enjoy her stories. I think Hamilton Crane must also sketch, as the descriptions of Miss Seeton’s sketches and her reactions to them ring true. In Miss Seeton Flies High Miss S and friends have three different mysteries to solve, and the excitement of a bond win, and a hot air balloon raffle prize. I was given an ARC of this book in exchange for a fair review. I found it to be an engaging story with likable characters. I have read a few books featuring Emily Seeton and have enjoyed each. They do not need to be read in order.

This was my first time to read a “Miss Seeton” mystery, but it certainly will not be my last. It was a fun, intriguing story. The clues to solve the mystery were well paced and kept the story very interesting and entertaining. No bad language or embarrassing scenes in this book. Loved the humor and dialogue.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher for review. All opinions are my own.

Miss Seton...what can I say? Hilarious, witty and definitely entertaining. I am looking forward to more. Definitely recommend!