REVIEW: Miss Seeton Cracks the Case

Miss Seeton Cracks the Case
Author: Hamilton Crane

**I received a copy of this book from Prelude Books via NetGalley in exchange for a fair, honest review**

The village of Plummergen has been beset by two criminal gangs. The Sherry Gang is targeting the elderly, drugging and stealing from them. The Dick Turpin Gang is waylaying tourist coaches to steal valuables from the passengers. Because Miss Seeton has used her sixth sense to help the local police before, she is called in on the case. But, this time, her magical pictures appear to have nothing to do with either of the criminal gangs. Who is waylaying tourists and drugging helpless elderly citizens of Plummergen? And can Miss Emily Seeton help the police as she has done in the past?

This is the first Miss Seeton novel I have read, and the 9th novel in the series. I did some research on the series, and discovered that several authors have written the books. The character was created by Heron Carvic who wrote the first five books. After his death in 1980, Roy Peter Martin using the pseudonym Hampton Charles wrote three Miss Seeton novels. Hamilton Crane is the pen-name of author Sarah J. Mason, who has written 14 more Miss Seeton novels. I have not read the original novels, but in my research learned that the Hamilton  Crane books make substantial character changes and are vastly different from the original Miss Seeton novels.

This edition of  Miss Seeton Cracks the Case is a re-release of the 9th Miss Seeton novel, originally published in 1991. It is the first Hamilton Crane Miss Seeton book.

This was an enjoyable read, reminiscent of Agatha Christie. I kept comparing Miss Seeton to Miss Marple as I read the book. There were quirky villagers, lots of twists and turns, and humor entertwined with the mystery -- made for a fun, entertaining read!

After reading up on the history of the Miss Seeton series, I now want to go back and read all of the books, including the original five novels that started it all!