Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat – and all over England rehearsals are getting underway for the much-loved seasonal panto. In Miss Emily Seeton’s home village of Plummergen, Lady Colveden is directing an uproarious production of Cinderella, and Miss S is delighted to be offered a backstage role as set designer. Then while walking in Rytham Hall woods in search of mistletoe, a typical accident with her umbrella results in a wonderful archaeological discovery – soon followed by the less happy discovery of a dead body. The solutions to the murder and to a series of local bank heists are only revealed when the show actually goes on – and naturally it’s the “Battling Brolly” who ends up in the spotlight. Serene amidst every kind of skulduggery, this eccentric English spinster steps in where Scotland Yard stumbles, armed with nothing more than her sketchpad and umbrella! What people are saying about Miss Seeton: “Miss Seeton is a hoot! I was torn between laughter and eye rolling with each page turn. The characters are loveable and thoroughly British. This is a perfect specimen of classic British mystery.“ “What a joy Miss Seeton is. Why did I wait so long to read them? Splashy characters, lovely setting, and just plain funny.” “I've become a Miss Ess addict. Great characters that get better with each book. A must for anyone who loves a good British cozy with a twist, and surprising revelations of what a good brollie can do in a pinch.” “What a great series. This is one of the best in English light reading mysteries.” “Miss Seeton is a delightful sendup of the amateur sleuth. If your doctor has prescribed laughter as the best medicine, run and buy the entire series as fast as you can.” Editorial reviews: “A most beguiling protagonist!” New York Times “Miss Seeton gets into wild drama with fine touches of farce . . . This is a lovely mixture of the funny and the exciting.” San Francisco Chronicle “This is not so much black comedy as black-currant comedy . . . You can’t stop reading. Or laughing.” The Sun “Depth of description and lively characters bring this English village to life.” Publishers Weekly “Fun to be had with a full cast of endearingly zany villagers . . . and the ever gently intuitive Miss Seeton.” Kirkus Reviews “Miss Seeton is the most delightfully satisfactory character since Miss Marple.” Ogden Nash “I think, on the whole, Miss Seeton is the most loveable and entertaining of any of today’s fiction detectives. May she live forever.” London Mystery Selection

A sunny summer’s day at the Hurlingham Club resounds to the thwack of ball on racket, as Britain’s young hopeful, the splendidly named Trish Thumper, seems likely to knock out her American opponent. Yet not all the eyes following Trish’s strokes belong to tennis fans – it soon emerges that her father, the notoriously stern Judge William Thumper, has made an enemy who will stop at little to harm him and his daughter. But the wrongdoers have reckoned without artistic sleuth Miss Emily Seeton, who in a series of apparently mistimed shots with torch and umbrella, defeats them game, set and match. Serene amidst every kind of skullduggery, this eccentric English spinster steps in where Scotland Yard stumbles, armed with nothing more than her sketchpad and umbrella! What people are saying about Miss Seeton: “Miss Seeton is a hoot! I was torn between laughter and eye rolling with each page turn. The characters are loveable and thoroughly British. This is a perfect specimen of classic British mystery.“ “What a joy Miss Seeton is. Why did I wait so long to read them? Splashy characters, lovely setting, and just plain funny.” “I've become a Miss Ess addict. Great characters that get better with each book. A must for anyone who loves a good British cozy with a twist, and surprising revelations of what a good brollie can do in a pinch.” “What a great series. This is one of the best in English light reading mysteries.” “Miss Seeton is a delightful sendup of the amateur sleuth. If your doctor has prescribed laughter as the best medicine, run and buy the entire series as fast as you can.” Editorial reviews: “A most beguiling protagonist!” New York Times “Miss Seeton gets into wild drama with fine touches of farce . . . This is a lovely mixture of the funny and the exciting.” San Francisco Chronicle “This is not so much black comedy as black-currant comedy . . . You can’t stop reading. Or laughing.” The Sun “Depth of description and lively characters bring this English village to life.” Publishers Weekly “Fun to be had with a full cast of endearingly zany villagers . . . and the ever gently intuitive Miss Seeton.” Kirkus Reviews “Miss Seeton is the most delightfully satisfactory character since Miss Marple.” Ogden Nash “I think, on the whole, Miss Seeton is the most loveable and entertaining of any of today’s fiction detectives. May she live forever.” London Mystery Selection

A heart-shaped face, sapphire blue eyes and golden curls – everyone’s favourite royal, Princess Georgina, is in Kent to open the new Dungeness power station – excitement in the nearby villages of Plummergen and Murreystone is generating almost as much energy as a nuclear reaction. A lucky local child is to present Her Royal Highness with a bouquet, and as little Sally is one of Miss Emily Seeton’s class of infants, Miss S, with her best gold brolly, gets to make her curtsey to the princess. But it’s almost November 5th, Guy Fawkes night, and a band of modern-day conspirators are plotting treasonous doings. When the princess vanishes, Miss Seeton’s explosive adventures are only just beginning . . . Serene amidst every kind of skullduggery, this eccentric English spinster steps in where Scotland Yard stumbles, armed with nothing more than her sketchpad and umbrella! What people are saying about Miss Seeton: “Miss Seeton is a hoot! I was torn between laughter and eye rolling with each page turn. The characters are loveable and thoroughly British. This is a perfect specimen of classic British mystery.“ “What a joy Miss Seeton is. Why did I wait so long to read them? Splashy characters, lovely setting, and just plain funny.” “I've become a Miss Ess addict. Great characters that get better with each book. A must for anyone who loves a good British cozy with a twist, and surprising revelations of what a good brollie can do in a pinch.” “What a great series. This is one of the best in English light reading mysteries.” “Miss Seeton is a delightful sendup of the amateur sleuth. If your doctor has prescribed laughter as the best medicine, run and buy the entire series as fast as you can.” Editorial reviews: “A most beguiling protagonist!” New York Times “Miss Seeton gets into wild drama with fine touches of farce . . . This is a lovely mixture of the funny and the exciting.” San Francisco Chronicle “This is not so much black comedy as black-currant comedy . . . You can’t stop reading. Or laughing.” The Sun “Depth of description and lively characters bring this English village to life.” Publishers Weekly “Fun to be had with a full cast of endearingly zany villagers . . . and the ever gently intuitive Miss Seeton.” Kirkus Reviews “Miss Seeton is the most delightfully satisfactory character since Miss Marple.” Ogden Nash “I think, on the whole, Miss Seeton is the most loveable and entertaining of any of today’s fiction detectives. May she live forever.” London Mystery Selection

Sweet-natured Emily Seeton, retired art teacher and nowadays invaluable artist-aide to Scotland Yard, always tries to keep an open mind. But really, her feelings about the flamboyant Antony Scarlett, ‘the modern Rubens’ whose chosen medium is chocolate, and who is bullying her to sell her beloved cottage so he can fill it with the confection and knock it down, are anything but warm. Yet Antony persists, and while infesting Plummergen he encounters lovely redheaded Tina Holloway, his rejected muse, here recovering from his ungallant treatment. Tina is proving a talented artist herself. Her drawings of the village, combined with Miss Seeton’s mysterious sketches, help local police Superintendent Brinton to uncover how elderly residents fall victim to a gang of heartless criminals . . . Serene amidst every kind of skullduggery, this eccentric English spinster steps in where Scotland Yard stumbles, armed with nothing more than her sketchpad and umbrella! What people are saying about Miss Seeton: “Miss Seeton is a hoot! I was torn between laughter and eye rolling with each page turn. The characters are loveable and thoroughly British. This is a perfect specimen of classic British mystery.“ “What a joy Miss Seeton is. Why did I wait so long to read them? Splashy characters, lovely setting, and just plain funny.” “I've become a Miss Ess addict. Great characters that get better with each book. A must for anyone who loves a good British cozy with a twist, and surprising revelations of what a good brollie can do in a pinch.” “What a great series. This is one of the best in English light reading mysteries.” “Miss Seeton is a delightful sendup of the amateur sleuth. If your doctor has prescribed laughter as the best medicine, run and buy the entire series as fast as you can.” Editorial reviews: “A most beguiling protagonist!” New York Times “Miss Seeton gets into wild drama with fine touches of farce . . . This is a lovely mixture of the funny and the exciting.” San Francisco Chronicle “This is not so much black comedy as black-currant comedy . . . You can’t stop reading. Or laughing.” The Sun “Depth of description and lively characters bring this English village to life.” Publishers Weekly “Fun to be had with a full cast of endearingly zany villagers . . . and the ever gently intuitive Miss Seeton.” Kirkus Reviews “Miss Seeton is the most delightfully satisfactory character since Miss Marple.” Ogden Nash “I think, on the whole, Miss Seeton is the most loveable and entertaining of any of today’s fiction detectives. May she live forever.” London Mystery Selection

‘Ibbley, obbley, onker, my first conker!’ The ancient warcry of English conker battles heralds autumn in the Kentish countryside, where Plummergen, Miss Seeton’s home village, and its great rival Murreystone, are holding their Produce Show and – this year – impromptu fisticuffs! Plus it’s Trafalgar Day, and at Admiral Buzzard’s ‘gin pennant’ party for local ex-officers there’s another near punch-up. Altogether a riveting backdrop for the presenters of a popular TV cookery show, visiting in search of rare heritage apples like the Plummergen Peculier. Only the police have time to notice the worsening local crime wave – antique shops ramraided, homes robbed, then a life lost – until Miss Seeton is coaxed into playing a core role. Serene amidst every kind of skullduggery, this eccentric English spinster steps in where Scotland Yard stumbles, armed with nothing more than her sketchpad and umbrella! What people are saying about Miss Seeton: “Miss Seeton is a hoot! I was torn between laughter and eye rolling with each page turn. The characters are loveable and thoroughly British. This is a perfect specimen of classic British mystery.“ “What a joy Miss Seeton is. Why did I wait so long to read them? Splashy characters, lovely setting, and just plain funny.” “I've become a Miss Ess addict. Great characters that get better with each book. A must for anyone who loves a good British cozy with a twist, and surprising revelations of what a good brollie can do in a pinch.” “What a great series. This is one of the best in English light reading mysteries.” “Miss Seeton is a delightful sendup of the amateur sleuth. If your doctor has prescribed laughter as the best medicine, run and buy the entire series as fast as you can.” Editorial reviews: “A most beguiling protagonist!” New York Times “Miss Seeton gets into wild drama with fine touches of farce . . . This is a lovely mixture of the funny and the exciting.” San Francisco Chronicle “This is not so much black comedy as black-currant comedy . . . You can’t stop reading. Or laughing.” The Sun “Depth of description and lively characters bring this English village to life.” Publishers Weekly “Fun to be had with a full cast of endearingly zany villagers . . . and the ever gently intuitive Miss Seeton.” Kirkus Reviews “Miss Seeton is the most delightfully satisfactory character since Miss Marple.” Ogden Nash “I think, on the whole, Miss Seeton is the most loveable and entertaining of any of today’s fiction detectives. May she live forever.” London Mystery Selection

“Actually—” Oh, dear, this was most embarrassing. It sounded so—so aggressive. But she must be exact. “Actually I was a little angry—at his rudeness, you know—so I poked him in the back...“ When Miss Seeton walks out after a performance of Carmen and witnesses a real-life stabbing, all she can recall is a shadowy figure. But how could she have guessed that her latest artistic endeavour is a picture-perfect portrait of the killer? Her sketch puts her in a perilous position, for back at her recently inherited cottage in Plummergen village, she’s fated to be a sitting duck . . . for murder most foul! Meet Miss Emily D. Seeton: this retired art teacher steps in where Scotland Yard stumbles. Armed with only her sketch pad and umbrella, she is every inch an eccentric English spinster and the most lovable and unlikely master of detection. What people are saying about Miss Seeton: “Miss Seeton is a hoot! I was torn between laughter and eye rolling with each page turn. The characters are loveable and thoroughly British. This is a perfect specimen of classic British mystery.“ “What a joy Miss Seeton is. Why did I wait so long to read them? Splashy characters, lovely setting, and just plain funny.” “I've become a Miss Ess addict. Great characters that get better with each book. A must for anyone who loves a good British cozy with a twist, and surprising revelations of what a good brollie can do in a pinch.” “What a great series. This is one of the best in English light reading mysteries.” “Miss Seeton is a delightful sendup of the amateur sleuth. If your doctor has prescribed laughter as the best medicine, run and buy the entire series as fast as you can.” Editorial reviews: “A most beguiling protagonist!” New York Times “Miss Seeton gets into wild drama with fine touches of farce . . . This is a lovely mixture of the funny and the exciting.” San Francisco Chronicle “This is not so much black comedy as black-currant comedy . . . You can’t stop reading. Or laughing.” The Sun “Depth of description and lively characters bring this English village to life.” Publishers Weekly “Fun to be had with a full cast of endearingly zany villagers . . . and the ever gently intuitive Miss Seeton.” Kirkus Reviews “Miss Seeton is the most delightfully satisfactory character since Miss Marple.” Ogden Nash “I think, on the whole, Miss Seeton is the most loveable and entertaining of any of today’s fiction detectives. May she live forever.” London Mystery Selection

Inspired by a wildly successful screening of Henry V, Plummergen village school decides on a trip to ‘the vasty fields of France’. The children are to visit the historic chateau of the Comte de Balivernes, and former art teacher Miss Emily Seeton is delighted to be asked to accompany them. All goes so well that the charming Comte (definitely smitten by Miss S) and his daughter Louise are invited back to Plummergen – where Lord and Lady Colveden’s son Nigel is even more smitten with the lovely Louise. But while l’amour blossoms, there’s also murder and mayhem to be reckoned with, and the Grand Bulldozer Race between six Kentish teams proves a more explosive finale than anyone anticipates . . . Serene amidst every kind of skullduggery, this eccentric English spinster steps in where Scotland Yard stumbles, armed with nothing more than her sketchpad and umbrella! What people are saying about Miss Seeton: “Miss Seeton is a hoot! I was torn between laughter and eye rolling with each page turn. The characters are loveable and thoroughly British. This is a perfect specimen of classic British mystery.“ “What a joy Miss Seeton is. Why did I wait so long to read them? Splashy characters, lovely setting, and just plain funny.” “I've become a Miss Ess addict. Great characters that get better with each book. A must for anyone who loves a good British cozy with a twist, and surprising revelations of what a good brollie can do in a pinch.” “What a great series. This is one of the best in English light reading mysteries.” “Miss Seeton is a delightful sendup of the amateur sleuth. If your doctor has prescribed laughter as the best medicine, run and buy the entire series as fast as you can.” Editorial reviews: “A most beguiling protagonist!” New York Times “Miss Seeton gets into wild drama with fine touches of farce . . . This is a lovely mixture of the funny and the exciting.” San Francisco Chronicle “This is not so much black comedy as black-currant comedy . . . You can’t stop reading. Or laughing.” The Sun “Depth of description and lively characters bring this English village to life.” Publishers Weekly “Fun to be had with a full cast of endearingly zany villagers . . . and the ever gently intuitive Miss Seeton.” Kirkus Reviews “Miss Seeton is the most delightfully satisfactory character since Miss Marple.” Ogden Nash “I think, on the whole, Miss Seeton is the most loveable and entertaining of any of today’s fiction detectives. May she live forever.” London Mystery Selection

A sudden interest in the occult swept through the English village of Plummergen. Ouija boards were replacing the best china in many a cozy cottage. It might be quite the thing for maiden ladies and persnickity aunts, but it wasn’t Miss Seeton’s cup of tea . . . until Scotland Yard requested she go undercover to investigate sinister shenanigans in the Kentish countryside. A flim-flam was afoot in the local witches' coven - and magic could be a prelude to murder most foul. Serene amidst every kind of skullduggery, retired art teacher Miss Seeton steps in where Scotland Yard stumbles. Armed with nothing more than her sketchpad and umbrella, she is at every turn the most lovable and unlikely master of detection. What people are saying about Miss Seeton: “Miss Seeton is a hoot! I was torn between laughter and eye rolling with each page turn. The characters are loveable and thoroughly British. This is a perfect specimen of classic British mystery.“ “What a joy Miss Seeton is. Why did I wait so long to read them? Splashy characters, lovely setting, and just plain funny.” “I've become a Miss Ess addict. Great characters that get better with each book. A must for anyone who loves a good British cozy with a twist, and surprising revelations of what a good brollie can do in a pinch.” “What a great series. This is one of the best in English light reading mysteries.” “Miss Seeton is a delightful sendup of the amateur sleuth. If your doctor has prescribed laughter as the best medicine, run and buy the entire series as fast as you can.” Editorial reviews: “A most beguiling protagonist!” New York Times “Miss Seeton gets into wild drama with fine touches of farce . . . This is a lovely mixture of the funny and the exciting.” San Francisco Chronicle “This is not so much black comedy as black-currant comedy . . . You can’t stop reading. Or laughing.” The Sun “Depth of description and lively characters bring this English village to life.” Publishers Weekly “Fun to be had with a full cast of endearingly zany villagers . . . and the ever gently intuitive Miss Seeton.” Kirkus Reviews “Miss Seeton is the most delightfully satisfactory character since Miss Marple.” Ogden Nash

It’s ‘set an artist to catch an artist’ . . . When a flood of perfectly faked banknotes hits the market, retired art teacher Miss Emily Seeton, the Yard’s famed ‘MissEss’, is chosen to investigate a respected Geneva bank. Somehow, the forger is also mixed up in the theft of valuable paintings. But Miss S. is new to air travel – surely the names Geneva and ‘Genova’ must be the same place? Bamboozling both the crooks and the police who vainly try to keep tabs on her, innocently humming the fraudsters’ musical password, she trips gaily along the dangerous trail. Serene amidst every kind of skullduggery, this eccentric English spinster steps in where Scotland Yard stumbles, armed with nothing more than her sketchpad and umbrella! What people are saying about Miss Seeton: “Miss Seeton is a hoot! I was torn between laughter and eye rolling with each page turn. The characters are loveable and thoroughly British. This is a perfect specimen of classic British mystery.“ “What a joy Miss Seeton is. Why did I wait so long to read them? Splashy characters, lovely setting, and just plain funny.” “I've become a Miss Ess addict. Great characters that get better with each book. A must for anyone who loves a good British cozy with a twist, and surprising revelations of what a good brollie can do in a pinch.” “What a great series. This is one of the best in English light reading mysteries.” “Miss Seeton is a delightful sendup of the amateur sleuth. If your doctor has prescribed laughter as the best medicine, run and buy the entire series as fast as you can.” Editorial reviews: “A most beguiling protagonist!” New York Times “Miss Seeton gets into wild drama with fine touches of farce . . . This is a lovely mixture of the funny and the exciting.” San Francisco Chronicle “This is not so much black comedy as black-currant comedy . . . You can’t stop reading. Or laughing.” The Sun “Depth of description and lively characters bring this English village to life.” Publishers Weekly “Fun to be had with a full cast of endearingly zany villagers . . . and the ever gently intuitive Miss Seeton.” Kirkus Reviews “Miss Seeton is the most delightfully satisfactory character since Miss Marple.” Ogden Nash “I think, on the whole, Miss Seeton is the most loveable and entertaining of any of today’s fiction detectives. May she live forever.” London Mystery Selection

Every year when the harvest moon shines, families of noisy Cockney hop-pickers descend on the bountiful countryside near the village of Plummergen, home to Miss Emily Seeton, artist and Scotland Yard aide extraordinaire. But the holiday jollity brings no cheer for local police Superintendent Brinton, who is all too aware it’s a whole year since the gruesome “Blonde in the Bag” murder, and they are still no nearer a solution. Will MissEss be asked to set aside her newfound hobby of gardening and lend a hand? And where in her strange sketches of the Last Night of the Proms are the clues that might identify a brutal killer? Serene amidst every kind of skulduggery, this eccentric English spinster steps in where Scotland Yard stumbles, armed with nothing more than her sketchpad and umbrella! What people are saying about Miss Seeton: “Miss Seeton is a hoot! I was torn between laughter and eye rolling with each page turn. The characters are loveable and thoroughly British. This is a perfect specimen of classic British mystery.“ “What a joy Miss Seeton is. Why did I wait so long to read them? Splashy characters, lovely setting, and just plain funny.” “I've become a Miss Ess addict. Great characters that get better with each book. A must for anyone who loves a good British cozy with a twist, and surprising revelations of what a good brollie can do in a pinch.” “What a great series. This is one of the best in English light reading mysteries.” “Miss Seeton is a delightful sendup of the amateur sleuth. If your doctor has prescribed laughter as the best medicine, run and buy the entire series as fast as you can.” Editorial reviews: “A most beguiling protagonist!” New York Times “Miss Seeton gets into wild drama with fine touches of farce . . . This is a lovely mixture of the funny and the exciting.” San Francisco Chronicle “This is not so much black comedy as black-currant comedy . . . You can’t stop reading. Or laughing.” The Sun “Depth of description and lively characters bring this English village to life.” Publishers Weekly “Fun to be had with a full cast of endearingly zany villagers . . . and the ever gently intuitive Miss Seeton.” Kirkus Reviews “Miss Seeton is the most delightfully satisfactory character since Miss Marple.” Ogden Nash “I think, on the whole, Miss Seeton is the most loveable and entertaining of any of today’s fiction detectives. May she live forever.” London Mystery Selection