Miss Seeton by Appointment is the sixth in a series featuring the eponymous heroine which have, I understand, been written by two different authors. This instalment was written by Hampton Charles but as I haven’t read any of the others I can’t tell you if there is any difference between the two writers. This is, however, a book where I would have benefitted to have read earlier instalments to understand the background and to immerse myself in Miss Seeton’s world.
Miss Seeton is an English spinster who is part of typical village life and who also seems to come across criminals and work for MI5. She thwarts plans to steal items or secrets and appears to do this by being pretty oblivious to what is going on around her. In this book she has been invited to a garden party at Buckingham Palace where she must investigate the loyalty of a royal aide but there is also a group of thieves looking for valuables. It is the nature of the book that you know from the beginning that Miss Seeton will save the day although she appears to be the least likely person to do so.
I like a good cosy mystery as well as the next person and I accept that they will contain a view of the world that doesn’t exactly align with what I see around me, in fact that’s often the attraction of these books. This novel, however, was just too silly and unbelievable for me. I am sure that our security services don’t have to depend on the services of little old ladies with umbrellas, and that our police forces can find and arrest the odd criminal on their own. I may have been disadvantaged in my enjoyment by not having read previous books in the series but it may also be that this book was not for me.
Anne Is Reading 