Set just before the start of The Battle of Britain this tale immerses you in the paranoia and patriotism of an island fearing invasion from without (the Nazis) and within (fifth columnists) and yet retains the wry humor for which the Miss Seeton books are so justly famous. More of Emily Dorothea's early background is revealed and we learn why she is so concerned about her knees and how she comes to have an umbrella collection. There are also a number of unexpected tragic twists adding depth to the character who becomes the inimitable spry spinster whose talents once trapped traitors. In many ways this may be the best written novel of the series.

I am sad that it is also the last of the volumes as I haunted Netgalley for the rerelease of each of the 22 stories as they came out. I may just have to go back and start again at the beginning!

Miss Seeton’s Finest Hour. By Hamilton Crane.

Oh my Goodness, I am now a huge Emily Seeton fan.

Having been totally unaware of this series before this last few days , it is fortuitous then that this prequel of sorts was my first adventure in her company.

Fans of older detectives such as William Murdoch, Father Brown and of course the canon of “Agatha” herself will be able to bury themselves in this story of the young art teacher engaged by the government to winkle out a Nazi collaborator. It is my understanding that all future outings are the adventures of a much more aged protagonist, but this was a delightful introduction.

She is clever, resourceful and observant, she is sweet without being saccharin and she is interesting and a self contained character in her own right rather than just an observer before whom the action is played out.

The attention to period detail makes this an incredibly immersive read. I liked the way the story often grounded itself in the speeches of Winston Churchill and the title then becomes more resonant.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book and will definitely be making Miss Seeton a constant reading companion.

Another lovely book about a lovely lady. The storyline is believable and at times enchanting. Miss Seeton is almost an innocent abroad. I look forward to more of her exploits.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book which turned into a gripping read after a slowish start...neither Miss Marple nor Mapp and Lucia which I somehow expected from the cover.
The book is set in the 2nd world war and gives interesting insights into what went on at home rather than overseas. Miss Seeton is an art teacher who is left without pupils after they are evacuated who is recruited, after some fun and games, into the intelligence services. There is time spent in Bletchley cracking codes which gives interesting insights into the importance of the work being done as well as time spent in a Spitfire factory.
The characters are well drawn and the research appears to have been thorough. I found myself drawn into the world of the story in unexpected ways and thoroughly enjoyed it... to the extent that I went on when I had finished it to look for the authors other books.

This story is a prequel to Miss Seeton's further adventures with the secret service. She's an art teacher living with her mother and she has been making sketches of areas around London because they look interesting. The secret service division thinks she's a spy. Especially since her drawing are showing military secrets not shared with the public. She draws more than she sees but she doesn't realize it...

Farrago and Net Galley allowed me to read this book for review (thank you). It has been published and you can grab a copy now.

It was fun to read about a younger Miss Seeton who really hadn't embraced her umbrella yet. She gets involved in a secret mission to find out who is sabotaging the planes that are being made in a factory. She doesn't know what she's even seeing since she's unfamiliar with planes, but she's willing to try. Her female supervisor doesn't trust her and is in love with the boss. The boss is an odd fellow but nice enough. Her fellow workers are boarding where she is and she likes most of the girls working in the factory. She also likes the Major she's working for.

Since it's wartime and everyone expects the German's to attack, everyone is on high alert. No one gives away any secrets. But when people start getting killed at the factory, it's apparent more than sabotage is going on.

Miss Seeton identifies enough things to give Major Haynes the clue he needs to ferret out the saboteur. But it's wartime and the two men she likes get hurt. One is hurt and the other is dead. But she gets an umbrella with a knife in the handle for memorabilia and to protect herself. She'll be back working for secret service before long, even if no one knows how she does it.

What a fabulous book! Possibly the one book I've read with a WWII mystery which doesn't exaggerate the glamour but is a damn fine read.

I must confess to being new to this series, but I shall definitely be following up on the rest of the novels. A really satisfying read, beautifully written and finished off properly.

Can hardly wait to catch up with my tbr list to source more of this series. Love, love, love!!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to read and review this book.
I had not come across Miss Smeeton in her adventures before so was quite intrigued to read this prequel.
The story line and setting takes place in the early days of WW2 and probably reflects well the pressures on civilians and especially females in adapting to the war and acceptance of rationing and 'making do.'
Perhaps I was expecting Miss Smeeton to be a 'Miss Marple' and was consequently a little disappointed in her role in this book, perhaps she does 'morph' into Miss Marple in later books, I doubt that I shall be finding out!
All in all an entertaining read, but not not really enough substance for me.

I hadn't read any of this series before and took a punt on this without a great deal of expectation, to be honest. After a somewhat uninspiring opening, I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would.

Set in 1940, Miss Seeton is an art teacher in her late 20s with, it transpires, an uncanny knack of seeing through to the heart of things in her drawings. This, by convoluted means, leads her to be sent undercover by Military Intelligence to investigate possible sabotage in an aircraft factory.

The plot itself is pretty negligible; it felt rather more like a fleshed-out short story to me, and after the opening 30 pages or so I began to wonder whether anything was actually going to happen. However, a story does emerge, I began to warm to the characters, the writing is good and the period is very well conjured – far better than in a some books set in the Second World War which take themselves much more seriously than this does. The light, often rather humorous tone is underpinned by some thorough research, very readable prose and decent character portraits, which makes the book more than just a bit of inconsequential fluff. It's no masterpiece of literature – and nor does it intend to be – but it's rather involving and surprisingly enjoyable.

This probably isn’t the best place to start with Miss Seeton, but I can still recommend it even to novices like me and I'll almost certainly be trying more in the series.

(I received an ARC via Netgalley.)

This book was fun and interesting to read. The plot was well thought through and I liked the characters, but maybe it would be helpful to read the other books first. I liked the detail on what it was like to live when there was a war on, even having to give up your saucepans. I would recommend this as a Sunday afternoon cosy read.

Miss Seeton's Finest Hour by Hamilton Crane was a delightful read for me. I can actually say that it was the Miss Seeton series by Hamilton Crane/Heron Carvic that introduced me to the cozy genre. I thought that I had read them all and was thrilled when I found this one.

The pace of this story was fast but filled with great detail on how life actually was for England during WWII. It also introduced us to a young Miss Seeton and how she contributed to the war with her unique talent. The characters were well developed, the dialogue was realistic and the emotions as a result of the German attacks as well as the sabotage created a compelling read for me.

Prequels are a tricky venture and I was very skeptical going in to this book.

Here I sit---a faithful fan of the gloriously ditsy Miss Seaton finding success and adventure in her golden years. Then, I am presented (courtesy of NetGalley) with an opportunity to read about her serving her country at the start of WW2. I don't know---I couldn't imagine finding any interest in Miss Seaton as anything other than a rather scattered, totally fey, often clueless older woman. . . . BUT, I was fooled. Miss Seeton's Finest Hour was perhaps Miss Seaton's finest novel in the series.

It was great fun to imagine the "girl" in this book morphing in to the older woman that Crane's readers know and love. And, I was enchanted by her gentle flirtation. . . . . and, totally thrilled to learn the genesis of her umbrella fixation.

All in all, this was a charm of a book, with just enough WW2 "women in the workforce" history to make it interesting, but not heavy. Four stars for this Miss Seaton adventure.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Farrago for an advance copy of Miss Seeton's Finest Hour, the final novel in the series and, fittingly, a prequel which describes one of a much younger Miss Seeton's wartime adventures.

Miss Seeton is reported to MI5 as a possible fifth columnist when they discover the prophetic nature of her drawings and speculate on their use and her intentions. When this little local difficulty is resolved they decide that they can perhaps use her talents to clear up some sabotage at a Spitfire factory, not that she knows it.

This is a very different Emily Dorothea Seeton to the one we are used to. She is dutiful and prepared to make sacrifices in her service to her country, and diffident in her contribution but she is also steelier and more clear minded than her retired persona has led us to believe. It is a breath of fresh air and a welcome change. The hint of romance is lovely.

The plot, as usual, is competent but plays second fiddle to Miss Seeton and the state of war. The novel is brimming with detail on the practicalities of living during the war from rationing to "the walls have ears". It does not shy away from the death and destruction either. And yet, it is a lighthearted novel and a fun read.

I thoroughly enjoyed Miss Seeton's Finest Hour and have no hesitation in recommending it as a good read.

I'm new to the Miss Seeton series, so I went into this book with absolutely no expectations or idea what it was even about. I found the heroine and the writing delightful and charming, and the story moved along pretty nicely, though there were some unexpectedly dark parts. I also learned a lot about WWII, which I really enjoyed as well. I'm glad to have discovered a new series that I like and am looking forward to reading the next one!

I received a free copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.
A prequel to the Miss Seeton series, this is a charming cosy crime novel that can be read as a stand-alone story. Starting out in London in World War Two, Miss Emily Seeton is an art teacher whose pupils have been evacuated to the country. She fills her time trying to keep the few returning children out of mischief and doing her bit for the war effort. But when her personal artistic efforts seem to reveal state secrets she catches the attention of the Ministry of Information. Her status as harmless teacher confirmed they decide to enlist her almost psychic ability to predict through her drawing what's going to happen and figure out mysteries without even being fully aware she's doing so at a Spitfire factory that has fallen foul of sabotage.
It is a very silly premise - a psychic artist spy who doesn't know what she's supposed to be doing - but it is still a fun novel. Miss Seeton is a doughty, sensible, stalwart woman in her late twenties, universally expected to remain unmarried. Her teaching background has given her a no-nonsense attitude and she approaches her new job in that frame of mind. It's not going to win any awards but it is very readable.

If you are a fan of vintage English cozies, rush right out to get “Miss Seeton’s Finest Hour”, a delightful prequel to the Miss Seeton series by Heron Carvic. The lovely young Miss Seeton, her sketches, and her umbrella are all introduced here in the looming threats of England's second World War. A great read!