Miss Seeton Underc Hc

The pseudonymous Crane, the second author (after Hampton Charles) to continue the characters created by Heron Carvic, appears for the first time in hardcover in this latest (after Starring Miss Seeton) in this long-running English cozy series. The village of Plummergen is populated with many quaint characters: Sir George Colveden, a bluff-and-bluster military type; Mrs. Flax, village Wise Woman and maker of potions; the busybody Nuttell sisters, known as the Nuts; and Miss Emily Seeton, retired art teacher and consultant to Scotland Yard. ``Miss Ess'' has the psychic ability ``to See'' and to sketch ``what she has Seen,'' often revealing clues overlooked by the police. In this outing, she helps solve two crime waves: the Ram Raids and the Sideboard Swipers, each of which involves the theft of antiques and artworks. While paying scant attention to the perpetration or investigation of those crimes, Crane details to the nth degree the gossipy, rumor-mongering population of Plummergen. The solution of the crime, and even the near death of Miss Seeton are anticlimactic, as most of Plummergen anticipates the annual Produce Show, scene of fierce competition against the rival village of Murreystone. Mystery Guild selection. (Apr.)