I received the following comment about the Miss Seeton cozy mysteries… Shermeen wrote:
“Why were there 3 different authors? Also Hampton Charles’ books were decidedly different than the other 2 authors, I can find no information about him. Thanks, I have read most of the books, and wish there were more.”
In answer to the comment:
Heron Carvic wrote the first five Miss Seeton mysteries between 1968 and 1975. I couldn’t find any information about why he stopped writing the books before his death in 1980. (Here is the link to the page with all of the Miss Seeton mysteries.)
It was at that time that Roy Peter Martin (using the pseudonym of “Hampton Charles“) took over the series, and penned three more of the Miss Seeton novels, which interestingly enough, were all published the same year (1990.) Roy Peter Martin also uses the pseudonym “James Melville” when writing his Superintendent Tetsuo Otani series set in Japan.
Sarah J. Mason (using the pen name “Hamilton Crane“) took over the series, writing fourteen more Miss Seeton novels… more than the two previous authors put together. She uses her own name when writing her British Detective Superintendent Trewley & Sergeant Stone series.
I noticed that Sarah J. Mason is putting out novels in her other series, so I wonder if she has decided that it is time for Miss Emily D. Seeton to finally do what she had decided to do in the very first novel… retire!
The site just got a comment from a reader who needs help finding two authors. I am not sure how many site viewers read the comments after some of the blogs… so, just in case, I thought I would try to see if any of you are familiar with the two authors who are being sought.
Well, it’s right about the time of year when I start to try to get my holiday/seasonal mystery books accumulated… I live down here in San Antonio, Texas, and the weather just doesn’t cooperate with my seasonal cravings. I know from my past living experiences, that it is indeed the beginning of autumn… with leaves changing their colors, and a little chill in the air as you go about your morning activities. Not so here! We are experiencing upper 80s to low to mid 90s…. (I know it sounds like sour grapes that I would actually be brazen enough to “complain” about what people consider glorious San Antonio weather…)
“I’m glad you found the site, also. I know what you mean about trying to find a series you liked in the past but didn’t annotate… or if you did, your threw the scrap piece of paper away with the series’ details. I am going to write a blog about your mystery series which deals with the interior decorator, and hopefully someone will come up with the specifics… nothing seems to ring a bell for me at this time…
As for the series about the lady minister… I am guessing that the series is by Julia Spencer-Fleming. Her Reverend Clare Fergusson series has the main character working very closely with police chief Russ Van Alstyne. Could this possibly be the series you are thinking about?
Kate Charles writes the Callie Anson Mystery Series. Callie is a newly ordained Anglican Minister in England.
Another possibility would be Cristina Sumners‘ series about an Episcopalian priest named Kathryn Koerney. The police chief in this series is named Tom Holder, and apparently there is a romantic tension between them. I don’t have the series listed on my pages… but Crooked Heart is the first in that particular series.
Hopefully, one of those three series is the one you are looking for…
If any of you have an idea/inkling of who the first author is, please post a comment. As for the second author, I could be missing the boat completely, so if any of you have other suggestions on who that author could be, again, please post a comment. The comment button is just below each particular blog entry, under the faint line…