by Heron Carvic
Part of Miss Seeton, book 24
First published 2019
Miss Emily Seeton draws her sketchpad near the weathered tombstone of Abraham Voller, a notorious 19th-century smuggler buried in Plummergen churchyard. The retired art teacher lives quietly in this Kent coastal village, but smugglers still work these shores. Customs officials hunt a cigar-smuggling ring operating along the coast. Their midnight ambush fails and leaves one man dead. A young American tourist approaches Miss Seeton at the graveyard. He claims descent from the Voller family and seeks information about his ancestors. Miss Seeton wonders if he tells the truth or if criminal trades pass through bloodlines. The local school prepares a concert featuring Kipling's "A Smuggler's Song." Suspicious activity spreads through the village like fog rolling in from the sea. Miss Seeton carries only her umbrella and sketchpad, but these simple tools help her see what trained investigators miss. She will ensure the police catch their quarry and the smugglers lose their illegal cargo.
Genres: art, historical-fiction, adventure, suspense, mystery, crime
Vibes: atmospheric, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: amateur-sleuth, fish-out-of-water
Setting: Kent, Plummergen, United States
Period: 19th-century
288 pages · Paperback · Farrago