I really love Miss Seeton, so when I found this one I snatched it up, since it is hard to find. But what a disappointment. It really seemed like the author just took all the previous characters and sort of pushed them into situations to see what happened. Miss Seeton and Lady Colveden are still recognizable, but Sir George is a buffoon, nothing like he is in previous books.

The plot isn't very strong. The descriptions of Miss Seeton's drawings, which are, after all, key to the whole book, are not very detailed and don't really even resemble her previous drawings.

Then there's the shipboard romance between Delpnick and Mel Forby. Where did that come from? It doesn't belong at all. There's never been a hint of that in previous books.

In my opinion, Heron Carvic was really the best writer of this series. As the creator, he really knew the characters best. Hamilton Crane (Sarah J. Mason) does an excellent job of making the stories timely without losing the flavor of the period in which they are set. Her characterization is right on, too. But Hampton Charles, whoever he is, never really seemed to understand the series. Just a disappointment. Diehard Seeton fans will still want a copy of this one, but everyone else might as well forget it. ( )