Heron Carvic - Odds on Miss Seeton

The fifth Miss Seeton novel, published 1975.
Genre: cozy mystery
Cover: I am getting used to these pictures.



Scotland Yard has disguised Miss Seeton as a high roller to get a police sketch of a mysterious crime boss. But she is soon playing a very dangerous game of big money and murder, and it is a sure bet that someone--perhaps Miss Seeton--is in mortal danger.


Again Scotland Yard needs Miss Seeton to go undercover. A crime syndicate is taking over the gambling business in England, casino's are burning down, and people are getting hurt. And it is not just casinos; even the gambling on the race track and on country fairs is getting taken over.
Scotland Yard thinks they know who the leader of the Syndicate is, but they have never managed to get his picture. So perhaps Miss Seeton can meet him, disguised as a famous foreign lady gambler, and draw his picture for them.

And so Miss Seeton ends up wearing a fortune in jewellery and fur, lots of make up and a wig, in a London casino. But when she does meet her mark, he immediately knows she is not whom she claims to be, and plans to have her and her police escort (yes, he knows that as well as his security is flawless) abducted and the money they have won, taken back.
Of course, Miss Seeton can take care of herself, and her escort, when needed, even without her umbrella! And as it happens, Inspector Delphick and Sargeant Ranger are waiting outside to escort her and her winnings home…

The next day, a young lady they met at the casino, comes to ask Miss Seeton for her help. Her younger brother is in trouble, and so is her father, who is one of the directors of the casino they went to last night. She is so certain that Miss Seeton can help her, Miss Seeton has no choice but to reluctantly accompany her home.
Her father is being blackmailed by the syndicate, and was almost killed in an accident. Her brother though, he is a lost cause as he has a liking for a life of crime, and doesn't hesitate to have a guest under his parents' roof killed. But Miss Seeton is ready for the killer when he shows up …
And the next day at the race track proves to be very exciting as well, and very dangerous.


Another good story in this charming series. I am really enjoying re-reading them all, even though they are severely outdated by now they are still fun to read. Of course, part of that might be that I have read them a few times before over the last 20 plus years.
I enjoyed how Miss Seeton took a gamble on a horse, because she liked the jockey's kind face and his shirt colors. She knew nothing about the race track at all, had never made a bet before.

The ending to this book was again a kind of open end. You know what she has done, and you know what would have happened as a result, but it is not told on the page. Still, it doesn't bother me.

This is a 3 author series, and this is the last one by Heron Carvic. And I am sorry for that, as his successor doesn't do as good a job as Heron did on these characters.

8 stars.

© 2016 Reviews by Aurian