3 ½ really. I have only spent one very wet night in Scarborough but it was long enough to be able to recognise and picture many of the places mentioned in this book. It has also made me want to visit again, with better weather hopefully. I see this is the start of a series so not sure how these characters will develop. Also, the Elvis motif may be a problem. Will they just be tripping over bodies around the town. It seems more difficult to sustain a crime series without a central detective character. Still looking forward to number two! Thanks to Netgalley.

Murder at the Seaview Hotel is an engaging murder mystery that will leave you all shook up! Why? Because this fun whodunit revolves around the death of an Elvis impersonator and his missing blue suede shoes!
You may know novelist Glenda Young for books such as The Miner’s Lass and Belle of the Back Streets from her hugely popular, historical saga series set in the north-east mining town where the author herself was born. But this is her surefooted first step into the world of cozy crime mysteries.
Cozy crime is a genre which has continued to grow in popularity in recent years with hits such as the Dales Detective series by Julia Chapman, the Lady Eleanor Swift Mysteries by Verity Bright and the commercial juggernaut that is The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman.
Young’s Murder at the Seaview Hotel delivers many of the cozy crime fiction hallmarks that we have come to expect from the genre.
‘Cozies’ need an amateur sleuth as their main protagonist and Seaview delivers an engaging and relatable heroine in Helen Dexter. Following the death of her husband Tom, Helen finds herself facing an uncertain future, doubtful whether she wants to continue running their Scarborough guest house, the Seaview Hotel, without him.
She is conflicted when an unexpected offer to sell the hotel to a mysterious bidder arrives. But when she is increasingly pressured by repeated phone calls to make this life-changing decision by the end of the day, Helen digs her heels in and decides to make a go of running the hotel herself. Mysteries abound and unexplained goings-on suggest that the unidentified developer is not giving up easily.
Cozy crime mysteries often feature humour: a troupe of twelve singing Elvis impersonators – yes of course the group is called ‘Twelvis’ – checking into the Scarborough guest house certainly ticks the humour box. It’s an original and amusing hook which Glenda Young skilfully uses to raise the number of potential suspects, to spin some intriguing plot twists and to deliver some suspense-relieving laughs for the reader.
Murder at the Seaview Hotel boasts an appealing supporting cast: there’s the hotel’s redoubtable cook Jean, who is all enveloping hugs, seasoned advice and perfect Full English breakfasts; we meet Helen’s glamorous if somewhat outspoken best friend Marie and readers will enjoy Miriam, the haughty landlady of the neighbouring guest house, the Vista del Mar. And pet-loving cozy-crime fans will love Suki, Helen’s retired racing greyhound companion – although beware! The emotional stakes are raised when the loveable canine’s life comes under threat…
One other character that is beautifully written in Murder at the Seaview Hotel is the town of Scarborough itself. Glenda Young gives a superb sense of place to the novel’s heroine and her guest house. You get the strong sense that the author has pounded the streets of the Yorkshire seaside location to evoke its many breezy, atmospheric charms. The Scarborough Tourist Board needs to get Glenda Young on their payroll – the Recs has just booked a mini-break there later this year thanks to the persuasive of her writing!
If you like puzzle box whodunits where plot and clue details are all important and characters are merely conduits for the machinery of the mystery, or you have a taste for hard-boiled police procedurals, this novel is unlikely to be for you.
But if you are looking for an enjoyable read, warmly written where you care about amiable characters trying to disentangle a series of suspenseful mysteries, then Murder at the Seaview Hotel is certainly worth your attention.

What's It About?

​Helen Dexter runs The Seaview Hotel in Yorkshire’s seaside haven of Scarborough.
When a troupe of 12 Elvis impersonators (Twelvis) arrive for an Elvis convention in Scarborough, one of them is found dead and his blue suede shoes are stolen. B&B landlady Helen Dexter and her trusty greyhound Suki are on the case to uncover the killer. Having recently lost her husband to cancer, and ambivalent about keeping the hotel open, Helen finds herself playing host to a troupe of 12 Elvis impersonators who have a gig at the Scarborough Spa.

Is it any good?

When one of the twelve is found dead in a local lake, and with a shady developer trying to buy the hotel, the reader is taken on quite the adventure as Helen battles bereavement, a burgeoning romance, a friendship group rocked to the core, and loveling created hotel staff. This cosy crime drama intersperses real-life Scarborough locations and mixes in just enough elements of believable and enthralling fiction to keep readers of any age suitably entertained. A complex mix of characters, easily readable chapters, with a couple of entertaining sub-plots. We won't spoil the end but suffice to say - keep an eye out for Suki the greyhound. Here is a cosy crime saga set in a seaside town that has an unwitting crime duo at its heart. In tħe stormy seas of 2021, take yourself to Scarborough's coast and wrap yourselves up in this comfy crime story. Scarborough is of course famous for the final resting place of the Bronte sisters. I think the town has itself a new female literary star! We recommend it.

Fun Plot, Wry Humour….
A wholly entertaining mystery set in the Yorkshire seaside town of Scarborough, the first in a new series of cosy crime and a change of genre for this accomplished author. With a likeable protagonist in Helen and packed with a cast of well developed and well crafted supporting characters this is an engaging read from start to finish. A fun plot and plenty of wry humour completes the package. A very promising start to a new series.

Thoroughly enjoyable book with brilliant characters and the way the scenery was described made you feel like you were actually there, loved the twelvises and how they became friends with the recently widowed Helen, the plot keeps you guessing as to who done it right till the end.
A fantastic read that I didn't want to put down, beautifully written and amazing plot and characters

Thoroughly enjoyed this novel.. Being a widow myself I really empathized with Helen and her uncertainty with making decisions on her own. However, she has a great support system in her friends and employees. Add to her dilemmas a body of one of the Elvis impersonators and a mystery person trying to buy the hotel which isn't even up for sale and she has problems.

Newly widowed Helen is now the sole proprietor of the Seaview Hotel after the death of her husband. Unsure of whether to continue alone, she's alarmed by strong arm tactics trying to force her to sell the hotel to a mystery buyer.

With a big Elvis convention taking place in Scarborough, Helen finds herself playing host to twelve Elvises.

And then a body is discovered.....

A terrific tale

Oh how I love a challenge and this remarkable historical saga author has changed genre, this is her first cosy crime mystery and I just couldn't wait to get stuck in.
Scarborough Seaview Hotel is run by recently widowed Helen Dexter with her racing greyhound Suki she made a promise to Tom her late husband who was a big Elvis fan.
there's a big show coming to town with all Elvis impersonators and a phone call saying they want to book Helen's all ten rooms at the hotel, they are the Elvis six Twelvis so it going to be pretty busy for her and her trusty staff. And there's someone out there wants the hotel but it's not for sale has she made a terrible mistake in not selling? Oh Boy so much is about to happen to Helen that is going to grip you into this book. and what is going on with her two best friends Bev and Sue? something is going on only time will tell. this book has everything with sharp witty humour added at every opportunity, It is weekend that Helen will never forget that gives her hotel a bad name. Helvis is in the building and does not let nothing get in her way.
I must admit I loved every chapter, getting to know all the characters its a fantastic start to a new series from this author it's definitely a book you cannot put down a Cosy cuddle up book, well done Glenda Young I so look forward to more from Helen and Suki at the Seaview Hotel Sunny Scarborough. 5 stars.

This is much better than the traditional cosy mystery. It has great characters and good plotting. The star of this book is the sense of place. I have never been to Scarborough, but it’s now on my list of places I must visit. A few straggly ends not explained, but overall a great conclusion. Loved the Elvis eleven lol. I hope this becomes a series