This is the first book in a cosy crime mystery. There are some lovely characters in this book. The pacing is good and steady. It is funny in places. A nice easy coat crime book

Murder At The Seaview Hotel by Glenda Young

I enjoyed this murder mystery. I liked the Elvis Convention and then many characters. A well-written, seashore mysterry. I recommend this book.

I really enjoyed reading this novel which had characters that were really well written and likeable. The mystery aspects of the novel were really intriguing and kept me guessing throughout.

I'm a huge fan of Glenda Young's historical sagas set in Ryhope and Glenda shows that's she's not a one trick pony by changing location and genre in her debut cosy crime mystery set in Scarborough. Murder at the Seaview Hotel is the first in a new series starring hotel owner Helen Dexter and what a fantastic start it is.

Firstly, I have to say that the location alone is breathtaking to behold through Glenda Young's vivid and descriptive writing. I felt as if I was there, walking along the promenade with a bag of chips in my hand and seagulls gliding overhead. I could really tell that Scarborough is a place close to Glenda's heart and her love for the seaside town shines through every beautifully written word.

Murder at the Seaview Hotel has a bit of everything in its outstanding plot: murder, dastardly underhand dealings, grief, friendships and mystery but above all, it's a great fun and entertaining read. It's like a soap opera in a book with a Mrs. Bucket-like character running the hotel next door to Helen, a dozen Elvis impersonators ingeniously named Twelvis and a hotel chain determined to get their hands on Helen's hotel by fair means or foul... with the emphasis on foul.

Hugely entertaining, Murder at the Seaview Hotel is a fantastic murder mystery and an absolutely wonderful start to a new series. With a sprinkling of humour, Glenda Young writes with such warmth and vivacity that Murder at the Seaview Hotel is an absolute delight to read. An easy five stars from me and I can't wait for the next one!

I chose to read a digital ARC from NetGalley and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

After the death of her beloved husband Tom, Helen is not sure that she can run the Seaview Hotel alone. Her hand is forced when an Elvis tribute act, with the wonderful name of Twelvis, contact her desperate for somewhere to stay. The resulting story is full of humourous twists. An entertaining read,

I really enjoyed this book. It was a great storyline with excellent characters. I would highly recommend this book as it was a great read.

Helen is the owner of the Seaview Hotel in Scarborough, her husband Tom has recently passed away and she is pondering whether it is time to sell the hotel and move on or keep it open.
After receiving an interesting offer to sell, she makes the quick decision to not sell after she gets a booking. This will lead to a series of mysterious events, including a murder!

Absolutely love reading this book, very well written and heartwarming. Impossible not to be fond of Helen and to root for her to be happy.

4.5 Stars

Talented saga writer Glenda Young adds another feather to her cap with a fun, quirky and addictive new cosy mystery featuring our new favourite amateur sleuth Helen Dexter: Murder at the Seaview Hotel.

Helen Dexter is at a crossroads in her life. Having just buried her husband Tom, she is busy contemplating the future and wondering whether she should stick around in Scarborough and run The Seaview Hotel single-handedly or else sell up. With a hotel chain developer piling on the pressure to get her to sell, Helen thinks she should pack her bags and start over somewhere new where she isn’t haunted by memories of the past – until she gets a booking from an Elvis troupe called Twelvis that convinces her to stay put. Tom loved Elvis and was a huge fan, so this is surely a sign that her future is right here at The Seaview Hotel. However, as mysterious events start to unfold, poor Helen wonders whether she had been too hasty in deciding to stick around!

As accidents start happening all around her, it seems the property developer is not about to throw in the towel just yet. Helen finds herself having to watch her step and her back – especially when a member of the Twelvis troupe goes missing! Could the developer have something to do with this disappearance? When a body is fished out from the lake without his blue suede shoes, Helen realises that she needs to don her sleuthing hat and start investigating. She’s lost enough already – she’s not about to lose the hotel as well. With her trusty greyhound Suki by her side, Helen vows to get to the bottom of this case and unmask the killer – before another body is found!

Can Helen solve this mystery? Or does a permanent stay at the Heartbreak Hotel look imminent?

Having enjoyed many of Glenda Young’s historical sagas and as a cosy crime fan, my expectations for Murder at the Seaview Hotel were very high – and I was not disappointed. A delightful cosy mystery sprinkled with plenty of fun, laughter, hi-jinks, twists and turns and red herrings, Murder at the Seaview Hotel will certainly not be the only Helen Dexter I’ll ever read!

Helen is a terrific character. She is kind, inquisitive, meticulous and somebody it is an absolute joy to spend time with. Her and Suki are a terrific double act and Scarborough is such a beautifully setting, readers feels as if they are breathing in the fresh sea air alongside the two of them.

Guaranteed to keep readers engrossed from beginning to end, Glenda Young’s Murder at the Seaview Hotel is an enjoyable mystery not to be missed.

This very cosy crime mystery is a departure from author Glenda Young's highly successful sagas. Like them, it is set in north-east England, in Scarborough, and the author sets the scene well with atmospheric descriptions of the holiday town and its seaside hotels. Despite its cosy crime theme, this is very much a character driven story, with Seaview Hotel owner and reluctant amateur detective Helen Dexter still dealing with her grief at the loss of her husband. Her story is complemented by those of a host of interesting, often colourful characters, including the twelve Elvis impersonators who arrive to stay - one of whom who ends up dead. The ensuing mystery carries the plot along as Helen's journey through despair to acceptance of her widowhood is made more bearable by the distraction of trying to solve the murder. Humorous and intriguing, but it's the emotions that make this story work so well.

After the death of her husband Tom, Helen Dexter is contemplating her future as the now-sole proprietor of the Seaview Hotel. There's an offer from a hotel chain developer to consider, but also a booking from a group of twelve Elvis impersonators, a singing troupe called Twelvis. Tom loved Elvis and for Helen this is a sign that she should stay. But the series of mysterious events which follow, suggests that the developer is not going to give up easily. Then, shortly after Twelvis arrive, one of the group disappears. His body is found floating in Peasholm Park lake, with his blue suede shoes missing. With the reputation of the Seaview on the line, Helen isn't going to wait for the murderer to strike again. With her trusty greyhound Suki by her side, she decides to find out more about her guests and who wanted to make sure this Elvis never sang again.
A new author to me & a new series. A well written book that had lovely characters with plenty of depth & a story that flows well. I loved the mix of emotions from laughing to crying. I loved Helen who was still coming to terms with Tom’s death from cancer & now she had to decide if she could continue to run the b & b. I loved her resolve & backbone, nothing like a strong Yorkshire lass. I also loved the support she received from her three besties & also Jean & Sally. The Twelvis were a hoot & I hope they are back from the cruise in future books. The location was so well described & it made me want to go to Scarborough again. An engrossing read & I look forward to more in the series
My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read

The story is set in Scarborough and centres around Helen, who owns a seaside b&b. Still recovering from the death of her husband, her hotel closed, she receives a plea for accommodation from the member of an Elvis troupe Twelvis, as they are performing in seaside town and are struggling to find somewhere to stay. Helen agrees, despite initially being reluctant and receiving offers to buy the hotel from a hotel chain.

During the stay a member of the group goes missing and his body is found, it appears he has been murdered.

On top of this Helen is receiving bad reviews in order to pressure to sell her hotel.

This was an enjoyable cosy crime, though it felt to drag a bit in parts. Additionally, I felt that Helen seemed rather older than her years at times.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my review.

I enjoyed this; a grieving widow, a seaside hotel, an Elvis tribute act and some dodgy goings on. A lovely summer read with all the loose ends tied up, and the possibility of further mysteries?

The future of the Seaview Hotel in Scarborough is in the balance. Helen Dexter had run it for years with her husband Tom, but after he lost his fight with cancer, she is not convinced that she wants to carry on with it alone. It takes some aggressive attempts to buy the hotel from her, along with a fortuitous booking from twelve Elvis impersonators – Twelvis – to convince her that her future lies at the Seaview. Once that decision is made – that’s when the trouble really begins.

Someone is conducting a smear campaign against the hotel, trying to shut it down before it has barely reopened, and is willing to go to extreme lengths to succeed. The attempts to buy the hotel step up in their intensity – oh, and Twelvis is now one member short, as the most unpleasant of the Elvises, one with a history in Scarborough, is found strangled in his costume, with his blue suede shoes stolen…

This is Glenda Young’s first mystery novel, the first in a Seaview Hotel series. She has written five historical novels which look to be in the Catherine Cookson vein, so needless to say, I haven’t come across her work before. I’m always tempted to give a new crime fiction author a go, so when I saw this on Netgalley, I thought it sounded intriguing.

And it is intriguing, but I’m also somewhat torn about the book.

First of all, I loved the setting and the characters. Helen, who is the focus and the heart of the book, is a fully rounded character who you easily empathise with. I’ve never lost a partner – she’s not very good at hiding, I always find her – but I was convinced by what she was going through. Her support – both in the hotel and in her circle of friends – is also a nice mix if perhaps a little too big. The plot is promising too, with the various threats against the hotel and to Helen building up nicely. The ups and downs in Helen’s life, as she copes with grief, her friends’ problems and a possible new man in her life (thankfully not the police officer in charge of the case) make for an absorbing narrative – I was carrying around my kindle, reading chunks of the book whenever I had the chance, and I would happily read more of the series to see what happens to Helen, the hotel and the various cast members.

I’m also tempted to visit Scarborough, as the author clearly loves the town. It’s similar to how Julie Wassmer paints Whitstable in the Whitstable Pearl mysteries, and it certainly works well as an advert for the Scarborough Tourist Board (unlike, say, Stuart MacBride and Aberdeen…)

However hard-core puzzle mystery fans may be disappointed, as catching the killer resembles those final chapters of the oft-derided US cosy mysteries, namely heroine (or possibly hero, but it’s usually heroine) goes for a cup of coffee with the killer and the killer accidentally drops the bloody murder weapon from their pocket, at which point the heroine works out with a stunning leap of logic who the killer is, having had no idea when they went round for their coffee.

To be fair, Helen has narrowed down the suspects and has worked out the (rather odd) motive for the crime before the killer leaves some incriminating evidence lying around, evidence which, it should be said, seems to be in the killer’s possession purely to incriminate them. The killer is, I think, well hidden, but again, the seasoned mystery reader might well spot them – I did, but there weren’t that many viable suspects. I think also I would have liked some of the sub-mysteries to have been a little more linked, as there does seem to be a lot of coincidence that all of these things are happening at the same time.

All in all, though, I enjoyed this book a lot. I really like the characters, I like the idea of “Twelvis” and the book does well setting the scene for future outings for Helen and her coterie. I’ll definitely be giving book two a go.

Murder At The Seaview Hotel is out on Thursday 5th August in hardback and ebook from Headline.

I absolutely loved this book. Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for giving me an advanced copy. This is the first book from Glenda Young that I’ve read, and I literally can’t wait for her next in this series.

It’s definitely a cosy ‘who done it’. Helen owns Seaview Hotel in the seaside town of Scarborough and is just getting over the loss of her husband at a very young age. Re-opening the B & B after his death; she receives a series of unexpected threats and events which appear to be the workings of a multi-national company wanting to buy her hotel.

But after taking a booking of 12 Elvis impersonators one of them is murdered. Throughout the book your suspicions are aroused thinking it could be him or he could have done it.

The characters are likeable and humorous and supportive of Helen. I didn’t want to think Jimmy (number 1 Elvis) was involved in the murder, but he has a secret which makes you think it could be him. There was a little romance which I hopes blossoms in future books.

I found the convention entertaining especially after one of the Elvis has gone missing and Helen has to step up.

The book flowed and before I knew it the murder was solved and the book finished, with all the loose ends being nicely woven into the story.

A great read and highly recommended.

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. Now looking forward to the next book! Brilliant!

4.5 stars rounded up to 5

In the charming Yorkshire seaside town of Scarborough, a murder is nothing to sing about. After the death of her husband Tom, Helen Dexter is contemplating her future as the now-sole proprietor of the Seaview hotel. There's an offer from a hotel chain developer to consider, but also a booking from a group of twelve Elvis impersonators, a singing group called Twelvis. Tom loved Elvis and for Helen this is a sign that she should stay. But the series of mysterious events which follow, suggests that the developer is not going to give up easily.

Set in the beautiful seaside town of Scarborough, one of my favourite holiday locations. When one of the Elvis impersonators is found dead, we are taken on quite a journey to find out what had happened.

This is a cosy murder mystery filled with lots of lovely characters. This is an easy book to read. The pace is steady with a couple of sub-plots thrown into the mix. There's some humour as we learn of Helen's backstory. This looks like the start of a great new series.

I was gripped from the first page of this book, I didn’t know what to expect as I hadn’t read any of Glenda Young’s books. I believe that this is the first book based on current times,as Glenda normally writes books based on historical sagas.. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and look forward to reading many more books by this author.Its exceptionally well written. The story revolves around Helen and her guest house in Scarborough. I have to say that I would love to stay at her B&B as it sounds so homely,the food is delicious and her staff are the best.

I cannot rate this cosy mystery highly enough. Wonderful characters, beautiful setting and an excellent story.

Helen Dexter is recently widowed and she is struggling to decide if she should keep her charming Seaview Hotel or sell it. After taking a reservation from an Elvis tribute act she decides to reopen but it doesn't go smoothly when one of the Elvis impersonators is murdered. Helen wants to get to the bottom of it and find out exactly what happened.

There are some wonderful characters in this book, my personal favourite being Jean, Seaview's long standing cook. I particularly loved the fact that I really enjoyed Helen's character. Often I find cosy mysteries main character to be a pushy know it all, however Helen was funny, charming and graceful.

My favourite aspect of the book was the setting. I love Scarborough and have visited often, and the street names, pubs and other well known Scarborough settings brought back wonderful memories of a very special place. I really hope there will be more as it could be a real treasure of a series.

This slowly grew on me, I wasn't sure whether it would just be too predictable but actually there was a warmth to the characters which I liked. Enjoyed - thank you.

My thanks to Headline and NetGalley for a review copy of the book.

Murder at the Seaview Hotel is the first in a cosy mystery series set in Scarborough. We meet 48-year-old Helen Dexter who has just a few months ago lost her beloved husband Tom to cancer. After having spent a couple of months with her sister-in-law in Scotland, she has just returned to Scarborough and to the Seaview Hotel, a ten-room Bed and Breakfast she ran with Tom. Although Tom had made her promise she would continue the venture before he passed, Helen is having doubts and in fact considering whether she should sell and start life afresh. But almost as soon as she returns, she receives a phone call from a band of Elvis impersonators and performers, Twelvis, who are coming into town for a performance and wish to book rooms at the Seaview Hotel. Tom was a huge Elvis fan and even dressed as Elvis himself, throwing Elvis parties at the Hotel. Taking this as a sign, Helen accepts the booking, and calls her cook Jean (who will only serve full English breakfasts) and cleaning lady Sally back to work. Reopening the place and running it without Tom by her side is a difficult prospect but Helen prepares to face it.

But besides the call from Twelvis, Helen also receives a call from Bensons, a real estate agent with an offer to buy the property—but this is no ordinary offer, rather, the agent is browbeating, even threatening Helen into making a quick decision. Then, one of the Twelvis band, the most unsavoury of the lot, Brian (who is also a lech), makes her a similar offer on behalf of a ‘friend’. Helen is shaken by the nature of these offers but makes her refusal very clear. But while she wants to brush them off, things get worse when she gets a threat to her dog Suki in the mail, and then Suki is targeted as well. Also, negative reviews of the Hotel (all fake of course) are increasingly appearing online—clearly a bid to force Helen into selling. It looks like someone will stop at nothing to get their hands on the property.

Meanwhile on the day of the performance, one of the Elvises (not hard guessing which one) goes missing, and later is found dead in a lake—strangled, in fact. The police begin to investigate, but the murder is doing nothing to help the Hotel’s reputation which gets further hit, with people cancelling bookings.

Alongside, we also follow Helen’s personal life—meeting her friends, the glamorous Marie, who is married to a crook, Darran Clark, and Bev and Sue who have been acting rather strangely lately. Her staff Jean and Sally are warm and supportive, and Sally’s little daughter Gracie loves Helen very much as well. Also Elvis One, James ‘Jimmy’ Brown is taking an interest in Helen, and Helen herself likes him though finds it hard to cope with her feelings, given that she has only recently lost Tom.

This was a fun and pleasant read with likeable characters, a charming setting with some fun elements, and a fairly enjoyable mystery.

I took to Helen almost from the start, and enjoyed following her journey with the hotel and of course the mystery at hand. Her situation of living every day without Tom and learning to cope, and yet at the same time finding it difficult to move on was something I could relate to. On the other hand, while I liked her and rooted for her, there were some things she did which seemed rather foolish, like continuing to leave Suki the dog outside cafes unattended when she went in—even if it was just to order coffee, when Suki had been poisoned in just a similar scenario, why would she continue to do that? Also going in to face a possible murderer on her own wasn’t the most sensible thing either.

I enjoyed the Scarborough setting in the book—the author weaves in local sights and landmarks, the Grand Hotel and Peasholm Park among them, as also Anne Bronte’s grave, which gave one a great feel of the place; for those familiar with the town, this would be all the more enjoyable. The other background element of the story—the Elvis impersonators added a fun touch to the story—costumes and performances (of which Helen also finds herself a part), plus the Elvis jukebox and Elvis-themed parties that the Seaview used to have when Tom was there. A few more references to songs would have enhanced the background further.

The mystery element in the book I found to be quite enjoyable. While nothing extraordinary or out of the box, it gave us enough threads and possibilities to explore. The victim’s past, his dodgy connections, and also his own somewhat sleazy character. And there was enough of a surprise element in the solution.

I’ve written about Helen but not the other characters—them too I found quite interesting and likeable, each with their own story—since this is a first in series, there is plenty of detail. Marie, Bev and Sue, Helen’s friends each have issues in their lives, seem to have secrets as well, which we discover as we go on—but they are there for Helen as well. Her staff, Jean and Sally are warm and likeable—Jean’s fixed ideas on breakfast which Helen tries to change, and Sally’s life—her studies towards earning a business degree besides working and looking after her daughter are additional storylines we explore. Then there is also Jimmy’s story, which has complications of its own. Gav a jack of many trades who fixes among other things security cameras for Helen, and wants a constant flow of food as he works was also a fun character.

The book I thought was a great introductory one, giving one several elements and threads to look forward to. We have Helen’s plans to improve the hotel’s ratings, redecorate and do better with the business (which includes Jean expanding her menu); then there is her relationship with Jimmy. Also Marie reveals some plans at the end of the book, and I would love to see how they pan out. Then there are also Sally and Gav’s stories. And of course whatever mystery Helen finds herself thrown in the midst of next. This is a series which I am very much looking forward to following.

4 stars.