Murder at the Seaview Hotel: A murderer comes to Scarborough in this charming cosy crime mystery

Picked up this book to have a quick read for the evening before a trip away. 3 days later, I finished it (which is quick for me). The author has my sense of humour and had me laughing out loud. If somebody doesn't make a great British 'who dunnit' comedy of this story, it would be a great shame.

Cozy-style murder mysteries aren’t something I’ve ever read, even as little a time as a month ago, but it’s about the only genre I can read at the moment. I’m eating them up like there’s no tomorrow. I used to love Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple, Jonathan Creek, Rosemary and Thyme, Murder She Wrote… you get it, there’s a really long list when you start thinking… So, back to Murder at the Seaview Hotel by Glenda Young. Two things about it grabbed me. First, it’s set in Scarborough, which is one of my favourite places in the world and second, it features a rescue greyhound called Suki. The writer definitely has similar tastes. And in fact, my only niggle about the entire book is that even after conferring with my husband, we cannot work out how the Seaview Hotel is supposed to fit into the landscape with the descriptions given. Artistic license, perhaps? It’s a very contemporary piece, compared with Miss Marple, say, but not at the lightweight end of cozy mysteries, which allowed more room for character development. I made the connection with who the murderer probably was but that was later on in the book, with plenty of detail and ideas to distract me in the meantime. There weren’t a huge number of twists, turns and red herrings, in my opinion, but I liked it better for that as I could sink into the narrative and laugh at the Elvises, Suki’s obsession with shoes and find real empathy for Helen who’d floundered after losing her husband, and loving her support crew for being realistic and with their own issues. I can't wait for book 2 to come out. I am voluntarily leaving this review after receiving an ARC from Headline Books on Netgalley.

very enjoyable, a gentle read ideal bedtime reading