Chris
Not sure if I will become a big fan of "Cosy Crime mysteries " but it was an easy read and the characters were well described and mostly believable. The plot was a bit slow to develop and the police procedures seemed to be questionable but overall it was an enjoyable read. I will give it a 6

Carolyn
This would be a good holiday read if you wanted something light and easy. There was a lot about food in it especially cake. I don't mind reading about cake but not so much. I liked it being set in Scarborough, I have been there. I quite enjoyed and give it 5.

Cat
When I first started reading this book, I thought oh wow, she needs to read Hope Nicely's rule of 'show don't tell'. I thought it was going to be a painful read. However, even though the writing was stilted and generally cliched, I actually really enjoyed it. It was like comfort food. The plot was not remotely believable, but definately wasn't meant to be and it was actually quite gripping. The characters were fun and colourful. They were all so odd I felt like any of them could have been the killer so that kept the suspense going! I was mildly annoyed by the description of Jean the cook. I liked her as a character but describing Northerners as 'down to earth' is just boring. Also, the writer making a big deal out of veganism was also pretty silly. It's 2022 I think we're quite used to the idea of vegan sausages now. Overall though a lovely bit of escapism and has made me want to go to the library and get some more light-hearted murder mysteries. 6/10.

Ffion
As I continued to read I hoped that the story would move faster, but it continued to move at such a slow pace for me. There were many likeable characters from Helen to a few of the actors, but for me this didn’t save the book.
I’d give it a 4 out of 10.

Eve
I may be labelled as shallow but I did really enjoy this book. The author was not trying to prove how much cleverer she was than me, she simply told an entertaining story. The characters were easy to like or dislike and the story easy to follow. From the first chapter I was encouraged to read on and did not once feel like giving up. I understand that this is one of a series and would certainly be encouraged to read more by Glenda Young. Setting the series in a hotel seems to be a good idea as there would be a variety of characters and situations acted out there. I would assume that the relationship between the hotel owner Helen Dexter and the local policeman is an ongoing story and this works well.
I would give this book a score of 9 plus 1 for not killing the dog - a total of 10.

Arleen
I found this an easy book to read and an enjoyable one. There was a lot of twists and turns and something going on all the time.

The theatre group that was staying in this hotel took over the whole area and used the lounge to rehearse in. The owner of the hotel was called Helen and the director used her as prompter for the Actor's. The star of the show was what I would call a diva. Not an easy sort of lady to get along with. There was twist and turns in the plot after she was killed. Who killed her? There were a few Actor's in the frame with love and love triangles going on. Poor Helen so wanted to to have her hotel to become 4star rating but with all the problems of the police, and reporters that are camped outside she felt the 4 stars were not going to be hers.
There was also a lot of laughter and internal fighting. It was such a good book to read and I will give it a 8/10

Selina
I found this book very lighthearted, compared to my usual tastes. I could not really engage with the story or the characters and found the landlady, Helen, quite irritating, interfering and ‘nosey’. I was very impressed that the Cook managed to make all those breakfasts single handedly and still had time to bake wonderfully iced cakes and so forth all before coffee time! The woman was a marvel! It was readable enough, definitely not a page turner. Had I picked it up as a holiday read (and I’m guessing that’s the kind of market it’s aimed at) I’d have happily flicked through it, but not really cared if I’d not had time to finish it. Easily read and easily forgotten and would not tempt me to read more in the same series. Harmless, frothy, predictable and a bit silly. Characters more like caricatures. Taylor Caffrey with his ‘anyhoo’ and Gav with his ‘Missus” were particularly grating and seemed to belong to another era. One bit made me laugh out loud - Helen was walking Suki and the author mentioned that Helen was walking so fast that Suki was having difficulty keeping up….IT’S A GREYHOUND for goodness sake! Out of 10, 4 from me. I like something with a bit more depth.

Mabe
I thought it an enjoyable read all the characters were varied and interesting, the plot kept me guessing till the end and I got it wrong!
It was nice to read a straight forward story a perfect read for me .
Score. 8

Yvonne
As described on the cover this was a cosy club mystery. It was easy to read with an eclectic mix of characters.I enjoyed reading it but found very little mystery and intrigue.It was slow moving in parts. Nevertheless, I read it all!.
I give it a 7.

Rachel
I wasn't a fan of this book. I felt the characters were all a bit flat, and many seemed to be stereotypes rather than fleshed out people. I didn't really care for the main character, who I found annoying, patronising and hypocritical. Do most hotel owners even care if a guest brings someone back to their room?

A lot of the minor details also seemed very silly, like Carmen having an obsession with men with increasingly large moustaches, Paul having a mother and aunty who stalked him from a distance wherever he went, a policeman who was constantly mixing up the name of celebrities e.g Carmen Delray and Carmen Miranda, and emotional turmoil over whether someone can cook pancakes.

A major conflict in the novel, that in the relationship between Helen and Jimmy, hinges on failure to communicate, which is always frustrating to read. It's also quite a slow read, as the murder doesn't take place until over a third of the way through the book. Helen's decision not to listen to Jimmy, and his to be deliberately elusive, is almost as annoying as Helen's decision to withhold information from the police because she 'doesn't like to pry'.

I also found the constant description of clothing to be a bit tedious, and rolled my eyes at the suggestion that women who wear jeans and a t- shirt are dowdy.

The numerous romantic relationships were equally boring, and I found Helen and Jimmy being wrapped together by Suki's lead saccharine. 3/10

Helen
I found this book to be an easy read. I wanted to find out whodunnit and enjoyed the descriptions of Scarborough. The plot was undemanding, the characters were uncomplicated and the story followed a pretty predictable direction. I’m glad Suki saved the day. I wouldn't say that this book was thought-provoking, but I don’t think it intended to be, and overall I enjoyed the story. I would say the book cover describes this well as ‘cosy crime’ and would give it 6/1

Sonia
I could not get engaged with this book, the story or the characters, at all sadly. I could not work out in which era it was set as it seemed to me to be written in the fifties although of course it was 2022. The cliches and obvious set ups and denouements were too much for me so, although I finished it, none of it registered and I can only give it 3 out of 10.

Average score 6.5 out of 10