Saturday 4 March 2023

The Golden Spoon by Jessa Maxwell


Every summer for the past ten years, six awe-struck bakers have descended on the grounds of Grafton, the leafy and imposing Vermont estate that is not only the filming site for “Bake Week” but also the childhood home of the show’s famous host, celebrated baker Betsy Martin.

The author of numerous bestselling cookbooks and hailed as “America’s Grandmother,” Betsy Martin isn’t as warm off-screen as on, though no one needs to know that but her. She has always demanded perfection, and gotten it with a smile, but this year something is off. As the baking competition commences, things begin to go awry. At first, it’s merely sabotage—sugar replaced with salt, a burner turned to high—but when a body is discovered, everyone is a suspect.

A sharp and suspenseful thriller for mystery buffs and avid bakers alike, The Golden Spoon is a brilliant puzzle filled with shocking twists and turns that will keep you reading late into the night until you turn the very last page of this incredible debut.

Mixed review! We were probably due one.

I like GBBO. I'm not watching it every week, but it's fun. I like murder mysteries. So this should be a slam dunk, right?

Right...except, for my tastes, it's painfully slow. At 50% in, nothing has happened except that someone's ingredients have been mixed up. The rest of the story goes just as slowly, except for the resolution, which speeds past very very quickly.

If you're in the mood for a slow, gentle story, this is probably the one for you. The descriptions are great, and the characters stand apart from each other. I enjoyed reading about the strange and crazy foods the bakers made, and the way each of them figured into the resolution was clever. It was just too slow for me, I'm afraid.



The Golden Spoon publishes on the 7th March, 2023 in the US, and on the 12th October, 2023 in the UK. I received a free copy and am giving an honest review.

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