This was a pretty decent mystery with vibes like White Lotus meets Great British Bake Off. 6 contestants converge on the family estate where the baking competition “Bake Week”, hosted and judged by famed Baker Betsy Martin, is filmed. All have different motives and styles but are any of them murderers? That’s the question when a dead body turns up. This book was almost comforting in its predictability. Even tho I guessed much of the story I still enjoyed reading from all the different points of view. The ending was a bit rushed and convoluted. Extra time was spent on unnecessary epilogues when it should have been spent expanding on the resolution itself. Still, I really enjoyed reading it!

Great British Bakeoff Murder Mystery? 

Yeah, it's as good as it sounds.

It's got all the baking drama you'd hope for as well as some fun, complex characters. The book starts off with a murder and we are then thrown back to when the competition started to meet our 6 bakers and the two hosts. As we follow them through their bakes, we slowly get details on their backstories as well as the history of the Vermont manor and what led up to the murder.

This is exactly what you want a cozy mystery to be. It starts off with a bang and then gives you all the clues to solve the crime. The pacing is great, especially if you've binged Great British Bakeoff - it has all the right beats. It's more on the fun side than the heavy mystery side but that makes it the perfect beach read.

Thanks to Atria Books for gifted access via Netgalley. All opinions above are my own.

I love a good murder mystery. I’ve never been into baking competition shows, but I was intrigued as soon as I read the synopsis. I really enjoyed the different narrators. The alternating POVs really made the competition come to life.

“Bake Week” has started filming it’s 10th season at Betsy Martin’s crumbling mansion in Vermont. But within a day, a contestant has been murdered, bakes are being sabotaged and no one knows what to expect next.

I’ll admit it, I’m a sucker for books around baking, especially when it’s “British Baking Show” themed. Combine that with a murder mystery and this is basically the perfect book for me. There are twists, turns, and descriptions of delicious baked good.

I’m trying to think of something that frustrated me and I’m really coming up short. The multiple POVs did throw me off at first, but I quickly got use to it and flew through the book.

I recommend this book for fans of mysteries and baking shows.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for accepting my request to read and review The Golden Spoon.

Published: 03/07/23

Disappointing. I found this to be a cross between a creative writing assignment and a poorly constructed attempt at writing a book.

The author chose the success of baking reality shows as the background for her story. Unfortunately the execution was awkward and often I found it embarrassing.

There was an area I wish she would have explored more intimately and in a less dramatic fashion, and that was the recipes. A missed opportunity not using them as a gold mine of a story either in a cozy fashion or mystery fashion. There was too much time spent on the contestants and not enough on the story.

Jessa Maxwell’s debut novel has all of the ingredients for an excellent novel:
🥄 An opening chapter that pulls you in
🥄 A mystery that will please both fans of cozy mysteries and their darker counterparts
🥄 Distinct, realistic characters that you’re almost sure were on a previous season of Bake Off
🥄 A setting that will make you want to hop on the next train to an upstate mansion
🥄 Multiple storylines that come together seamlessly in a satisfying conclusion
🥄 Descriptions of baked goods that will have you raiding your kitchen

Mix all of these together and you have a fun and unique mystery that you’ll down in one sitting. I loved this book and can’t wait to see what Maxwell comes up with next!

The Golden Spoon is out now. Thank you to NetGalley and Atria for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book, advertised as a mystery/thriller but more of a cozy mystery, differs from how I prefer my mysteries and thrillers. 
It had a slow start and a hasty conclusion.  The premise needed work in several areas, and the 'mystery' was crystal clear. It is too bad because this was an excellent concept for a book, and perhaps if Maxwell writes a sequel, it will be a little more mysterious. I am a massive fan of GBBO, and I loved how the writer got into the mind of each contestant. They need a little more fleshing out. I wish The Golden Spoon had been a little less unpredictable; however, this was a great idea and effort for a debut.

I loved this book. Part of the appeal to me is that I've watched The Great British Bake Off and recognized many of the similarities. Each chapter is told by a different character who is a contestant on the Bake Week show. Besides getting to know each of these people, we also meet the hostess, Betsy Martin, whose home, a Vermont mansion, is where the contestants stay when they're not baking in the tent. The novel opens with the murder, but it's not revealed who has been killed. 

As contestants are eliminated, it seems someone is tampering with the kitchen, switching the sugar with the salt, lowering the oven's temperature, etc. Is this the killer? The reader doesn't find out until other mysteries are solved. One of the subplots involve Lottie, a contestant who grew up with Betsy and is at the contest for the hidden reason of finding out what happened to her mother who worked as a cook at the mansion and disappeared when she was a young girl. 

This reads like an Agatha Christie mystery, and I would consider it a cozy culinary mystery, although there aren't recipes. This is the author's first book, and it's a winner. Don't miss it. Lots of fun and several twists round out this charming tale.

Six amateur bakers arrive at the exclusive Grafton Manor to compete for the Golden Spoon on the popular reality show “Bake Week”. The beloved host, Betsy Martin, lives at and owns Grafton Manor and needs the show to succeed in order to keep the manor running. But things don’t go as planned as filming begins, and what starts as minor mistakes soon ends in someone dying. Was it and accident or is there a murderer among the contestants? I think I could have loved this book if it was a little longer with a bit more character development. It was a very fun read, especially for someone who likes reality cooking/baking shows, it just felt a little lacking in the end.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my early reader copy.

I wasn't sure if I would like this novel, but surprisingly I totally enjoyed it - it wasn't at all what I expected.

Instead of a cozy mystery or take on reality TV, it's a sweet dive into various characters and personalities. I really enjoyed "meeting" Gerald, Stella, Peter, Pradyumna, Hannah and Lottie.

And, although I'm not a baker, I also liked reading about the pleasure folks find in the baking process.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster and to NetGalley for the opportunity to read The Golden Spoon! I am eager to check out Ms. Maxwell's next book when she writes it.

Every summer for the past ten years, bakers come to a Vermont estate for filming a hit television show with the famous host and estate owner Betsy Martin. This year, something is off with the competition as things start to go awry on the set. Suddenly, a body is discovered in this locked room mystery.

I read this book in a day and I absolutely loved it. As domestic thrillers go, it felt like Agatha Christie meets the Great British Baking Show. There is more than meets the eye with this cozy mystery and I loved every minute. As you get to know each character, the story becomes that much better they are equal parts delightful, hilarious, and suspicious.

3.5⭐️

The contestants on this season’s <i>Bake Week</b> arrive at Grafton manor ready to compete for the coveted Golden Spoon. The long running host and owner of Grafton, Betsy, must adjust to sharing the spotlight with her new cohost, Archie. Strange things begin to happen in the tent, including a contestant’s sugar being swapped with salt and a refrigerator door being left open. Each contestant has a reason for being on the show, and when someone ends up dead, everyone is a suspect.

This was a fun, cozy murder mystery that really does make you suspect everyone. I also liked that the POV for each chapter was one of the different contestants and it helped to get to know them (and their potential motives!) better.

Ok, this book is such a fun romp with a mystery interwoven. I really liked it and thought it was well written and researched (I have a big baking hobby). HOWEVER, I do take issue with the cover. The cover does not match the story at all. I asked several people what they think the book would be about based on the cover and got answers like "english countryside, aristocracy, old england, etc." I know there isn't much to be done about it now but maybe consider a change for the paperback.

A cozy mystery that envelopes you in characters! So fun when it all comes crashing together at the finale.

Great read. Engaging and interesting story throughout. Really enjoyed it. Thanks NetGalley for the great read.

I wanted to like this book more than I actually did. I wish there was better food descriptions. I live for a good murder mystery with incredible food descriptions. This just wasn't it unfortunately.

This mystery book is really all about the setting and food descriptions! As a fan of the Great British Bake Off, I could not resist it’s fun premise. I enjoyed the quick chapters and short length. Perfect fun read for a vacation or airplane flight!
(Plus, The Golden Spoon would be a great book to gift for a mystery lover with a fun kitchen utensil or item!)

This was a classic whodunnit. It was a good read, albeit a little slow to start. The twist was excellent

This was such a fun book to read, even if you've never seen the British baking show or like to bake yourself. There were many twists and turns and the characters were so eccentric. I will definitely read this author again.

This book was everything I hoped it would be! I did love the baking show setting, and I really enjoyed the nuanced characters. Well done, and I'll be looking for more of Jessa Maxwell's work.