I have been on and off with this one for a month, but am amazed by its whodunit puzzles! It is such a fun, old-fashioned mystery that many of you will love. It reminded me of the game Clue and even Agatha Christie would have loved this one in this locked-room mystery. It has a lot of twists and is rather fun to unravel it. With six bakers competing in Bake Week in the mountains of Vermont at the eerie Grafton Manor and hosted by the owner Betsy. It starts off luring you into a horrible scene so then you have to know what the crime will be.

The competition goes deeper than the prize! I love to bake so the details of the baking was a delight, but the inside scoop from all of the bakers' minds is intriguing and you know the challenge is going to be brutal. We have contestants from all walks of life each with a hidden agenda: a millionaire, an elderly lady, a young naive girl, a teacher, a constructionist and an inexperienced baker. When someone is sabotaging their ingredients, the competition goes up a notch or two. A fun one to dissect or cookup 😂
Congratulations on a fabulous debut!
Thank you NetGalley & Atria Books, Simon & Schuster Canada for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Betsey Martin was raised in luxury, a grand estate, a cook, and the cook's daughter. The one thing Betsey doesn't have is loving parents, but she perseveres and becomes the nation's grandmother, in her role as the top selling cookbook author, with her own version of the Great British Bakeoff, on Flixer. This is not a comedy, it is a murder mystery, being the first book by this author, I am impressed, I love the show mimicked here, the contestants are not to my liking, but the worst problem is the Rule of Law, which Agatha Christie, and her famous Hercules Poirot believes strongly in, as do I. This is why I am giving it 3.5 Stars, instead of 4.5, the writing is excellent, the characters believable. The problem is today's society is failing in upholding our Rule of Law, and it benefits no one, neither do the murderer in the book.
I recommend. Thank you, #Netgalley #Atria
carolintallahassee

This book was like a perfect mix of a cozy baking competition and some light murder. What's not to love?

The book opens up with a murder - but whose, you don't know. Then we flash back to the beginning and meet all of our key players: Betsy Martin, the creator of the show, Archie Morris, her new co-host, and the 6 bakers. The story is told through seven POVs - which made it a clue-like vibe as you are trying to figure out who each character is and what their possible motive may be. A sort of maddening start but that is help by a contestant dossier in the beginning of the book.

As the book takes you through the first 3 days of the baking competition, you get to learn the contestants, their style of baking, and their motivation to be here. As much as the show wants you to believe, not all of the contestants are lovable. You gotta admit that even while watching GBBO, there is always one or two people you kinda hate. You know I'm right. And as it is with every mystery, we get some murder. I had a great time trying to figure out who exactly got killed and who the culprit was. I loved the fact that this book didn't take itself too seriously and I honestly had a great time all around.

Read this if you love:
-baking competitions
-old family secrets
-found family vibes
-some light murder
-large cast of characters

This was Jessa Maxwell's debut novel and I can't wait to see what she writes next! Maybe a recipe book for all the baking that was done in this one? Because I need it!!!

If you are a fan of The Great British Bake Off, you will likely love this book! The Golden Spoon is a locked room mystery set on this Vermont manor where an American baking show is filmed. It has lots of interesting characters with great back stories. My only problem was that I completely figured out the mystery even the “twist” was fairly obvious to me. But, overall it was an enjoyable mystery.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author, for an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
"The Golden Spoon" was a great debut novel by Jessa Maxwell.
I enjoy watching reality tv shows & reading murder mysteries so this book was perfect for me.
It was an addictive & well written story.
I liked how the author told the story using multiple point of views per chapter & I found the ending an unexpected surprise.
I will definitely be on the lookout for Ms. Maxwell's next book.

The Golden Spoon is a great recipe for success - equal parts Food Network cooking show meets Dateline special, this story blends a locked door mystery feel with the behind the scenes look at a baking competition.
I really enjoyed the multiple POVs per chapter as the story unfolded - it added an element to the story by not fully revealing where each person is during large events and gives you the opportunity as a reader to learn the backstory of each character along the way.
I gave this book a 4 star rating only because the pace was a little weird - there are seemingly small incidents going on until all of a sudden there’s one huge one. Besides that, I overall loved the book and will recommend to all my food junkie crime readers!

When I read the synopsis for this book—a baking show gone awry and a dead body, I was immediately interested! I absolutely love baking shows and Clue so I was so excited for this one and it did not disappoint. I was thinking this book was more of a thriller, but seemed to be similar to a cozy mystery (which I’m a fan of). The story was easy to follow, the characters were mostly likable (isn’t that the norm for characters in mysteries?!), and the writing was great. Overall, a great story!

I like cooking shows, so I was excited to read the premise of this one. Unfortunately, the "mysteries" just never pulled me in enough. I felt like it was a relatively mindless read with forgettable characters, and a big bow ending that was just too neat and tidy.

People who aren't looking for much substance will probably enjoy this, but it was just too flat for me.

Overall: 3 stars

I'll tell my students about: language, sabotage, alcohol, trauma, affairs, sex scenes, murder

**Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the free ARC prior to publication. All opinions expressed are my own.**

I devoured this delicious read! It proved to be a lighter murder mystery, which was perfect to indulge in whenever I could spare a few minutes. I enjoyed the multiple viewpoints and quick chapters. The characters were unique and sparked curiosity as the reader. This book at the perfect amount of mystery and depth without being too dark or heavy. I loved it!

This is the kind of mystery that will appeal to readers who love to puzzle things out along the way. I wouldn't call it a cozy, but I think it will have appeal to cozy mystery readers who are looking for something with a little more edge to it. The book is centered on a long-running hit reality tv series where six bakers are invited to compete for the Golden Spoon trophy, by "America's Grandmother," Betsy Martin. It all takes place on Betsy's ancestral grand estate (complete with false closet walls and hidden staircases). When a grisly murder takes place early in the competition, all six bakers fear for their lives. Told in alternating points of view by the contestants and others, this book will definitely keep readers interest.

I am a sucker for anything resembling the Great British Bake Off, and so this synopsis had me hooked. Add in a murder mystery plot and YES, I am in.

This was a multi-POV story which I really love. Hearing from the various participants, both likable and unlikeable, made the plot even more intriguing.

Keep in mind this is a cozy mystery- a little more light and breezy than your typical thriller.

This hit Baking Competition Show has a secret ingredient..murder!

I absolutely loved this whodunit. I couldn’t put it down and loved everything minute of it! Thank you to whoever recommended this to me. It is my top pick for 2023 so far.

Bake Week is beginning filming its tenth season at the gothic mansion owned by host and celebrity chef Betsy Martin. Six contestants will compete showcasing their skills over the course of five days. Betsy can’t stand sharing the spotlight with the arrogant, entitled Archie Morris. As the competition begins, things keep going wrong. Contestants ingredients are being sabotaged, a burner is left on too long. However, when a body is found everyone is a suspect.

The Golden Spoon is available March 7, 2023.

Thank you netgalley and atria books for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

This has everything you want a cooking show, a mystery and a spooky mansion. This was so perfect. I ate this book up. I could not take a break I had to keep reading it was so addictive. I bet that this is going to be a contender for the best book of the year. Loved it!!
I just reviewed The Golden Spoon by Jessa Maxwell. #TheGoldenSpoon #NetGalley
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Betsy, a celebrity baker, hosts a tv competition at her estate every year. This time though, she is joined by a co-host, Archie, who she isn’t a fan of. Small things start going wrong and then a body is found.

Featuring 2 hosts, 6 contestants and various crew there’s definitely a lot of suspects in this one! I’d definitely categorize it as a cozy mystery. It wasn’t suspenseful but was intriguing. The characters were interesting and unique. There was a lot of baking talk so it may not be interesting to people not as familiar with it.

Every year six amateur bakers gather on the grounds of Grafton Manor to film the fan-favorite show Bake Week while competing for the coveted Golden Spoon. Famed baker Betsy Grafton has been hosting the show since the beginning. Despite being known as "America's Grandmother" to the outside world, Betsy is cold, calculating, and precise in everything she does. So is comes as a shock, when the producers of Bake Week decide to stick her with a co-host for the upcoming tenth season. And not just any co-host, but Archie Morris - a younger, hipper, award-wining baker who also has hosting experience on the show Cutting Board.

Regardless with how the season is shaping up, Betsy needs the income from Bake Week to keep Grafton Manor - her family's legacy - afloat. So this time around, Betsy welcomes Stella - a former journalist who picked up baking after quitting her job; Lottie - the oldest contestant of the group who has always loved baking; Pradyumna - who became a millionaire after selling an app and now becomes invested in various hobbies; Gerald - a math teacher who expects to win with his precise recipes; Peter - who works in construction and love baking for his family; and Hannah - the youngest contestant this season who hopes to make her day-job as a server into a full-time life as a baker.

All come to the tent with a love of baking, but each also has their own secrets, and someone will wind up dead.

For me, The Golden Spoon really captures what I want out of my behind-the-scenes look at a popular baking competition. Not necessarily the murder aspect mind you, but we get a lot of the thoughts of the bakers and their prep, where they're coming from in regards to how baking has insinuated itself within their lives. The anxiety and the rush of doing something that you love, that you know you're good at in front of millions of viewers.

Then we add in the mystery which I think Jessa Maxwell does to perfect effect. The story kind of starts off at the end, so the most of the book is building up to how we get to those opening moments. We don't know who is murdered (although it's not difficult to figure out) and we definitely don't know who committed the crime. Everyone is a suspect, but it also stands that everyone could be the victim as well. I found this an interesting path to take. Also, there's the history aspect of Grafton Manor. Being Betsy's family for generations as well as the hosting location of Bake Week, there are plenty of skeletons in the closet so to speak.

I thought that the story moved along at a good clip. It is sectioned off into baking days and then further from each contestant's point of view which offers an in-depth views into what has brought each contestant to the tent, and also their potential motivations. I was invested in these characters and figuring out how things were going to go down.

I will say that while I feel like we do get a satisfying ending, I'm not sure the build up pays off in the end. I kind of wish there was a different twist.

Regardless, I'm interested to see where Jessa Maxwell goes with her next book. I would have no reservations about picking it up.

This book was a fun to read and a great author alto I b never read this author before.

I was driven to find out what this book was about. It held my attention throughout the book. It was very well written. I didn't think I would like it, but I did like it alot.

Thank you net galley .

The Great British Baking show meets murder mystery. This book was such a quick, fun, and cozy read. I definitely enjoyed it! I especially enjoyed the multiple perspectives. While it felt a little confusing to follow in the beginning (I had to keep going back to the characters page at first) once I really got into it, the narrative flowed easily. I especially loved the ending and how the author maybe even left room open for more?
Full review will be posted soon on @theboookish.type Instagram

If you love baking competitions and cozy mysteries, this is the book for you!

Every year for the last ten years, Betsy Martin has invited bakers to her estate for a baking competition. She envisions something less cutthroat than most cooking and baking shows on television for her show, but this year, the network has thrust a co-host, Archie, on her, who hosts one of those cutthroat shows. The six contestants are all home bakers, and the Golden Spoon competition ensures that one of them will go home with a contract for a cookbook and great national exposure. Betsy gets something, too - enough money to keep her estate afloat for the next year.

At first, everything goes well, but when it is time to taste the breads on Day 1, we find out that one contestant used salt instead of sugar (was it an accident, or did someone switch his canisters?). On Day 2, one contestant's fruit filling for her pie is burnt because a burner was turned up all the way, and another contestant realizes his orange extract that he brought from home has been switched out for gasoline. Someone isn't playing fair. Then on Day 3, someone finds a dead body, and everyone is a suspect.

Each chapter is narrated by a different person, from the contestants to the hosts, and this provides a fuller picture of what's going on that you would have with just one narrator. The descriptions of the bakes will make your mouth water; I hope the finished book includes recipes!

This mystery is fun to read, but also deals with some serious topics. There is mention of sexual assault, child abandonment, and panic attacks. However, the book also focuses on friendship and coming together when hardship hits, and the ending is just wonderful.

Thanks to Netgalley for the advance copy of this book.

A debut scrumptious mystery by a new author with a diverse selection of contestants at an annual bake off. The premise grabbed me immediately, I love all the TV cooking shows. I haven’t read anything like it before and it was everything you’d want in a good murder mystery.
Betsy Martin is the famed baker and host of the event in Vermont at Grafton Manor, her childhood home. It’s in need of repairs but still so wonderfully described estate, I’d kill to visit and stay there. The chapters alternately follow the six bakers invited to the popular event. There are quite a few people in the story but it flows well and they’re individually distinct and interesting. Their ages, personalities and reasons for being there are all very different.
Betsy has to share the spotlight with a new co-host, Archie. She is angry, frightened and threatened by his arrogant presence. The contestants are strangers, some have years of experience, some are novice, some need to win, some don’t care, some are already wealthy, some will do anything to win, all of them have secrets.
The plot of the story will keep you reading into the night. It kept me guessing and entertained trying to figure out who the murderer was. Highly recommend and will watch for more from this author.
The digital advance reader copy of “The Golden Spoon” by Jessa Maxwell published by Atria books, Simon & Schuster, was provided to me by NetGalley. These are all my own honest personal thoughts and opinions given voluntarily without compensation. Anticipated publication date is March 7, 2023.

I don't watch many competition shows on TV, but I am always fascinated by how they are put together. This tale of a baking show gone horribly wrong balances juicy behind-the-scenes details with diabolical shenanigans. Told in alternating perspectives by the contestants and hosts, who are only sometimes reliable, the plot will keep you engaged to the end. Everything wraps up perhaps a little too tidily, but like any good recipe, it's satisfying til the end.