Wow, this was fun! Full disclosure, I’m a fan of the Great British Bake Off so I was invested in the story and characters from the start. I wanted to know who was baking what and who was being eliminated.
We are introduced to all 6 bakers in the form of a press release giving us a quick bio that was helpful to reference the first few chapters until I got to know each of their personalities. The book begins the day before Bake Week starts filming and if you aren’t a fan of the GBBO (or baking competitions in general), I can see where some might find the first half to be boring. When they aren’t filming, some of the characters seem to be going off and doing what I thought of at the time as side quests. Once the body is discovered the pace really picks up and those little side quests become the main event. This is definitely a “must read” if you like cozy mysteries!

A very enjoyable mashup of Great British Bake-Off and Midsomer Murders, The Golden Spoon will delight anyone who enjoys a good mystery and an even better cake. Centered on the tenth anniversary season of Bake Week, a baking competition show filmed at host Betsy Martin's family home, Grafton Manor, the story is told from the point of view of multiple contestants and Betsy herself. This is a really useful storytelling device for this particular book because it gives us the ability to get to know the characters much better, and much more quickly than through a different form of narration. I especially enjoyed watching various relationships between characters develop through each character's point of view in these alternating chapters. Can't wait to put this one in the hands of several mystery-loving friends. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book!

The Golden Spoon by Jessa Maxwell. Pub Date: March 7, 2023. Rating: 4 stars. If you enjoy cozy murder mysteries centered around food, an old mansion/estate and a cast of characters that are all different and charming in their own way, then pick this book up. The short chapters, baking show setting and diversity of the characters made this book a treat to read. Old family secrets, a murder and baked goods make this novel one to be devoured. I really enjoyed reading this novel! Thanks to Atria Books and Netgalley for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review. #netgalley #thegoldenspoon

The quirky cast of characters in The Golden Spoon immediately draws you in. Contestants who have been selected to compete in a baking show gather at an old manor and realize that the game may not be as straightforward as it seems. Things escalate when a body is found, and everyone becomes a possible suspect. This is a great read for fans of Richard Osman, whodunits, and reality tv shows!

The Golden Spoon is a quick and fun murder mystery read. Alternating POV chapters that were short - enough characters to keep it interesting but not too many to make it confusing. The ending was a bit jarring for me but overall it was a good read. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Genre: Mystery Thriller

“Bake Week” is a popular baking competition show that airs on television every summer. The event takes place in the Grafton Manor, where six contestants compete for the Golden Spoon award, which is presented by Betsy Grafton, often known as the Julia Child of baking. Betsy, who is quite wealthy and well-known, has been the creator and host of this show for the previous ten years. However, the producers decided that this time around the program would benefit from having a co-host, and they chose Archie to fill that role.

The events of the tale unfold over the course of four days, and each day the participants are tasked with making a different type of baked good. The narrative is told from seven different points of view. There are six points of view that belong to the participants, and each of them is told in the contestant's own voice. The other viewpoint is a third-person narrative from Betsy's point of view. During that time span, a number of occurrences take place, and much like a snowball, things continue to gain momentum until they finally come to a climax.

Take into consideration that this is more along the lines of a cozy mystery. Whoever said that this would be perfect for people who like Nita Prose was totally right. I chose the book because I thought the summary sounded interesting. When I first started reading it, though, I was worried that I wouldn't like it because it had a lot of different points of view. When you have a lot of different points of view, you will most likely become confused. In any case, this was not at all the situation in the book. I believe that the author did an outstanding job developing the characters in the story. It didn't take me very long at all to become familiar with them and their behavior. There is something very unique about her writing and the way she introduces the characters to the reader.

I couldn't help but think of Agatha Christie's novels while reading this because they both have the same air of intrigue, mystery, and coziness. I thought that the atmosphere and the setting were both of the highest caliber. The mystery and suspense that the mansion offered gave the impression that it had its own character. The baking competition was such a joy, and it gave me a serious feeling of hunger! This is the type of suspense novel you want to curl up with on a rainy day with a slice of chocolate cake and a cup of hot cocoa.

Even if I want to pick holes in the tale, I could have had one of the characters (I won't say which one since it would be a spoiler) behave differently towards the conclusion. However, this would not have affected the amount of enjoyment I received from reading the story in any way.

I absolutely LOVED it! Even though this is her first novel, it doesn't read or sound like one at all! I am really excited to read more novels written by Jessa Maxwell in the future. In my opinion, the mystery-thriller genre has a new rising star this year.

Many thanks to the publisher, Atria Books, and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced reader copy of this book.

Definitely a fun read from debut author Jessa Maxwell, who knows her way around a dessert cookbook.

It’s the tenth season of the Flixer streaming service’s “Bake Week” and kind-hearted creator/judge Betsy Martin is getting a co-host, celebrity baker Archie Morris, an irritable bully worthy of being stabbed with a cake tester. Six bakers, chosen from ten thousand applicants, will compete in an intensive week of baking in order to clinch a cookbook contract and the coveted Golden Spoon trophy.

There are 7 POVs, each from a contestant, as well as Betsy’s. As for Archie….well, he might be the source of something dripping and red and viscous and probably not cherry juice in the prologue. There are worse crimes than surreptitiously exchanging salt for sugar, leaving a refrigerator door open, or hiding an entire staircase. Sabotage? Hidden gothic secrets in the manor?

My mouth was watering through a lot of the recipe descriptions, but my mind was slightly annoyed by the cook who never tasted his salty chocolate or the baker who didn’t recognize the smell of gasoline in the orange essence bottle. Oh, come on. Anyway, this is a fun romp through the Vermont countryside with multiple suspects and multiple motives. 4 stars! I hope Jessa Maxwell continues with her well-written cozy mysteries.

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review!

Literary Pet Peeve Checklist:
Green Eyes (only 2% of the real world, yet it seems like 90% of all fictional females): NO But not sure if I should forgive some impossibly-colored turquoise ones on Archie.
Horticultural Faux Pas (plants out of season or growing zones, like daffodils in autumn or bougainvillea in Alaska): NO Poinsettias in July or daisies in December: frosting flowers can bloom any time of the year.

This was so fun! Perfect mix of murder mystery and the great British bake-off. I really liked the different points of view, from both likeable and unlikeable characters. It wasn’t a shocking thriller but just a good, fun whodunnit.

I'm a big fan of The Great British Bake Off/Baking Show, so I was drawn to this light mystery, The premise is that six amateur bakers are chosen to spend an intense week together competing on Bake Week, a TV show held in a tent on the grounds of Betsy Martin's estate in Vermont. Betsy is a celebrity baker and has been the show's only host for years. Now in her seventies, she is appalled when the network insists she take on a flashy male co-host but knows she needs the money to pay for the upkeep of her mansion. The contestants, each introduced and developed in their own chapters, all have something to prove and something private that they hope to gain from the experience.

And that's where the similarity to the popular British series ends. The production staff ignores contestants' claims of sabotage, daily losers may be chosen for personal, rather than merit-based, reasons, and the judges each behave in ways that are less than professional. Can murder be far behind?

I feel the debut author has potential, as her writing style is proficient and easy to follow, and the story is entertaining. Personally, I would have preferred more depth to both the characters and the predictable plot. And the title, though displayed attractively on the cover, has little relevance to the story. '

My thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for the opportunity to read and provide an honest review of this book.

*Publish date 3/7/23. Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for my advanced ecopy of this book.*

The backdrop of the story is a competition cooking show that is filmed at the family estate of the host. In the middle of the competition, there is a murder! Yes, please! The book alternates between the vantage points of the six contestants and that of the host. Each of the contestants has a reason for wanting to be in the competition, and some are more personal than others. Jessa Maxwell does a masterful job of revealing just enough of each character to peak interest and leave just enough mystery to keep you turning pages. I could not put this one down and highly recommend!

THE GOLDEN SPOON is what the Great British Bakeoff would be if the show was a murder mystery fever dream. I loved this book so much and my only complaint is I wish the story had been a bit darker.

I have spent hours wondering what really goes on behind the scenes at Bakeoff (yes, I have no life). There's got to be sabotage. I know there's hidden jealousy when Paul Hollywood gives a handshake. Where are these people getting their recipes from? If I were on the show the comedy antics of the hosts would drive me to tantrums yelling at Noel "I don't have time to kiss Mr. Spoon!" :)

THE GOLDEN SPOON is a fictional tale of what I want in a baking show. LOL - a creepy baking show.

We've got an interesting cast of bakers, America's Grandmother as the host, an estate in Vermont (with baking tents!), a creepy second host, secret passageways, forbidden floors ... it's got everything.

I will say if you aren't a fan of stories with detailed descriptions of baking, then this may not be a good read. However, if you like reality shows or are interested in what goes into making these shows, you will love this one.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for an e-copy of THE GOLDEN SPOON to review.

I rate THE GOLDEN SPOON four out of five stars.

The Most Anticipated Mystery and Thriller Books of 2023

This year’s psychological thrillers and suspenseful mysteries are really going places—literally.

There are villas and chalets and boarding schools and writing retreats and cooking competition tents. Cat-and-mouse chases span small-town Virginia to the far edges of Long Island, trekking up and down the Alps and across Italy. The inspiration for these page-turners is also wonderfully rich, from Great British Bake Off to Frankenstein to slasher films, postpartum anxiety to diversity fails to grifter culture. These Final Girls and anti-hero(ine)s are nearly killing themselves to confront the past, or just get through the next five days. And, if you can believe it, these books represent only the first half of 2023!

The Golden Spoon by Jessa Maxwell

Release Date: March 7 from Atria Books

Considering how this season was kind of the nail in the coffin for The Great British Baking Show, we need a new culinary obsession. Good thing it’s in the form of a locked-room murder mystery, with a Clue-esque killing happening at a Vermont mansion during the filming of beloved baking reality show The Golden Spoon.

And while all of the contestants had their own unique path to baking stardom, the disturbing goings-on turn them all into suspects—bringing out the best and worst in each of them as they try to figure out who’s trying to sabotage The Golden Spoon, and to what lengths they’ll go.

I thought this would be a thriller but it's more a HallMarkish mystery. Still, I enjoyed it. Probably because I love to bake. This is definitely a fun read.

This was a fun read with murder! I enjoyed the story and the plot. It made it fun to read. A great 4 star read for me

This was a cute little mystery. Nothing groundbreaking, but it was entertaining and a fun setting. I do wish it had been a little longer, as I feel like there were some sub-plots that could have been explored a little more. I think this is a great bridge book for readers who like cozy mysteries and are curious in dipping their toes into thrillers of vice-versa.

Baking competition suspense, Victorian house with secrets, and a taste of Agatha Christie’s “And Then There We’re None.” Who is getting sent home and who is getting murdered?

This book had me on edge and wondering who the guilty party was almost to the end. It was a lovely balance of a cozy mystery dipping it’s toes into the thriller pool.

At first I thought the multiple view points would get confusing but they didn’t and Jessa Maxwell captured each persons personalities, emotions, and perceptions marvelously!

Thank you Atria books for my gifted copy! I am looking forward to owning a physical copy and recommending it to all my friends!

This was a fun story, I would put it in more of the vein of a cozy mystery rather than a thriller. I felt the pacing was off at times, it took awhile for things to get going and I thought a lot of the dialogue dragged or repeated itself. I liked the whole idea and enjoyed the mystery and the baking.

The Golden Spoon was one of my most anticipated reads of 2023 and I am so very grateful that Atria Books sent me a copy. Outside of reading, my favorite hobby is baking and I am well and truly addicted to The Great British Bake Off. As a baking obsessed thriller lover, I could think of nothing better than reading about a murder mystery that takes place on the set of a baking competition show.

I was anticipating a thriller, but The Golden Spoon is much more of a cozy mystery (at least by my standards!) and it's quite the slow burn, as well. Once I adjusted my expectations, I found this to be a pretty enjoyable read. It's not perfect - the pacing felt off at times and we don't discover who died until around the 80% mark, but I liked it.

If you don't enjoy baking this is a book you can skip. There are a lot of detailed descriptions of the contestants bakes, which I ate right up (no pun intended) but it might be overkill for some people. I think if you go in expecting a light and breezy murder mystery you can have fun with this one. If you're hoping for a suspenseful twisty read, you'll be disappointed.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book; all opinions are my own. Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for allowing me to be an early reader.

If you have ever watched the Great British Baking Show (or any of its many imitators) this book will be right for you. Betsy Martin owns a historical mansion, something that has been in her family for many years, she is also the author of several baking cookbooks, nicknamed America's Grandmother, she's viewed as an expert on anything baked. She has hosted the Golden Spoon baking competition where contestants vie to bake the best item in a series of challenges, the loser goes home, the rest continue until a winner is selected. Six contestants have been selected to compete, and filming is taking place in a large white tent on the grounds of Betsy's mansion. At the beginning of the book we know a body has been found in the tent, though we don't know who it is. The story goes back and covers the contestants arriving, meeting Betsy, and filming of the series. The POV switches between each contestant and Betsy, which took a bit to get used to, but was easy to remember after the first few changes. This is more of a cozy type of mystery rather than a thriller, it was very easy to read and I found it quite entertaining. I would recommend, especially if you like reality type cooking shows. Thanks to #Netgally and #Atria for the ARC.

I understand this is an early copy but I will say there are so many typos & grammatical errors in this copy. That did not affect my rating though.

I thought this was a great first novel. I liked the Agatha Christie meets clue meets American bake off aspect. I liked the plot twists & did not have it figured out at all which always makes me happy. I did enjoy the book…it had me intrigued from the very beginning.