The perfect blend of The Great British Baking Show/Masterchef and Agatha Christie. Gives a new meaning to the title Knives Out.

A solid debut! Good mystery, intriguing main character, and I really enjoyed all the culinary info! I'll be reading book 2!

<i>ARC Provided by NetGalley<i>

I LOVED the premise of this one, but the execution just didn't work for me! Unfortunately, the writing was offputting and I didn't like the chaotic pace of the writing. I think some cozy mystery fans will really like this one, I just couldn't get into it.

This is a really sharp (no pun intended) mystery. A murder amongst the world of cooking & chefs is a really rich place to read about. I thought by the title it was going to be a cozy but it’s really more of a straight up thriller/mystery. The murder, its suspects/motives & conclusion are all more dark than you usually get in cozies. In a good way! Paul is a fantastic lead to follow. He is neither perfect nor an unreliable narrator but a well drawn, relatable person. His recent loss adds a lot of weight to the book. I feel the conclusion will really surprise & please readers. Overall it is a complex, witty & creative novel, with some interesting cooking tips along the way.

[arc review]
Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Canada for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.
Knife Skills for Beginners releases February 27, 2024

Our main character Paul is taking over the culinary classes at Chester Square Cookery School as a favour to his good friend Christian since he has just broken his arm and is in a cast.
Chester Square Cookery School offers a residential course for amateur cooks, meaning the group of 8 will get to live on site for the entirety of the week in addition to being trained in some classical techniques.

On the second day, Paul finds Christian nearly beheaded. Who among them wanted the celebrity chef dead? And why?

I love discovering and reading debut novels, but I’m sad to say that I really struggled to get through this one.
I just found it so boring and it was so much longer than it needed to be.
Even with my extensive culinary background (which is what drew me to this title initially), there wasn’t enough to entice me.
I’ve worked with Top Chef contestants professionally, and this book is not like Top Chef at all, despite what the blurb says.

Apparently this is the first in a new series, which I probably won’t continue as I’m not fully invested in the characters.

I must first thank both NetGalley as well as the publisher Harper Collins, for my eARC in exchange for my honest review.
A cozy gastronomic mystery with strong Agatha Christy leanings. A fun mystery full of quirks and fun characters that will leave you guessing.