This book kept me guessing!! I love a good murder mystery with a long suspect list full of twists and turns. I do feel like the writing style is not something I fully gel with but the story made up for it. Not quite a cozy mystery but thoroughly enjoyed it.

This book really sucked me in as soon as I started it. I really liked the longer introduction of each character. It felt like I really knew each person before it got into the details of the actual story. This book follows Max Wilde a super popular celeb chef / crime "writer" and his annual murder themed dinner where he invites other famous authors. Someone winds up dead and everyone seems to have a motive and are all suspects. I did enjoy the book - it was cozy. The things that bothered me though - there are no chapters. It lessens motivation to keep reading at times. Also perspectives change in an instant so you are constantly in different characters minds in the same paragraph. That being said if you like UK writing and a murder mystery - check it out! It's on Kindle Unlimited. Thanks to NetGalley and Mr E Entertainment for this ARC.

A well plotted and entertaining solid mystery I thoroughly enjoyed. It kept me reading and guessing
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I was completely engrossed in this story. The suspense built steadily and the book was engaging. It’s a slow burning but a good one, I liked it.

When celebrity chef and writer Max Wilde hosts his annual dinner party for the great and good of the crime-writing world, the guest of honour is a retired detective famed for solving a complex case. The next morning Max is found dead and the people at the party are all suspects. Each has a potential motive but as the murder count rises, can the case be solved.
This is a very lightweight crime novel. It has good bones but the solution is obvious and clear from early on. I did love the references to the Golden Age of Crime Fiction and there is definitely more to come from this writer but it lacked bite.

This was a fun mystery/thriller. My fav kind of whodunit for sure. It keeps you guessing right up until the end. This was a good one.

Easy to read mystery! The characters were all a little difficult to like to be honest. But everything seemed to tie up lovely at the end!
I did struggle slightly more with the first half of the book before the murder happened as there wasn’t anything happening to pull me through to the next page!

An easy-going whodunnit which could have done with a little bit of polishing and tightening up.

2 and a half stars rounded up.

Having just finished A Recipe for Murder I didn't find it to be particularly compelling or to provide a complex story line which I prefer in a murder mystery. To me the story and character conversations felt very obvious and whilst an incredibly predictable story from the outset it was as though the author needed to provide obvious clues to help the reader get there. I feel this would be much more suited to my 10 year old however the frequent sexual acts which seemed out of place in the story render the book unsuitable for this audience also.

Max Wilde is a famous chef and author who hosts an annual dinner party for other famous crime writers. The morning after the party, Max is dead and everyone is a suspect. I think this was an attempt at a modern Agatha Christie novel, but it didn't really do it for me. I didn't t enjoy the writing and disliked most of the characters. 2 stars

Max Wilde is a cleverly constructed mystery that brings together an eclectic cast of characters, all with reasons to despise their host. Max, a celebrity chef, TV presenter, and bestselling crime writer, is hosting his annual dinner party, attended by four other crime writers, his assistant Gemma, his estranged brother Robert, and retired detective John Finney. The night’s murder-themed menu—featuring dishes like The Poisoned Quail and Red Herring—sets the tone for what follows. Yet, it’s not until the next morning that the real drama begins when Max is found dead in his bed, poisoned with Hemlock.

With every guest having both a motive and an opportunity to spike Max’s bedside water, there are no easy suspects. While the police investigate, the crime writers and Finney take matters into their own hands, attempting to outwit the authorities. But as more bodies drop, the stakes rise, culminating in a thrilling, action-packed finale.

Though the story is a slow burn, with the murder not happening until almost halfway through, the buildup is anything but dull. Each character is well-developed and intriguing, making the early chapters fly by. The pacing, while deliberate, allows for rich character development and ample tension, pulling readers in before the investigation even begins. Max Wilde is a satisfying, intelligent mystery, packed with twists and turns that will keep you guessing until the final reveal.

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What a great read!! Very much in the style of an Agatha Christie classic whodunit, I literally gasped at the twists which made for an exciting conclusion! Character develop was great, with enough good and bad quirks for each person to make them likable or not and I was guessing about who the villain was until the very end! Subtle clues I missed came rushing back, and I found myself duped! Definitely recommend!

I really enjoyed this book.

Well thought out plot and great characters. Could not put it down and did not want it to end.

Highly recommended, 5 stars from me.

3.75 stars
What a delicious tale of murder and mayhem! A diabolical killer has murdered a famous chef by poison, in his own home, right under the noses of some the most elite crime writers in the modern world, plus one retired detective. While the police spin their wheels, it is up to those suspects to band together and figure out which of them is likely the killer. And as more bodies start to pile up, the steaks - ahem, I mean stakes - have never been higher.

I'm not 100% sure this should be classified as a cozy mystery; there's a lot more graphic sex in this book than most of those types of mysteries. But the characters are compelling, the plot is pretty good and I really did have a hard time figuring out whodunnit? It kept me guessing right up to the end. (Literally the very end; the killer isn't revealed until the last few pages!) While I definitely prefer my mysteries of this calibre a little more on the cozy side, I had a pretty fun time reading this one.

Thanks to NetGalley, author G.S. Revel Burroughs, and Mr. E Entertainment for providing me a free digital ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Here is a murder mystery that, once started, it's difficult to put down, so be warned.
One by one, the players are introduced: the TV chef Max Wilde, crime fiction writers, the detective - all to be invited to the Annual Crime Writers dinner at the Max's Cotswold mansion. The scene is set for murder. And after the murder, the hunt for clues. Even though I did get an inkling of who had committed the murder, it didn't spoil my enjoyment of the book. The characters are well drawn, the pace of the narrative is just right and there enough twists and turns to keep you hooked.

I really enjoyed A Recipe For Murder. Max Wilde is a celebrity chef, top selling crime writer, and extremely attractive. Once a year he hosts fellow crime writers at his Manor House for a fabulous murder themed meal. This year Max doesn’t survive the weekend. We have an interesting cast of .characters, we discover Max was not as he appeared, he was an average chef, didn’t write his own books and was a notorious womanizer. As the body count rises, you need to keep your wits about you and work out who is the murderer. There are clues, double bluffs and it will keep you engaged right to the end of the book. Great fun with a good nod to the Agatha Christie style of murder mysteries.

There are many people involved in this murder mystery, which is akin to a dinner date with the cast of Clue or an Agatha Christie novel. Each person has secrets and reasons to dislike the host. Suddenly, he is dead, and more secrets are revealed as each person is scrutinized as the potential murderer.

A famous mystery writer/food show host that no one seems to like. An annual mystery weekend when he brings together other famous mystery authors for food and fun. A mysterious murder but a retired detective who was on site may turn the tide.
Max Wilde is almost as well known for his debauchery off screen as his food eating on. He's seduced any number of women and left them in his wake. He's screwed any number of business partners as well. Gemma thinks that, as the ghostwriter of his mysteries and being someone who works on his show as well, she is fairly untouchable. She may find out differently this weekend. His brother will be peeved to find that Max has sold his 51% of the family hotel. Four mystery writers (invited guests) have their own issues since Max has cost one a lucrative television series and seduced another's daughter. A third he has failed to seduce and the fourth unseated Max on the bestseller list; something Max is unwilling to forgive. Then, there is the police detective who just happened to be invited because Max recognized his name.
I really enjoyed most of this book. The ending was a disappointment, mostly because it came out of nowhere. We got half the story but didn't learn the rest until the murderer was revealed. Also, I was expecting sort of a cozy mystery and this was rather raunchy. I don't mind when I'm expecting it but this was a pretty big surprise.

Three star
This book comes out September 5, 2024
ARC kindly provided by Mr E Entertainment and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

A fascinating novel about food, mystery writers, poisons and revenge. When the wealthy and very famous Max Wilde invites his usual list of thriller writers to a very special annual dinner at his home, he includes an extra guest, retired Detective Inspector Finney. He has also invited a skilled Japanese puffer fish expert and his granddaughter. Max lives in the mansion previously owned by another writer of thrillers. He had been responsible for developing a, probably illegal, poison garden. This is still tended by the rather sinister gardener. When a tragic death occurs, suspicion falls on all the guests who were present at the infamous dinner party, and Finney is persuaded to help them to investigate. It seems that not only the guests, but also his brother, his personal assistant, and the daughter of one of the writers all have their reasons to hate Max. At the same time, there are so many means of acquiring and administering poison. The mystery unravels, and little seeds of clues are sown. An enjoyable whodunnit with all the necessary twists and turns to keep the reader’s attention. Finally, too, the necessarily satisfying ending.

A quintessentially English murder set in a Country House in Gloucestershire where a party of crime writers and a retired Police Officer meet for a dinner party with a difference as murder is definitely on the menu both literally and actually. Celebrity chef and crime crime Max Wilde is murdered after the party and all the guests are suspects with the exception of the Policeman who was a late addition to the party and who is cajoled by the other guests into running a parallel investigation. Everyone has a motive and there are two more not present at the party who have equally strong motives.

This is a delightful cosy crime tale of poisonings, power, ambition and love and has the feel to me of an Agatha Christie both in style and possibly because the Policeman is called Finney and Albert Finney played Poirrot. There is plenty of foody details and the most delicious twist at the end. I would thoroughly recommend this book