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

What a brilliant who has done it!

This will keep you guessing until the very end, every time you think you have worked it out it all falls apart. Love the characters, who are all crime writers and very intelligent but it still almost escapes them. The story of a dinner party and someone getting poisoned is a very old scenario but, this opens up to be a much better story with more deaths. With only a small amount of suspects, you would think you could work it out! I liked this as every page kept you turning for the next bit. This will be in my top ten for this year.

Every year celebrity chef and best selling crime writer Max Wilde hosts a dinner party for other best selling authors. This year he has planned an unusual twist - Max has flown over a celebrated Japanses chef to serve the potentially deadly delicacy Fugu, a pufferfish that is poisonous if not properly prepared. With a menu designed around other possibly poisionous ingredients the evening is a hit. When Max Wilde is found dead the next morning, poisoned, all of his guests come under suspicion. After all, they are all crime writers, if anyone can get away with murder they can.

I love a good cosy murder, so was excited to dive in to this one. I found it a bit of a struggle though.

From the first few chapters of the book I was finding that something was grating on me, but it took me a while to put my finger on exactly what. I'm still finding it hard to put into words, but I think ultimately it comes down to there being too much telling rather than showing the reader things. There isn't much chance for us to infer what is going on. It felt awkward to read and rather amateur.

I liked the idea of the plot, the book starts with introducing us to each of the characters, which is a great way for us to get to know them. Each of the characters had a reason for wanting Max dead so suspicion falls on them all. Unfortunately within a couple of chapters of the murder I had worked out who the killer was. It was very obvious, and certainly could have been better hidden.

I also found the character development a little lacking. Again there is a lot of telling rather than showing here, and a few instances where things seem to have been thrown in to add depth but end up feeling out of place. There's a lot of sex thrown about in this one too. I wouldn't class myself as prudish but it didn't seem to add anything to the storyline so to me was unnecessary.

I think with a bit of work this could be a great read, but for me at the moment it's lacking some finesse.

Thanks to NetGalley and Mr E Entertainment for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

This was a great read that had me gripped all the way through. I guessed the baddie really early but the author threw in enough twists to make me doubt my thoughts. Really excellent read and I hope it does well when it is released - it certainly deserves to! Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for giving me access to an early copy of this book.

Well wasn't this book a lot of fun to read! It had me tied up in knots all the way through as I tried to second guess and predict. Eventually I gave all that up and just went with the flow and had an absolute blast in doing so.
We start with celebrity chef / TV presenter / crime writer Max Wilde. He is pretty much top of his game in all his endeavours and, after first meeting him on one of his tours to Japan, we get to know him better during the run up to his annual dinner. There is an eclectic mix of guests, some old, some new, but I think, for maximum enjoyment, it's best you get to know all of them as the author intends. They are all cracking characters so... fill your boots!
This year's event goes a bit south when Max is found dead in his bed the morning after... And soon enough, fingers start to point in various directions as it transpires that pretty much everyone in the cast has some motive or grudge against him. But then there's another death and the stakes get higher...
I loved this book and I hope I am not doing it an injustice when I say that at times it reads a wee bit tongue in cheek. In a good way, I hasten to add as I had an absolute blast reading it. With its larger than life characters, all with secrets and lies, and displaying a rather healthy side order of dysfunctional behaviour. All acting out what ended up being a tightly driven plot, well executed and containing all the usual red herrings and obfuscation you'd expect from the genre. Yes it does take a while to get to the murder but there are a lot of pieces to manoeuvre into position before the main shenanigans can begin. Think of the preparation that goes into a dinner party!
And boy did I kick myself at the end. Yep, the clues were all there, and I should have known better but... when we did eventually get there I have to admit to being a bit slow on the uptake. But yeah, once it was all said and done and the dust settled, a job well done by the author. A debut author to boot too! Even more impressed!
All that's left now to say is that I really can't wait to see what he serves up for his next course, I'll definitely be pouncing on that as soon as... My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

Ever year, celebrity chef and bestselling crime writer Max Wilde invites a few hand-picked authors to spend a weekend at his home, featuring an extraordinary dinner on the first night. This year’s menu includes dishes called Murderous Mushrooms, a Soupçon of Suspicion – and the deadly pufferfish dish Fugu. The guests cautiously enjoy the meal, then retreat to their assigned bedrooms. The next morning, Max is found dead in his bed, and everyone present is a suspect. When the body count starts to rise, the surviving guests don’t know who they can trust, but know they must find a solution – and soon.

This appears to be the author’s first novel, so I wasn’t sure what to expect from the book. The book begins by introducing us to each of the primary characters, all of them accomplished authors. The book tells its story by alternating between the characters, establishing their personalities and (eventually) their backstories, thus providing motives for each of them to have killed Max. I actually picked up on what turned out to be a major clue relatively early in the story, but wasn’t sure I’d interpreted it correctly until the reveal at the end of the book. Even then, confirmation of the culprit’s identity was surprising, although the motive was not.

I don’t think this will be the beginning of a series, but anything is possible. If there is another book to come, I will definitely want to read it.

Thank you NetGalley! I loved the title! I was disappointed that I just could not get into this book.

What an enjoyable, fun read but, oh my goodness, I wanted to bump the victim off myself from the first meeting.
I was kept guessing to the reveal and there were twists, turns and surprises along the way.
My one criticism is the female characters are obviously written by a man.
Thanks to Netgalley.

I enjoyed the start of this book and the premise of the dinner party, but the back stories of the guests did feel a bit tedious at times and a bit too much of a slow burn for me. I also struggled at times with the rather stilted dialogue. However, I did persevere until the end to find out what happened
Thank you to netgalley and Mr E entertainment for an advance copy of this book.
2.5 stars rounded up to 3

I was expecting a witty homage to the Golden Age of crime fiction but this felt tired and full of cliches. I liked the premise and thought it could be an interesting exploration of all the different books that are part of the genre. However, it was quickly clear that the female characters weren't that believable and the final denouement did not make the payoff worthwhile.