If you told me before I started reading The Golden Spoon that I’d be hooked into a murder mystery surrounding a baking show, I would have told you you were nuts. However, Jessa Maxwell’s intriguing storytelling style, use of multiple viewpoints, and complex characters had me finish this over a couple of nights.
In a quaint, secluded area of Vermont, celebrity chef Betsy Martin hosts “Bake Week” at her family estate of Grafton. For the past ten summers, six amateur contestants battle it out to see who has what it takes to win it all. “America’s Grandmother”, as Martin is known, is the author of bestselling cookbooks and projects an image of wholesomeness in the public eye. That persona is starting to show cracks and when small acts of sabotage begin to appear in this year’s competition, the stakes keep rising. When a body is discovered, everyone is a suspect, and everyone has a motive.
Baking shows are not usually my cup of tea and I’ll be honest with you, this was not a book I normally would pick up… but I’m so glad I did. I love a good whodunnit and with interesting and intriguing backstories for each character, there was more than enough action (both mental and physical) to keep me fully engaged.
If you like a good ‘locked-room mystery’ then this is the book for you. Extra points if you’re into baking… or at least eating baked goods like I am.
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Purchase The Golden Spoon
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Barrington Books
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Murder By The Book
Once Upon A Crime
The Book Dragon
The Poisoned Pen
