The Golden Spoon by Jessa Maxwell

 

Filming of the latest season of the hugely successful baking competition "Bake Week" is taking place in rural Vermont. As a storm sets in the contestants and hosts are left isolated at Grafton Manor, the location for the show. When a dead body is discovered, the question is who is the murderer?

The Golden Spoon by Jessa Maxwell exceeded my expectations. I really enjoy a cozy crime mystery, and this certainly falls into that genre, but I found the style and writing elevated this to something more.

The opening chapter sets the scene. Grafton Manor, home of the show's host, Betsy Martin, is set in rural Vermont. Betsy is very protective of her home and insists that during filming the only people that can stay in the house are the hosts and the contestants. With a storm raging outside the producer of the show contacts Betsy, asking her to check that the tent where they film the show is secure. It's at this point that a dead body is discovered. In terms of mystery, this opening has everything going for it; a group of strangers, isolation, a huge mansion and a dead body.

The story then jumps back four weeks and we are introduced to the six contestants taking part in the competition. We learn a little about the backgrounds of this very diverse group and the build-up to the start of the competition. Short chapters jump between each of the contestants and the show hosts, Betsy and Archie. The constantly changing narrative gives the story its pace and regularly leaves the reader hanging on a snippet of information as we switch from one character to the next. The more we learn about each character, the more questions that arise. It's obvious that some are hiding secrets.

I must admit that I've never seen a single episode of GBBO, it's just never appealed to me, however, after reading The Golden Spoon I think I might just give it a try. The descriptions of the baking that takes place are mouth-watering. When some of the bakes go disastrously wrong you begin to wonder if a contestant is trying to sabotage the competition or is someone meddling to improve the show's ratings. 

The Golden Spoon by Jessa Maxwell will be published on 14th September 2023 in paperback, ebook and audio format. My thanks to NetGalley and Michael Joseph publishers for a review copy.