The Golden Spoon by Jessa Maxwell follows six amateur bakers competing against each other in Bake Week. This beloved baking show, and legacy of Betsy Martin, soon take a turn for the worse as competition gets unfriendly, small sabotages leading to unjust results and the discovery of a dead body. This discovery leaves everyone taken back and questioning who could commit murder?

The premise of this story started off on a high. Who wouldn't love to read a baking murder mystery? However, I found this severely missed the mark from the beginning. We were forced too many perspectives, switching quickly from host to competitor and back without really building depth in each short chapter. Each character seems to be too separated and from each other throughout this work. Despite this, I appreciated being able to delve into the characters, their stories, and recipes created and baked for each event.

The pacing of this whole story was off. We are reeled in on the premise of a dead body being found and then nothing happening for the majority of the book. The set-up/layout needed more thought put into it. I would have also liked to see a less rushed ending and more focus on the 'themes' of this book (thriller/mystery/cozy mystery).
The Golden Spoon had a lot of potential and would have fit as a novella better. I would be interested in reading more work from this author, depending on the themes and her development.

For six amateur bakers, competing in Bake Week is a dream come true. A former journalist, a pie aficionado, a math teacher, a bored millionaire, a retired nurse, and a building restorer are all vying for the coveted Golden Spoon.

A big white tent is pitched at Grafton Manor, an aging Vermont estate to film the tenth season of the popular TV show. But for the show's famous host, cookbook legend Betsy Martin, Bake Week is more than just a competition. Grafton Manor is her family’s home and legacy, and Bake Week is her life’s work.

But as the competition heats up, minor acts of sabotage begin; sugar and salt swap places, gasoline masquerades as orange essence, a refrigerator door mysteriously stands ajar, and a burner gets cranked up. Then a body is discovered, and it's clear not everyone is there for the love of baking.

As a fan of The Great British Baking Show, I was naturally drawn to this baking themed mystery. It’s billed as a mystery/thriller, but it leans more towards the cozy, locked-room subgenre, which isn’t my cup of tea. For the uninitiated, cozies are light-hearted mysteries that keep sex and violence offstage.

If I’m honest, the first half of the book had me yawning, and the ending felt like a sprint to the finish line. However, a delightful twist at the end caught me by surprise.

The Golden Spoon is a light, intriguing read. If you like authors such as Joanne Fluke, M.C. Beaton, Alan Bradley, Richard Osman, Rhys Bowen, or Lillian Jackson Braun, this book could be perfect for you. For me, it was just okay. It’s slated to become a limited series on Hulu, so if you are a fan of Hallmark and Lifetime movies, it could be an enjoyable watch. 3.5 stars.

** I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book; all opinions are my own.

This was a cute quick little cozy mystery for fans of bake off and Agatha Christie. I liked the different point of views, as it helped me understand each character better. I did feel the characters were still a little light on development and the ending felt rushed, but was still a great read/listen.

Calling all Great British Bake-off fans! The Golden Spoon is a locked door mystery that takes place on the set of a GBBO like show, Bake Week. Set on Grafton, a massive mansion in Vermont, contestants compete in different baking items, bread, cakes, cookies, etc. The judge is Betsy Martin, whose family owns the estate.

As the show goes on, there’s little things that go wrong such as someone swaps salt for sugar, someone’s burner is set to high, but then a body is found. This was such a fun book for baking show and mystery fans. We get to know each of the contestants and their quirks. Thank you @librofm and @atriabooks for my gifted ALC.

Based on the cooking and baking shows that are currently on television, this book took that premise and has six people vying for the chance to be the winner of 'Bake Week', hosted by a celebrated baker, Betsy Martin, at her sprawling, if not run down, secluded estate in Vermont.

All six contestants have their own purpose for applying to the show. Once underway problems continue to arise in this, Bake Weeks tenth season. Starting with the production company plopping in a last minute new co-host, moving on to sabotage among the contestants, and finally a murder.

For a debut novel this one is pretty good. I would consider it a 'mild mystery'. You meet and get the background on all six contestants, including Betsy, her co-host, and a few of the production crew, when all the time you are trying to figure out who is sabotaging the show and ultimately who the murderer is. Easily solved twists and turns keeps you reading as does your curiosity to see who wins Bake Week.

Thank you to NetGalley for a copy to review - review and comments are totally my own.

The best description of this book is murder mystery meets the great British bake off. I thought some of the characters were interesting, however some of them made me want to skip their POV entirely. Changing POV between all the different characters was a lot and left me lost at times. I wasn't able to finish the last 50 pages because it was like pulling teeth to keep be focused.

The Golden Spoon may be a litttttttle bit too much "cozy mystery" for me at the moment. I'm absolutely planning on picking this book up again and giving it another chance, but I'm shelving it for now.

I love the premise! Murder mystery + baking show sounds like a match made in heaven! I think it just wasn't exactly what I was in the mood to read when going through the first few chapters. I will update this review as soon as I get through this book in the right headspace!

Thank you so much to Atria Books, Jessa Maxwell, and NetGalley for the ARC of The Golden Spoon!

A fun cozy mystery that relies a lot more on vibes than plot. I will read more by this author but I think the description of this book was more exciting than it's content.

What a fun book this was to read. The story holds all the magical components similar to an Agatha Christie mystery. Each character was well developed and quirky in each their own way, and I supremely enjoyed the ending involving Lottie and her happy ending, and karma coming for Betsy. I am excited to read another book from this author.

Thank you Netgalley for this story.

I was enthralled by this novel and couldn't put it down! I especially loved the "Great British Baking" vibe of the novel along with the many food descriptions. The setting was atmospheric and it's the perfect read for fall! A thrilling mystery that I couldn't put down...

The Golden Spoon is a fun "closed suspect" cozy mystery by Jessa Maxwell. Released 7 Mar 2023 by Simon & Schuster on their Atria imprint, it's 288 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. Paperback format is due out 5th Mar 2024 from the same publisher. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.

The vibe here is classic stately home, with a reality cooking show twist. Readers who enjoy cooking contest shows and lightly campy mystery with a classic Golden Age feel will be in raptures. The characters run the gamut and feel in some cases more sketched in, than deeply rendered. There is, however, a large collection of them and if readers were treated to -deep- character studies, the book would've topped 500 pages.

It's very well written throughout, with well constructed prose and a solidly engineered mystery. It definitely doesn't have the feel of a debut novel, and the author has some serious chops. It's well written. It's slightly heavy for a light cozy, but not at all into thriller/psychological mystery territory. The plotting technique of keeping the murder victim secret is reminiscent of ECR Lorac and Christie herself.

Four stars. Well written. Definitely worth a read for fans of Golden Age stately home mysteries with a little lighter feel, like Clue and Knives out (though less bonkers than either).

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

If you love a cozy mystery then you’ll enjoy this book. This book made my mouth water 💦 during all the baking chapters. It definitely makes you want to put on The Great British Bake-off. It gave me that same cozy fall feeling that the show elicits.
I really liked this one, all the different contestants POV’s were really well done. I think the book managed to touch on a lot of different subjects gracefully.
I will definitely be reading the next book Jessa Maxwell puts out!

Thank you to Atria Books and Netgalley for the ARC in exhange for an honest review! I was quite fond of The Golden Spoon. I expected a fast-paced thriller, but the book turned out to be more of a mystery building to a climax. I absolutely love the concept and setting of a cozy baking show that contrasts so strongly with the dark themes of murder and sabotage, and the characters are complex (if a bit unlikeable in some cases). Overall, a good read and I hope to read more by Jessa Maxwell!

I loved this book so much! For all my peeps who like The Great British Bake Off, this is definitely a must read! Think of it as bake-off with a who-done-it element that takes place at a beautiful manor in the UK. Each of the players in this book had a really interesting backstory and potential reason for sabotage/murder and I really liked how this all wrapped up. Have you read this one? Let me know!

While I loved the premise of this book, I think it could have been handled better. A week for the story to unfold was not enough time. There could have been so much depth to the characters, but I feel as though most of them were short changed. I did like the multiple POVs.

The Great British Baking Show is one of my favorite watches, so I was was excited to read this book. The characters were interesting and unique. Loved the thrill and suspense of the who-done-it. I have recommended this to many patrons at our library.

I am a huge fan of The Great British Bake Off and was incredibly excited on the premise of this book. Overall, it has the same feel as the show and uses the shows format/design as a setting for a murder. If you enjoy locked room mysteries, this is one for you. The characters are very different and the back stories build as you go through the competition week. There are a few twists but nothing that comes as a true surprise. Probably the reason, I am giving 3 vs 4 stars. I don't feel the reveals were very surprising and felt a bit under worked. One of the characers should have figured a key piece of the puzzle which would have built the tension a bit more, I feel and created more a red herring. Overall, it was an easy read that captured the feel of an iconic show series with a murder mystery vibe.

Book: The Golden Spoon

Author: Jessa Maxwell

Official Blurb:
Every summer for the past ten years, six awe-struck bakers have descended on the grounds of Grafton, the leafy and imposing Vermont estate that is not only the filming site for “Bake Week” but also the childhood home of the show’s famous host, celebrated baker Betsy Martin.

The author of numerous bestselling cookbooks and hailed as “America’s Grandmother,” Betsy Martin isn’t as warm off-screen as on, though no one needs to know that but her. She has always demanded perfection, and gotten it with a smile, but this year something is off. As the baking competition commences, things begin to go awry. At first, it’s merely sabotage—sugar replaced with salt, a burner turned to high—but when a body is discovered, everyone is a suspect.

A sharp and suspenseful thriller for mystery buffs and avid bakers alike, The Golden Spoon is a brilliant puzzle filled with shocking twists and turns that will keep you reading late into the night until you turn the very last page of this incredible debut.
Rating: 3.25

Perhaps my anticipation was just too much for what was delivered in this story. As a Bake-Off fan in "real life", I was very much looking forward to this story. There was a lot of potential and I counted on the descriptions of the smells, sights and tastes of the kitchen to bring me into the story as they so often do in such a setting. The lack of these descriptions were disappointing. Especially because the book had been marketed as a "cozy mystery".

The set up of the book was we hear from the perspective of each character in a sort of round robin. Two out of six of the baking contestants, Lottie and Pradyumna were incredibly well developed. Each of these players in the contest were fully formed, showed growth throughout the fairly short book and were enjoyable to read. The rest of the cast were one dimensional and could have been from any story in this genre that has come before.

I believe that this is a debut novel and would read from this author again. She has loads of potential and despite my lower rating I would like to see what she writes next.

Thank you to Net Galley and Atria Books for the free copy in exchange for an honest review.

What do you get when you cross And Then There Were None with the Great British Baking show? You get The Golden Spoon by Jessa Maxwell. It was equal parts snippets of back story, current motivation, baking drama, and a healthy dose of suspecting absolutely everyone. There were a few things I guessed along the way but not all of what was revealed at the stunning conclusion. This was very fun to read, I enjoyed all of the characters (even the unlikeable ones!), and I look forward to seeing what Jessa Maxwell will bring us next!

An advanced copy of this book was provided to me by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A baking show plus a whodunit.
This book wasn't entirely engaging. It skipped around a lot, which made it difficult to follow the story line and have any connection with the characters. I felt as if something was lacking. I"m not sure what.
3 stars