This is a very British mystery. It starts off kind of slow and there are a lot of culinary terms. I do like the recipes interspersed throughout. It is hard to feel bad for the victim when he is not the most likeable. The last quarter was the most interesting and there were some twists I did not see. There was some good LGBTQIA plus representation in the story. I'm not sure I would continue the series.

I am surprised that the reviews written aren't more praise worthy. I'll start with my own thoughts and then review the reviews. (Ha!)

This is a debut novel by this author who is not exactly new to writing or cooking. Orlando Murrin has written a wonderful mystery novel that draws you into the main character's personal life as well as bringing the drama of a murder mystery. The narrator did a perfect reading. I think it is worth a reader's time to read Orlando's bio on his website. It gives you wonderful insight into the story. He is well known in the culinary world and in magazines and TV. An important note is that he was on MasterChef.

Our main character Paul is working in the culinary world and suffering through a great personal loss. A "friend" asks him to help with culinary class that he is teaching. The friend is a well known TV chef who has found himself in some trouble and has pretty much, to the disappointment of those attending the cooking classes, abandoned Paul to do the teaching. He carries on only to find himself drawn into the attendees personal dramas as well as the school's business and a murder!

If you love watching the cooking competitions on TV that dramatize everything and has the participants sharing personal stories that lead to tears and then enjoy as they flip the switch and try to stab the other contestants (figuratively speaking) in the back. Then you will love this story. It's not a competition but you get that feeling of getting tidbits of each attending student that could be a potential murderer and each have their own drama in life that they share.

As far as the other reviewers. I see where they're coming from. But not agreeing with it all. I don't feel as if I was being spoken down to in the writing. Now, I was listening to the novel, and I'm an American. The British accent sounds posh to me but simply comes off as someone who enjoys some of the finer things in life. Paul can be described as a food snob, but not to the point that he doesn't understand shortcuts and not everyone can eat filet mignon each night. He's very practical and just want's his students to think outside of the recipe or TV dinner.

I think the narrator is terrific. And although the 8 hour time line was at first overwhelming for me ( I usually listen to books that are around 4. hours long.) I'm glad I chose to listen instead of read the book. The hours flew by and held my interest.

Things to seem to take a turn about 75% (+) of the story. Paul almost goes into Superhero mode. And I found that a bit comical. I could just imagine him standing up with cape attached to his back. But all in all, it was a well narrated story that has a bit of a floppy ending that was carved out to allow the amateur detective the freedom to solve the story. I do wish the Orlando Murrin had maybe done some more due diligence with the police procedures. Those were definitely overlooked in order to get the story going. But I am giving it 4 stars and I'm delighted to see that the 2nd book is already available. (although it does have two different titles depending on where you're looking for it.) Which ever title it is, I will be picking it up to read, or listen to. Thank you #NetGalley, #RBmedia. and the publishers #harpercollins (?), for the audio version of this book. Two thumbs up!

3.5 rounded up. I loved our snarky main character but the other characters didn’t do much for me. I really liked the storyline through the first half but it kind of tapered off and it was hard to keep focused on it. Overall it was ok

Thank you NetGalley and RBmedia for the ARC of this audiobook for my honest review

I felt like the author did a lot of research before writing this book so the cooking topic was so much fun and I felt like you could learn a lot. The characters were all so interesting and the writing was really impressive in the way it could twist your thoughts about certain characters. I thought it was a great plot and I’d read it again and if any other books come out from this author as well!

I really loved the premise of this book, but the execution of the audio fell flat. Honestly, the narrator is most likely the reason I wasn’t a huge fan of the story. The lack of inflection and the way some of the chapters ending was truly teeth grinding for me. When listening, the chapters need to end with a finality to them, and there were quite a few where the tone of the narrators voice was almost like a comma, an unfinished statement rather than closing out the chapter.

This was such a fun read. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Thank you NetGalley for the audiobook!

I really enjoyed this cozy mystery and the narrator did a fantastic job with all the voices! It took me a minute to get all the characters right as there is quite a large cast but they are all very fun and entertaining. I love the unique personality assigned to everyone and the setting of a posh cooking class was very unique.

Will be watching for the sequels!

The first installment in the Chef Delamare culinary mystery series, Knife Skills for Beginners, is a fun cozy mystery by Orlando Murrin. Chef Paul Delamare is asked by an old friend, Christian Wagner, a popular celebrity chef, to sub for him in teaching a cooking class at The Chester Square Cookery School located in a posh mansion in London, where the students stay on site. Paul reluctantly accepts the invitation, and as he makes his presentations to some very unique and interesting students, he decides to go see Christian. Unfortunately, he finds that Christian has been murdered. The students and Paul become suspects, and Paul must investigate to clear his name.

The story is well written, and reflects the culture of London. Some of the characters are well developed, especially Paul Delamare, the protagonist. He is a likeable character, and the supporting characters could be developed a bit more. There are twists and turns throughout, and suspense builds, keeping readers on the edge.

The dénouement is a surprise, and readers won’t be able to guess who-done-it until the end of the novel. As is traditional, cozies don’t contain any sex, violence, or profanity, so this is a series that can be read by mystery lovers of all ages. This is a cute culinary mystery with plenty of mouthwatering food dishes mentioned, as well as bonus recipes at the end.

Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.

Good for fans of Agatha Christie; a classic mystery tale. The story builds with plot twists and character development. Mystery fans will enjoy this book! The narration was spot on!

Great audiobook that held my attention from beginning to end. Storyline was gripping and narrator was wonderful.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The narraration, the story everything in this book was chefs kiss (no pun intended) I will definitely be reading more from this author

Knife Skills for Beginners

By Orlando Murrin

3.5 stars rounded up to 4

Paul takes on teaching cooking classes in place of his friend Christian, a celebrity chef who has broken his arm. When Christian is found dead the morning after the first class, the police focus in on Paul. He has to figure out who really did it to clear his name.

I really enjoyed Sebastian Humphreys’ voice and the different accents/voices he did for the different characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and RBMedia for a copy of the audiobook in exchange for my honest opinion.

This audiobook delivered in full on its promise of being a cozy locked room mystery for fans of cooking shows. I was hooked in from the get go and was surprised up until the very last twist.

Looking for a fun cozy mystery with a large cast of characters and some recipes thrown in? This book is for you.

The narration by Sebastian Humphreys is very good and helps to move the somewhat overly long story along.

I enjoyed it and give it 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

I enjoyed this audiobook. The story was engaging and the narrator was perfect for the story. He sounded just like I imagined the character would sound. He also had good inflection for the plot points. The story kept me on my toes and I enjoyed the mystery. The story did lose a star because it just kept going and going. Just when you thought the story ended, there was more. And we didn't need more. The mystery had been explained; we didn't need an epilougue.

Knife Skills for Beginners is a delightful mix of culinary expertise and murder mystery, set against the charming (if slightly faded) backdrop of the Chester Square Cookery School in London. Orlando Murrin serves up an intriguing whodunit with a side of mouthwatering food descriptions and a dash of dry humour.
Paul Delamare, a talented yet down-on-his-luck chef, finds himself reluctantly stepping in to teach a week-long course at the prestigious school, only to become embroiled in a murder investigation.
While the setting and premise are engaging, the pacing occasionally lags, and some characters feel more like background decorations than fully fleshed-out suspects. If you enjoy cosy mysteries with a foodie twist, Knife Skills for Beginners is worth a read—even if it won’t leave you completely full.

This book was extremely engaging. It kept the suspense all the way to the end and I didn’t pick up on who was the murder. I also enjoyed the different recipes that were sprinkled throughout the story.

3.5 stars.
I was impressed that this was a debut mystery novel for this author. It's clear his cooking experience (and writing cookbooks) came in handy when writing his main character, Paul Delamare. Paul is depressed over the death of his partner, and is convinced, grudgingly by his estranged friend Christian, a celeb cook and entrepreneur, to take on teaching classes for him as Christian has broken his arm.

Paul is an unemployed cook and food stylist, so teaching how to make the curriculum's dishes is not difficult, and he's demonstrated techniques before large audiences, so again, that's not what has him concerned. Christian glosses over important details about the assignment, such as Paul's pay for substituting, and Paul knows he's needs to nail down numbers with Christian, or the man, whose previous businesses have failed repeatedly because of Christian's boredom or messing with staff, may duck out of paying Paul.

Paul also has a vindictive stalker, who trails him, and attempts to damage his reputation and professional life by making malicious calls to his employer.

Paul takes his knife roll to class, and introduces himself; the students are understandably disappointed, as they registered so they could learn from Christian, but Paul gradually wins them over through his steady manner and expertise.

The next morning before class, Paul decides to speak to Christian again about his pay, and arrives at Christian's flat to find broken glass, an unlocked door, and most horrifying, Christian almost decapitated in his kitchen with what looks a lot like Paul's cleaver. Paul faints, and understandably, since he was first on scene, becomes the police's prime suspect.

Paul's best friend Julie (musician, food stylist, and true-crime lover) urges Paul to find evidence pointing away from him, so that the police don't focus on his years ago drug-related arrest and somewhat difficult relationship with Christian. So he begins digging into the backgrounds of the students (as he discovers some may have had a grudge against Christian) and into Christian's recent past.

He finds lots of little negative things about the students, but the police remain focused on him, and his time as a free man may soon vanish unless he can figure out who killed Christian.

I enjoyed this much more than I expected to, and liked Paul, despite his doing and saying things that kept the police interested in him. His depression and slight smart aleckiness work against him frequently, but he's also surprisingly able to piece together the disparate clues he finds and solves the murder, though not without great danger to himself and his best friend.

I listened to this and quite liked Sebastian Humphreys' voicing of Paul. His skill at conveying Paul's emotions, whether grief, regret, anger or humour, came through well, and I liked how he differentiated each student. Humphreys' skill kept me listening for hours, eager to get to the mystery's resolution.

Thank you to Netgalley and to RBMedia for this ARC in exchange for my review.

This is a cozy culinary mystery that feels very in the vein of "The Golden Spoon" by Jessa Maxwell. I did enjoy it, but I did feel that it was a bit long winded in getting to where it was going. Pacing issues aside, I thought this was a fun time. The cooking tidbits and skills were intriguing, and I do think that the author showcased his own talents and skills in that department.

Overall, this was a fun read and I'd love to continue on if this develops into a series.

Thanks to RBmedia | Recorded Books and NetGalley for my audio arc!

I wish we could do half stars! I more than merely "liked" Knife Skills for Beginners, but I didn't quite "really liked it." As far as debut cozies go, it's pretty solid. You've got characters you can see yourself investing in over a series, an interesting location, a fun theme, and maybe just a touch of romance. I thought interspersing recipes throughout was a neat touch. Even better that the recipes, while coming from a master chef, seem replicable by a casual cook at home. I was never that advanced in my culinary skills, but, after too many years making little more than ramen, I'm slowly finding myself spending more and more time fiddling around in the kitchen. So, I appreciated the explanations of various cooking techniques.

For whatever reason, it took me a moment to get into Sebastian Humphreys's narration. Once over that hump, I was all in. He did a fine job with the different voices; I could tell them apart. He knew just when to be a bit comical, too, like with Lady B. Since this is going to be a series, I think his casting was an A1 choice.

LSS, I did enjoy Knife Skills for Beginners. I would appreciate the opportunity to read a sequel, especially if I got to listen to Sebastian Humphreys narrate the audiobook version. I would like to thank RBmedia | Recorded Books for allowing me to experience this NetGalley audiobook.