The Golden Spoon
A Novel
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3.9 • 124 Ratings
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
“This delicious combination of Clue and The Great British Bake Off kept me turning the pages all night!” —Janet Evanovich, #1 New York Times bestselling author
Only Murders in the Building meets The Maid in this “deliciously entertaining whodunit” (Sarah Penner, New York Times bestselling author) where someone turns up dead on the set of TV’s hottest baking competition—perfect for fans of Nita Prose, Richard Osman, and Anthony Horowitz.
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 “as addictive as bingeing your favorite culinary competition and as satisfying as a piece of your favorite cake” (Kellye Garrett, author of Like a Sister).
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
A TV baking show takes a dark turn in this wildly entertaining mystery. Bake Week is a popular competition held every year at Vermont's opulent Grafton Manor—and the latest roster of contestants includes a former journalist, a baker from a popular diner, a math teacher, a dilettante millionaire, a retired nurse, and a construction worker. Tensions run high as the contest heats up, but things really reach a breaking point when a dead body turns up in the cooking tent. We enjoyed watching the action unfold through the various contestants’ viewpoints, and debut author Jessa Maxwell skillfully drops in clues about each character’s backstory and motivation, turning her readers into amateur sleuths. A clever mystery that comes complete with luscious descriptions of baked goods, The Golden Spoon is a real treat.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Byzantine chicanery seasoned with a dash of revenge greets six contestants gathered for Bake Week on the property of a crumbling Vermont manse, in Maxwell's outstanding debut. Tantalizing backstage backstories include those of an ex-journalist from Brooklyn, a pie prodigy from Minnesota, a Bronx math teacher, a wealthy former CEO tech from Boston, a retired Rhode Island registered nurse, and a restorer of old buildings from New Hampshire. Hosting the competition's 10th season is the heir to the manor, Betsy Martin, joined for the first time by an award-winning baker, Archie Morris, along with regular lead coordinator, Melanie Blair. Sabotage starts slow but early. A refrigerator door is left open; salt is replaced with sugar; a burner is turned up to high; gasoline replaces orange essence in a pie. By day three, it's clear someone isn't playing by the rules laid out in a "behemoth spiralbound packet." Everything escalates to an extremely dark and stormy night (including a blackout), leading to startling revelations and a jaw-dropping confession. Sweet and savory turns deadly sour in this fast-paced, entertaining romp scheduled for a Hulu miniseries. Maxwell is off to a great start.
Customer Reviews
Well Done!
Kept me on the edge of my seat from beginning to end! Bravo!
Quick and fun
This would be a great TV show or quick binge-6 episode arc.
Sophomore show
I can’t believe you can take the script from popular baking shows, convert it to a storyline, throw in a weak murder mystery and create an ending that is so completely disappointing that a high school wannabe writer could have written it, and then get it published. Truly, that’s the only mystery here.