The six contestants work to prove their culinary talents over the course of five days, while Betsy is less than thrilled to share the spotlight with a new cohost—the brash and unpredictable Archie Morris. But 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 deliciously suspenseful thriller for murder mystery buffs and avid bakers alike, The Golden Spoon will keep you guessing until the very last page.
Comment: This book has had some hype since its release and I just saw that a mini series or something similar might be produced based on it, so having the chance to read the book, I jumped right in. Besides, this is not long and it was a relatively quick read.
In this story we meet the six contestants of a baking reality show (similar to the famous The Great British Bake Off) and they are going to compete for a monetary prize and the title of the best baker. Each contestant seems to have a reason to participate in the show, but all are in awe of the judge, Betsy Martin, who is a renowned baker and cook in the country. The show is also behind filmed at Betsy's family manor which adds some interest to everyone, even more so now, that with the renovation of this season, the show requests that Betsy has a co-host, someone who has judged other competitions, but with a much more aggressive look. Will the judges work well together, will the contestants do a good job and who will be killed even before the contest is over?
I think the idea of this novel is quite fun and interesting. I have only watched one season of the British show in which this book is based, but I have watched other baking and cooking competitions and I admit I am a fan of some of these types of shows. There seems to exist a general style of presenting these shows: or they are family oriented, and the competition is all about the cooking, the passion for food, or the goal is to entertain the viewers with something more about the drama and the personality of those involved.
I actually think the author tried to mesh these two ideas here, and those who have watched any cooking show probably find those references, but I must also say that the end result wasn't as well accomplished as I imagine the author might have intended. I've found the plot to be extremely weak, and the addition of the murder (plus all the secrets around it) made it to be over the top or, in other words, the plot was not planned well and the story just doesn't have enough power to sustain itself, in my opinion.
The six contestants are from different ages and backgrounds and I thought their differences would have a bigger importance, but it turns out that the author went for a very.... let's use the word "cliché", tactic in creating the characters. I feel they have no real substance, no real depth and their purpose was to present a point or to take the plot into a very predictable place. I wonder if this had been just woman's fiction for instance, if things could have been developed better.
My impression is that the characters had to fit a certain idea to explain why the crime was committed. The rest of the story was a convenient and interesting set, that's all, and this means that while the book is easy and pleasant to read, it's not really special nor complex. With such hype and many people reading it, I assumed it would be a stronger work. The crime committed has an interesting reason and that section of the story had a good base, but the execution did disappoint me. I also liked the role of one or other character, but as I've said, in the big picture things didn't really seem convincing.
I would have liked more about the baking competition, more about baking and cooking... to be fair, I think there's enough of this to make the plot believable and it's not too much that a reader without that interest would find it annoying, but perhaps a bit more setting up.... the page count isn't high either, so that helps. There some specific scenes which I've found engaging and certain things seemed to lead to a good plot point, but because I feel the execution wasn't great, those possibilities were not used well either.
Some books are all gimmick, not substance; sounds like this was one.
ReplyDeleteI think the author could have done so much better with several elements.
DeleteOr the character development, at least, should have been...