Jessa Maxwell: The Golden Spoon (Simon & Schuster 2021)
Many thanks to 21. Század Kiadó for sending me the book!
Jessa Maxwell is the pseudonym of Jessica Olien, who works as a writer, illustrator and journalist. She is the author of several children’s books and in 2020 wrote a comic about how people can cook during the pandemic. According to her own admission, she loved to bake and cook even before Covid, but she developed her skill a lot during the isolation. The Golden Spoon is also the fruit of that period…or rather, the cookie of it. If this book were a cake, it would be layered, seasoned with lots of characters and covered with mystery like fondant.
The Bake Week has been having mesmerizing viewers on TV for ten years now, with Betsy Martin, America’s Grandmother, at the helm. However, this year will be different… In addition to the usual six contestants, she now also have a co-host who will apply to take her place. In addition, unusual events disrupt the filming and an old secret lurks in the shadows.
The story begins in the same way as we expect from a crime novel: a rainy night, drops of blood, and then a terrified scream… However, the events did not start here, but before the competition, so we cannot be sure not only of the identity of the murderer, but also of the victim. This gives the story its tension. However, the reader must investigate not only this crime. As Agatha Christie wrote: ‘Old sins have long shadows’. If you loved The Great British Bake Off show and also the mysteries, look no further, this is your book!
