AT THE LIBRARY

“The Golden Spoon” by Jessa Maxwell, First Atria Books, 2023, 272 pages

Being invited to compete in bake week is an honour, made all the more exciting by the competition taking place at famed baking personality Betsy Martin’s lavish, but crumbling estate in Vermont. From a billionaire to a dinner worker, a retiree to a journalist, we learn about each character through their own monologue — all the more compelling on audiobook, with eight different narrators.

Opening with a body falling through the competition tent, the reader is left in the dark about how far into filming the reality show is at the time of the murder and which contestants are left to consider as suspects. What is glaringly obvious is that this is not a clean competition. Sabotage strikes in small but impactful ways, influencing who stays and who goes, constantly changing your expectation of who is murdered and who remains to commit murder. The behind-thescenes drama of a reality show and how people have the power to choose which facets of themselves they share on camera greatly impacts your sense of who to consider a victim and a suspect. With a splash of romance, a dusting of coming of age and a dollop of suspense, you’ll be captivated by the slowly brewed relationships and final chapter reveals in “The Golden Spoon.”