Do you like to watch baking shows on television? The kind where several nervous bakers compete to be the next best thing, like “Cake Wars,” “Cupcake Wars,” or the quintessential “The Great British Baking Show.” Jessa Maxwell’s debut novel, “The Golden Spoon,” combines this idea with a locked-room murder. Maxwell starts with a secluded historical Vermont mansion (including a tent!), mixes in contestants with a few secrets, sprinkles in some sabotage, and tops it off with a murder.

Betsy Martin, Bake Week’s famous host, is celebrating the tenth season of her hit show, which is filmed at her childhood home. However, this season the producers have decided to shake it up to appeal to younger viewers. For the first time, Betsy has a co-host, Archie Morris, an award-winning baker and rival a la Gordon Ramsay.

Because of the mansion’s seclusion, the producers insist that Archie stay at the mansion with Betsy and the six contestants. Since the producers don’t want the hosts to get too close to the contestants, Archie must stay in Betsy’s private east wing, creating an off-screen tension that is difficult for them to hide on screen. 

As the baking competition commences, sabotage starts slow but early, affecting more than one contestant. By day three, it is clear someone isn’t playing by the rules. Through unfolding narratives by each of the bakers and Betsy herself, readers come to realize that not everyone at Grafton Manor is there to compete. Everything escalates to an extremely dark and stormy night — electricity outage and all!

This mystery is fast-paced, atmospheric and suspenseful. There’s a charming balance of baking details and intrigue as the bakers compete through different challenges, and we become privy to their private motives and how far each is willing to go to win.

The first-person multiple points-of-view provide insight into their backstories and public reasons for competing. Listening to the audiobook had the potential to be quite confusing, but there are multiple narrators for the different characters/chapters. The seven different viewpoints, the hidden memories, the multiple twists, the mysteries all come together to create a great read! This murder mystery is perfect for fans of Nita Prose (“The Maid”) and Richard Osman (“The Thursday Murder Club series”).    

“The Golden Spoon” is available in Alpine, Kemmerer and Thayne and as an ebook and an audiobook in Libby.