The school rests on a knife-edge. Chef Paul Delaware takes up a teaching job at a cookery school in Belgravia but little did someone would turn up dead and he would in the frame for murder. This is a brilliant story full of twists and turns. Thank you netgalley for letting me read this gem of a book.

Chef Paul agrees to help to help his friend Christian and teach cooking skills at his establishment. He comes across a body on his 2nd day who in the house is the murderer?
I so wanted to like this book but I struggled with it. There were some good bits but I struggled to get some enthusiasm for this book.

This is an OK easy read and the writing style is good but I found it to be very putdownable and consequently it took me longer to read.
Thank you Netgalley for the ARC

I am a big cosy murder mystery fan, so this ticked all the right boxes for me. It’s a nice light-hearted “whodunit” murder mystery, with a great mix of characters (there are a lot of characters!) who all had motive to kill the deceased.

A cosy crime set in the world of cookery, this had an interesting array of characters and was an undemanding light read. However, there we’re too many things about it that irritated - a characters who corresponded wholly in emojis, in such an excessive way that the author (quite rightly) found the need to translate immediately, so rather pointless; some mechanical plot holes that meant one of the crimes could not be carried out unnoticeable, as described; and some (unappealing to me) recipes that seemed to be gratuitously sprinkled in for no apparent reason.

This is an entertaining cozy crime. A light read that will leave you smiling.
There are a great blend characters that are likeable and well developed.
Chef Paul is asked by a friend to stand in as a temporary tutor at a London based cookery school. He later finds out that his friend has been murdered and Paul is quickly becoming the main suspect. The plot is well conceived, similar to a locked room murder mystery where everyone is a potential suspect. Overall this was a well written, witty and fun read. At times totally intriguing. It also has the added bonus of recipes scattered throughout.
Loved the relationship between Paul and Julie. Recommended.
Many thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley UK for the ARC.

I wanted to like this book, the title intrigued me, but sadly it missed the mark for me. Some interesting tips and recipes kept me reading - it had a nice, warm 'crime' feel, and was gentle in its approach. But for me, I need something faster paced, with a bit more menace.

The quirky debut cosy crime novel by Masterchef semi-finalist and food writer Orlando Murrin.

Paul Delaware, who is coping with the loss of his husband, would prefer to avoid everyone and hole up at home. But when an old friend, Christian, a celebrity chef, asks him to teach a cookery course in a ritzy residential London cookery school, Paul can’t refuse.

But before too long, Christian is murdered and Paul is the main suspect. Paul must work out which of his students killed his friend in order to stay out of jail himself.

A deliciously entertaining debut, sprinkled with recipes, mixed with a generous dash of humour, and served with a fantastic twist. Quirky, witty, delightful!

When I saw this book pop up on NetGalley I was immediately intrigued. I have enjoyed the cosy crime genre recently and this book fits into that perfectly. When you reach for this book, you can expect a light-hearted cosy crime novel with the added benefit of a few recipes you will be keen to try. I have written down a few I cannot wait to try. (Okay, I will be honest – baking is not my thing – I am giving the recipes to Alicia and asking her to try them for me….)
This debut novel is a light read that will leave you smiling along the way. The characters are likeable and full of surprises. The author tells an intriguing story that will keep you guessing while adding what he ‘knows’ to the story. By the time I reached the end of this book, I learnt a new trick or two to try out in the kitchen. If you enjoy cooking, you will learn a thing or two among the pages of this one.
Paul has withdrawn from the world after the loss of his husband. He is happy to stay home alone and avoid people as much as possible. When Christian, an old friend, reaches out asking for help, Paul cannot refuse – Christian does not give him the chance. Paul finds himself teaching a short cooking course in an exclusive residential cookery school in Belgravia. What Paul did not expect was to discover a dead body or to find himself being the prime suspect. If Paul cannot solve the mystery, he just might find himself in jail for murder.
I started this book with an open mind, not having any idea what to expect and quickly found myself deeply engrossed and eagerly flicking the pages to find out who was guilty. The addition of recipes and cooking tips and tricks along the way made this an easy-to-read, entertaining book that you find yourself racing through.
The characters in this book will keep you on your toes. It feels as if everyone is hiding something. The mystery surrounding each of the characters makes this a fun read. As each character’s story is revealed you find that everyone is there because of Christian and it is easy to think each character has a reason to commit murder.
Paul is a brilliant character; I loved his mannerisms. The way he spoke his mind, despite it not always being the right thing to say, was brilliant.
This book is a fun read that keeps you guessing and delivers a great twist at the end. If you are keen on a light, cosy crime read then you will not want to miss this book.

This one was okay. I must admit I had quite high expectations going into this book as I am a fan of a cosy murder mystery but this one was just lacking something and I can't quite put my finger on what.

There were some interesting characters and I think it had a lot of potential to be excellent, but just didn't quite get there.

Unfortunately this novel didn't live up to my expectations. Whilst crime stories are one of my favourite genres, Orlando Murrin's effort didn't hit the mark. The pace was too slow for it to be a page turner. Sorry but it didn't deliver.

I really wanted to like this book and was keen to read it. I have liked Orlando Murrin since coming across his recipes in a daily paper years ago and since buying his books.
Unfortunately this didn't hit the mark for me. I found it slow going and didn't like the characters. Maybe it's because I move in completely different circles but they seemed pretentious to me.

I would still read another book by this author as I

I did not know what to expect when I received my digital copy of knife Skills for Beginners. I understood it was the debut copy of his first novel. On starting to read it I thought it to be a cookery book as it had recipes distributed though out the book. However this was not the case as we were treated to a well constructed murder case and investigation not only by the police but also assisted by the prime suspect Paul Delaware. The whole novel is based around a posh cookery school in London and involves the students who all have a connection with the victim Christian who is murdered in a particularly nasty way. Not one to spoil the big reveal I will just add that the author came up with a very good twist. Enjoy, you will find it a very pleasant and easy read.

A cosy mystery thriller.... sounded right up my street and I really did like this book until around halfway through when I thought the storyline kind of dragged.

When the murder who dunnit started, I was really intrigued but there ended up being too much in between the time it happened and the moment you found out who was the killer. I was shocked at who it was and didn't expect it but I felt I had made my mind up about the book already.

I also feel like you need to sit down and read this book in a couple of days to really understand the storyline.

However, the mix of personalities in characters were interesting and fun to read!! You'll be surprised at how settings change people.

I’m a big fan of crime novels and cookbooks so I was very excited to read Knife Skills for Beginners and it was such a great read. Paul Delamare is asked by his friend Christian to cover his teaching at the Chester Square Cookery School, but when Christian is murdered, Paul is drawn into finding out who killed him. A whodunnit with a quirky cast of characters who all have a motive, with the bonus of some useful cookery tips and techniques (I definitely made notes about the chef’s knives) and recipes. Clever, with plenty of wit this was like the perfect soufflé - beautifully formed, full of character and definitely leaving you wanting more.
Thank you to Transworld Books and to Netgalley for letting me read a copy, I loved it.

Great debut novel from cookery book author Orlando Murrin.
A tale of murder, cooking, food and intrigue. Murder mystery set in the cookery school, the book title is very apt ! Great selection of characters with fab detailing of everything from the people to the food and even the setting

A cosy mystery read that one could snuggle in before their bedtime. It was a bit slow in grabbing my interest but I enjoyed it.
Thank you to the Netgalley and the publishers for the earc !

Didn't quite hit the mark for me, Dragged quite a lot. Main character was very odd. Shame as it sounded really good!

A cosy murder story about a chef who is asked by another chef friend to stand in for him at a cookery school for a week long residential course. On the very first night, his friend is savagely murdered. The likely culprit must be someone who is staying in the cookery school. Or could it be an outsider that he somehow got on the wrong side of.
This is a really popular genre of crime stories that comes of the back of the Thursday murder club, but yet again it is another one that doesn't quite hit the mark. The main character is really unlikeable. He's very standoffish, and his behaviour towards the police was really bizarre and made him look incredibly guilty for no reason. He also kept using French words I suppose to make him seem more cultured and intelligent, but I got the impression he was a bit pompous.
The actual crime story was enjoyable with lots of potential suspects that kept me guessing.

Paul Delamare is still grieving for his boyfriend, who died less than a year ago, when he is asked by his old friend Christian if he will stand in for him and teach a cookery course in Belgravia. Christian is a famous Michelin starred chef, writer, and tv star, who has broken his arm so can’t teach the practical course. He also has a problem with betting and has lost a lot of money over the years for both himself and his investors. He promises Paul that he will support him on the course so reluctantly Paul agrees to help out.

It appears that all the course attendees have a link to Christian in some way and are all there as they want him to teach them. It’s a residential course and the only one not staying overnight is Paul. When he returns early in the morning, after his first day teaching, and goes to look for Christian he finds a body. The rest of the book is taken up with the cookery course and the murder investigation. There are a few forgettable recipes throughout the book which are from Christian’s book discovered by Paul.

I had hoped to love this book but unfortunately I really didn’t.