A reasonably cosy murder mystery - with recipes. I found this book entertaining, the characters interesting and learned some cookery tips and techniques along the way. There are a few people around who could have committed the murder and they each have a reasonable motive and very little alibi.

Really enjoyed it.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher I read a free advance review copy of the book. This review is voluntary, honest and my own opinion.

Such a good book. Set in a cookery school with TV chef, great characters, enough twists and turns in the plot to keep you guessing. It would be a great holiday read. I can’t wait for Orlando’s second book. Highly recommended.

Enjoyed this read and was an enjoyable story. Like the setting of the story and the characters. Look forward to more from the author.

This was a funny little thriller that was a lovely read for an afternoon. Interesting characters and lots of well executed twists I fully recommend

A really enjoyable read that that isn't too heavy but makes you want to keep reading. Lots of lovely recipes and tips for those who enjoy cooking, the eclectic mix of clients signed up for the cookery course make you wonder what the real reason for being there is and as we get to know each one better they still don't seem to be the typical food lover.
Paul who stands in for his friend Christian gets more than he bargained for after finding his friend dead but can he solve the murder before the police? Suspicions and red herrings make this a good read.

This was an enjoyable story but a little too drawn out for me. I thought it was pretty obvious who was guilty as there was quite an obvious omission of looking at that person and the things around them even though they were continually mentioned so it didn't have the same "oh my god" moment as other books which let it down.

Paul Delamare, chef needs to work and loves to teach.
But when his friend, the celebrity chef Christian asks him to help he encounters more problems than he envisaged, not least the murder of his friend.
Paul needs to find out who did it because it seems like the police are looking to blame him.
I liked the style of the book, with a chatty tone that gave lots of information without being a narrative. This is the first in a series and I would be interested to find out more about the narrator as well as enjoying the mystery!

I had read about half of this book before I twigged where I knew the author’s name from. This is his fiction debut, but I have a treasured copy of A Table in the Tarn that I bought in 2008 when I had a house in France.
Back to this book though. It is a very fine debut thriller. The book is very well written and pacy, as you’d expect from a very experienced journalist and the plot is quite tricky to solve. I did get part of it in the end, but this did not detract from my pleasure in reading it. Cooking and a thrilling plot! What more could I ask for? Well maybe a sequel and I understand that that will be coming next year.

I enjoyed reading Knife Skills for Beginners. Love the story and the setting of the book like the cooking school and the not so lovable characters and I enjoyed the ending that I didn't expect.

Christian was a ‘tv’ chef who was due to give a cookery school presentation but broke his arm so his friend Paul takes his place. However Paul discovers Christian murdered. He then tried to solve it but gets arrested as his fingerprints are discovered at the scene. Hardly surprising but other things finally come to light and it’s a fabulous whodunnit and why they dunnit!

An enjoyable read. Intriguing storyline.. Well written. A good holiday read. .This book could be a success..

I enjoyed this more as I read it. At first I wasn't really interested in the characters. Paul, as the stand in teacher of the cookery school seemed a bit flat. However, as the story developed he became more likable.
What shines through in this book is the knowledge that the author has of both cookery and magazine publishing. At times it felt like being on the cookery course.
I had no idea of the murderer until close to the end which was great.

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

Chef, Paul, agrees to help his friend, Christian, to teach at an exclusive cookery school in Belgravia. All seems well, until Murder comes on the menu.

This is the first I’ve read from this author, and it did not disappoint. This was a cosy crime type book, and I love those and read them regularly. The story wasn’t boring, and felt like it raced ahead. There were lots of twists and turns, and was engaging until the very last page. I really liked the characters, and felt Paul was completely relatable. The author managed to get the right balance of tension and fun throughout. An excellent read, especially for readers who enjoy the cosy crime genre.

A fabulously written story that was a pleasure to read. I would absolutely recommend this book, it was brilliant

I have to admit, I did struggle with this book at first and that was because I found the characters so pretentious and unlikeable. Any one of them was likely to be bumped off. I'm glad I persevered, however, and enjoyed the read. I felt that the author had deliberately written the characters that way. I had a lot of the plot worked out but there was a nice little unexpected twist. Just one thing, I hated the texts with emojis and felt they added nothing. Maybe, that's a generational thing.

I’ve been looking for further enjoyable cozy crime mysteries ever since reading the Thursday Murder Club and have finally found one! I liked the main character Paul’s sarcastic sense of humour and relationship with bubbly best friend Julie. The twist was a little unbelievable for me but I feel I can forgive the author as I so enjoyed the rest of the book.

Thank you Netgalley, Orlando Murrin and Random House for this ARC.

Really interesting storyline, great characters but for me just too many of them , I kept forgetting who was who . That said that is just a personal thing, overall very well written and an unexpected ending.

Enjoyable, easy but probably forgettable read. Set in a residential cookery school with notions. Christian is in need if a stand in chef when he breaks his arm and he asks Paul to stand in. Takes a while to warm to the many characters in this book and sometimes hard to empathise with Paul as he opens his mouth and becomes prime suspect.
Many thanks to Netgalley gor the ARC in exchange for my honest review

Many thanks to the author publisher and Netgalley for a free ARC of this ebook.
I love a cosy mystery and when food, recipes and celeb chefs are involved, I was hopeful that this was the book for me.
I wasn't disappointed, it was a fun read with a(very) large cast of mis-fits who provide all sorts of red herrings and misdirection. The number of characters was quite daunting in the beginning, trying to decipher who was whom. It became easier as the plot unfolded. I enjoyed this book and look forward to the next in the series.

It should have been an easy job for chef Paul Delamare, to teach for a week in a residential cokkery school in Belgravia, as a favour for his old friend Christian. But when the unthinkable happens and a dead body turns up on the first night, the police is convinced Paul is the killer. If he can't prove his innocence fast, his goose will be truly cooked...

This was an entertaining read. I particularly liked the energy of the ending.