What an interesting little book. 1/3 of the way through, I wasn't sure where the tale was going - plus, the pace was rather slow - but out of nowhere, the pace gets quicker and the plot gets thicker. Enjoyed and definitely surprised myself reading this.

All in all, a very fun and odd book. It does read away very quickly, and the cast of characters is very loveable. Will definitely keep my eyes out for the second book.

However, the book could have done with the omission of the weird talk about taking off shoes (iykyk), and the epilogue was a bit lacking in style. 

This debut novel is a cosy murder mystery set around a cookery school in London. As you would expect from a master chef semi-finalist and food editor, the cookery detail (and included recipes) are a major feature of the story. There’s a diverse cast of possible murderers in the guise of the students and staff and the plot twists and turns throughout. There’s plenty of red herrings scattered throughout the real details leaving you guessing whodunnit. 
Paul Delamare is asked to cover the tutoring of cookery students at an exclusive london residential school, when his old friend, the famous Christian, breaks his arm and can no longer cook. When Christian is found dead the day after, his head lopped off with a cleaver, Paul is looking like a likely suspect. 
At times the overly complex and slightly pompous phrases that Paul uses and Julie’s emoji speak detracted a bit from the story, but I’m sure they were carefully considered character quirks. 
I enjoyed the story, which had me guessing almost to the end, even though I’d spotted a lot of the clues as to the culprit. I’ve given it 4.5/5 and I’d be more than happy to read any follow up stories. Thanks to NetGalley for a free ARC in return for an honest review.