Knife Skills for Beginners

**SHORTLISTED FOR THE VAL McDERMID DEBUT AWARD 2024** 
 
Richard Osman meets MasterChef in this gripping cosy murder mystery. In this cookery school, murder is on the menu... 
 
'If Agatha Christie were to go on Masterchef, this novel would be the result.' Clare Pooley 
 
'Delicious fun!' Tess Gerritsen 
 
A recipe for disaster. 
When chef Paul Delamare takes a job teaching at an exclusive residential cookery school in Belgravia, the only thing he expects his students to murder is his taste buds. But on the first night, the unthinkable happens: someone turns up dead... 
 
The school rests on a knife-edge. 
The police are convinced Paul is the culprit. After all, he’s good with a blade, was first on the scene – and everyone knows it doesn’t take much to push a chef over the edge. To prove his innocence, he must find the killer. Could it be one of his students? Or the owner of the school – a woman with secrets and a murky past? 
 
It all boils down to murder. 
If Paul can’t solve the mystery fast – as well as teach his students how to make a perfect hollandaise sauce – he’ll be next to get the chop. 
 
Readers love Knife Skills for Beginners! 
 
‘A deliciously dark slice of murder and mystery.’ Chris Whitaker 
 
'If Ruth Rendell had teamed up with Delia Smith they’d have produced something like this.’ J. M. Hall 
 
‘The perfect blend of The Great British Bake Off and Agatha Christie.’ ***** Reader Review 
 
‘A fun mystery full of quirks and fun characters that will leave you guessing.’ ***** Reader Review 
 
‘A welcome addition to the cosy crime genre.’ ***** Reader Review 
 
‘Sharp, incisive, cutting - and that’s just the prose!’ ***** Reader Review

Funny, and at times unexpectedly moving, this thoroughly enjoyable murder mystery is packed with interesting recipe ideas, fascinating culinary facts and some jolly useful cooking hacks

With a delightful cast of characters, and seasoned with plenty of acerbic wit, this culinary cosy crime debut is a moreish treat.

Our new obsession. A delicious, twisty novel!

This fun cosy crime novel is deliciously good!

A stylish cosy crime novel &hellip; Colourful, entertaining and full of social observations, the account of Paul&rsquo;s odyssey also has some moments of genuine emotion

(Orlando's) talent for British mystery is every bit as stellar as his culinary prowess.

Delicious fun! Knife Skills for Beginners is both intriguing and mouth-watering, starring a charming hero you’ll want as your best friend.

A deliciously dark slice of murder and mystery. Funny and fun, frightening and charming.

Knife Skills for Beginners is a joy, packed full of fabulous culinary tips and recipes you'll want to make, alongside a decent dollop of murder and mystery.

Orlando Murrin’s personality is sprinkled throughout the pages of his debut, Knife Skills for Beginners. It’s warm, it’s humorous, it’s different from anything I’ve read before. If you’re into cosy crime, this one is irresistible.

A lethally delicious soufflé of a crime novel - light and witty at first taste, but with rich, dark undertones. I loved the combination of crime and cookery - and how Orlando uses the one to enrich the other (and vice versa). I can see this developing into a wonderful series with memorable recurring characters.

I absolutely loved Knife Skills for Beginners and read it in two days flat. I found Orlando’s style forensic and precise, yet at the same time deeply perceptive... the characters were an expertly crafted blend of the sweet and dark, like the perfect salted flapjack. If Ruth Rendell had teamed up with Delia Smith they’d have produced something like this.

Enjoyably readable, great characters, and cooking recipes as well. Who could ask for more?

Faith Martin, million-copy bestselling author

Dazzlingly sharp with a wit that sparkles off the page. Orlando Murrin’s Knife Skills for Beginners is a dish to be savoured and re-ordered again and again.

A clever, elegant and unexpectedly scary story. And foodies will love it - the recipes are great.

Fresh, engrossing and deliciously irreverent, Orlando Murrin's debut blends murder, intrigue, larger-than-life characters and mouth-watering recipes in a literary feast for the senses. Fun and utterly DELICIOUS!

If Agatha Christie were to go on Masterchef, this novel would be the result. A deliciously fun murder mystery - I loved it.

Knife Skills for Beginners is a real treat, as sharp as the best kitchen knife with a wonderfully acerbic protagonist who I'd be very happy to spend more time with. It has all the ingredients of the best cosy crime.

In the kitchen with the meat cleaver is my favourite kind of murder and Orlando Murrin’s debut does not disappoint. A protagonist in over his head, a cast of characters who aren’t what they seem and the perfect London cooking school setting all make for a murderous culinary triumph.

If you love food, a juicy murder and a rollicking read, Orlando Murrin serves up the perfect recipe

William Sitwell, food writer and restaurant critic

A triumph!! Intriguing, clever, funny - a real page-turner.

A tasty opener with more to come we hope.

An intriguing and murderous trip into the world of the professional chef. Most enjoyable and highly recommended.

If you like your cosy crime with a a large dose of humour and a generous portion of culinary flair, this is the book for you. I can’t wait to see what Paul (and Orlando!) does next. And who doesn’t love a crime novel with a handful of delicious recipes thrown in?

Bridget Walsh, author of The Tumbling Girl

A delicious treat with a sweet filling of murder and mystery. I’ll definitely be back for seconds!

Antony Johnston, author of The Dog Sitter Detective

A joy to read due to its rather lovely setting and cast of characters.

Billed as Masterchef meets The Thursday Murder Club – a pretty appealing pairing!

Imagine a crime caper in a cookery school, peppered with recipes, cheffy tips… and murder… it was a treat to read.

This contemporary crime story is a delicious confection…a fabulous feast of a whodunnit.

After being flung into the culinary limelight as a semi-finalist on Masterchef, Orlando Murrin edited Woman and Home, BBC Good Food and founded Olive magazine; then he switched track to become a chef-hotelier in SW France and Somerset. 
 
He has written six cookbooks and received an Outstanding Achievement Award from the Guild of Food Writers, its highest accolade. A popular guest on TV and radio, and food and literary festivals, he is also a regular podcaster and podcast host. 
 
From his grandfather, a Met detective who rose to become a crack MI5 interrogator, he inherited a fascination with crime and mystery. He lives in domestic bliss in Exeter, Devon, and has written two culinary crime novels: Knife Skills For Beginners (shortlisted for the McDermid Debut and Crime Fiction Lover Debut Awards) and Murder Below Deck. 
 
You can find Orlando on Facebook and Instagram @orlandomurrinauthor, and @orlandomurrin.bsky.social on BlueSky. His website is www.orlandomurrin.com.

**SHORTLISTED FOR THE VAL McDERMID DEBUT AWARD 2024** 
 
Richard Osman meets MasterChef. In this cookery school, murder is on the menu... 
 
'Delicious fun!' Tess Gerritsen 
 
'Knife Skills for Beginners is a joy.' S. J. Bennett 
 
‘A deliciously dark slice of murder and mystery.’ Chris Whitaker 
 
'If Ruth Rendell had teamed up with Delia Smith they’d have produced something like this.’ J. M. Hall 
 
‘Dazzlingly sharp with a wit that sparkles off the page.' Jane Corry 
 
A recipe for disaster. 
When chef Paul Delamare takes a job teaching at an exclusive residential cookery school in Belgravia, the only thing he expects his students to murder is his taste buds. But on the first night, the unthinkable happens: someone turns up dead... 
 
The school rests on a knife-edge. 
The police are convinced Paul is the culprit. After all, he’s good with a blade, was first on the scene – and everyone knows it doesn’t take much to push a chef over the edge. To prove his innocence, he must find the killer. Could it be one of his students? Or the owner of the school – a woman with secrets and a murky past? 
 
It all boils down to murder. 
If Paul can’t solve the mystery fast – as well as teach his students how to make a perfect hollandaise sauce – he’ll be next to get the chop.

Orlando Murrin

Delightful...packed with wit and culinary digressions.

This second cosy mystery from former MasterChef contestant and chef-hotelier Murrin is even more delightful than his debut…Enormous fun, it is a mystery written with great elan.

Enormous fun from start to finish, I adore chef Paul Delamere’s brilliant observational humour and expert sleuthing skills. He’s the kind of main character you’d want to be friends with, and this entertaining follow-up to Knife Skills for Beginners felt like a wonderful mix between Glass Onion and Death and Other Details, with the added flavour of a chef’s unique perspective.

Kristen Perrin, author of How to Solve Your Own Murder

This is a fun, fast-paced mystery with real heart. The super yacht setting is irresistible and the writing so compelling that, in places, I was rolling with the waves as I read! Overall, I was blown away by how vividly Orlando portrays the glamorous, quirky and surprisingly murky world of the excessively wealthy.

Jessica Bull, author of Miss Austen Investigates

The most perfect book to read over Christmas! An absorbing and addictive cosy crime read that I adored. It should give Richard Osman a run for his money! Fast, fun and deliciously witty, this is a fabulously enjoyable murder mystery.

A delicious serving of murder at sea, with a tasty garnish of cooking tips and a generous sprinkling of laugh-out-loud humour. Orlando Murrin knows exactly how to satisfy a reader’s appetite!

Orlando Murrin’s story telling had me turning page after page after page – I devoured the novel in two days flat. Sit back and savour this cracking new tale of murder, mayhem and things that go splash in the night.

Orlando Murrin has done it again! All aboard the Maldemer for a delicious murder mystery - as satisfying as a rich bouillabaisse, and with wit sharper than a chef's knife. Paul Delamare is an inspired creation and it was a joy to spend time with him again in this original and sassy crime caper on the high seas.

Elizabeth Delo, author of Becoming Liz Taylor

Murder Below Deck is like drinking a cocktail of wit, spicy observation, intrigue and the delicious unknown. Orlando Murrin writes with skill and panache – rather like his legendary cooking.

An absorbing read, and I didn't guess the murderer!

Faith Martin, multi-million-copy bestseller

Murder Below Deck is a delicious cosy crime caper that will have any reader returning for seconds! I found it thoroughly entertaining, so well-observed and very witty. More please!

I really did enjoy it immensely. To use a culinary metaphor, this is a lovely mille-feuille of a book, with all its multi layers; delightful three dimensional personalities, and complex plot. All mixed together with Orlando Murrin's charming zany style it results in a very good book indeed.

Sally Smith, author of A Case of Mice and Murder

Fans of culinary mysteries with a glamorous edge are in for a treat with Chef Paul Delamare’s latest adventure on the high seas…From tennis pros and private detectives to stowaways and scandalous secrets, Murder Below Deck is a darkly comedic locked-boat mystery packed with clever twists, intrigue, and deliciously entertaining thrills. Poseidon Adventure Cocktail, anyone?

Set on a luxury yacht with crew and guests as suspect as each other, Chef Paul Delamare takes to the (very) high seas for this rollicking crime mystery.

This 'Agatha Christie meets Below Deck' mash-up is such an uplifting tonic, it should be prescribed on the NHS.

Murder Below Deck is huge fun. With a colourful cast of love-to-hate characters and non-stop action above and below stairs, this murder mystery kept me entertained from the first page to the last.

Emylia Hall, author of the Shell House Detectives series.

This really was a pleasure. It's such a playful, entertaining riff on the traditional Golden Age detective novel - a great cast of suspects, all with deliciously unpleasant motives, and a truly brilliant setting...I love the warmth of Orlando's writing, which adds so much depth to the fun.

Nicola Upson, bestselling author of the Josephine Tey mysteries

Orlando Murrin has put together the perfect dish - a murder mystery on a luxurious superyacht written with the sharp edge of a chef’s knife.

LT Shearer, bestselling author of The Cat Who Caught a Killer

An entertaining, cosy mix of Christie-esque criminology, cookery, and crimebusting.

Funny, and at times unexpectedly moving, this thoroughly enjoyable murder mystery is packed with interesting recipe ideas, fascinating culinary facts and some jolly useful cooking hacks.

Delicious fun! ...Intriguing and mouth-watering, starring a charming hero you’ll want as your best friend.

If Agatha Christie were to go on Masterchef, this novel would be the result.

I loved the combination of crime and cookery - and how Orlando uses the one to enrich the other (and vice versa). I can see this developing into a wonderful series with memorable recurring characters.

I found Orlando&rsquo;s style forensic and precise, yet at the same time deeply perceptive... the characters were an expertly crafted blend of the sweet and dark, like the perfect salted flapjack. If Ruth Rendell had teamed up with Delia Smith they&rsquo;d have produced something like this.

Orlando Murrin&rsquo;s personality is sprinkled throughout the pages... It&rsquo;s warm, it&rsquo;s humorous, it&rsquo;s different from anything I&rsquo;ve read before. If you&rsquo;re into cosy crime, this one is irresistible.

Dazzlingly sharp with a wit that sparkles off the page. . . a dish to be savoured and re-ordered again and again.

A delicious treat with a sweet filling of murder and mystery. I&rsquo;ll definitely be back for seconds!

Murrin’s deft handling of the many subplots layered into this well-crafted mystery is only part of what makes the story so readable. Quirky characters (like the ship’s eye-patch wearing chef, who inspires Paul to go back into the kitchen), unexpected twists (like Paul’s email correspondence with a tarot-reading friend whose cards reveal just how dangerous his sleuthing will become), and a small collection of mouthwatering recipes at the end of the book work together to create a unique novel that tantalizes as it entertains. A wickedly delicious mystery spiced with unexpected secrets and intrigue.

Worse things happen at sea… 
 
Paul Delamare has been roped into accompanying his old friend on a luxury cruise aboard the magnificent superyacht Maldemer. It’s all plain sailing until his friend’s priceless necklace is stolen, and everyone falls under suspicion. 
 
As Paul races to catch the thief, the ship begins to drift off-course, veering into the storm-lashed mid-Atlantic. Then one of the passengers is found dead in mysterious circumstances, in a pool of coffee and surrounded by cake crumbs. 
 
It’s all hands on deck to catch the killer, but Paul soon discovers guests and crew are harbouring deadly secrets. And if he can’t get to the bottom of the mystery soon, he’ll be sleeping with the fishes.

Murder Below Deck

About us

About Us (Header 4)

Best-Jane-Austen-quotes_Online-Desktop_Penguin

James-Baldwin

Marian-Keyes

haruki-murakami-320×320-1

Richard-Osman

Malorie Blackman

Lisa-Jewell

Charlie-Mackesy

Authors (Header 3)

Children&#039;s

Company

Discover

Fiction

Non-fiction

Penguin Classics

Penguin Shop (Header 5)

Useful links

Work with us

The perfect gift? A Penguin Shop gift card

Orlando Murrin

Praise for Murder Below Deck

Delightful...packed with wit and culinary digressions.

This second cosy mystery from former MasterChef contestant and chef-hotelier Murrin is even more delightful than his debut…Enormous fun, it is a mystery written with great elan.

Enormous fun from start to finish, I adore chef Paul Delamere’s brilliant observational humour and expert sleuthing skills. He’s the kind of main character you’d want to be friends with, and this entertaining follow ...

Delightful...packed with wit and culinary digressions.

This second cosy mystery from former MasterChef contestant and chef-hotelier Murrin is even more delightful than his debut…Enormous fun, it is a mystery written with great elan.

Enormous fun from start to finish, I adore chef Paul Delamere’s brilliant observational humour and expert sleuthing skills. He’s the kind of main character you’d want to be friends with, and this entertaining follow ...

Delightful...packed with wit and culinary digressions.

This second cosy mystery from former MasterChef contestant and chef-hotelier Murrin is even more delightful than his debut…Enormous fun, it is a mystery written with great elan.

Enormous fun from start to finish, I adore chef Paul Delamere’s brilliant observational humour and expert sleuthing skills. He’s the kind of main character you’d want to be friends with, and this entertaining follow ...

Books by Orlando Murrin

Series by Orlando Murrin

A chef Paul Delamare Mystery

Follow penguin

Follow ladybird

Follow puffin

Sign up to the Penguin newsletter