Ms. Mebel Goes Back to the Chopping Block by Jesse Q. Sutanto [Book Review]

A 63-year-old woman enrolls in culinary school to win back her husband, and the life waiting for her might be better than the one she’s trying to save.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Mebel is 63 when her husband of forty-plus years announces he’s leaving her for their private chef.

That ridiculous setup launches Jesse Q. Sutanto’s Ms. Mebel Goes Back to the Chopping Block, a funny, warm, quasi-mystery about a woman who thinks she needs to win back her marriage and discovers the life waiting for her might be much better.

Mebel Has a Plan

Mebel is convinced she knows exactly why her husband left. He wants a wife who can cook.

Naturally, the solution is culinary school.

Class at the prestigious Saint Honoré School of Culinary Arts starts in four days, and she assumes it’s in France. It isn’t. She ends up in a small English village outside Oxford, surrounded by classmates who are much younger and not particularly interested in welcoming her.

Mebel may not know how to cut a potato, but she knows people. She has spent decades anticipating her husband’s needs and watching everyone around her. So when Gemma, the program’s breakout star and her one real friend there, suddenly stops showing up to class, Mebel is convinced something is wrong.

She might be out of her depth in the kitchen, but she can spot suspicious behavior from across the room.

Sutanto Is at Her Best With Older Heroines

This is the sixth Sutanto story I’ve read, and she’s consistently entertaining. Her books move fast, embrace chaos, and find humor in situations that should probably be stressful.

But I especially love her work when an older woman is at the center. After the Vera Wong books and now Mebel, I think this is where Sutanto is strongest. She clearly has affection for women who’ve been underestimated or dismissed.

Mebel is dramatic, stubborn, and occasionally exhausting. She’s also exactly the kind of larger-than-life heroine who makes a book memorable.

Starting Over Is Messy

Mebel enters culinary school believing her value comes from taking care of her husband. She has spent so long anticipating what he wants, and nobody ever really asked what she wants.

That’s where the book proves it’s more than just a mystery about terrible knife skills. She has to face the possibility that going back to her old life might not make her happy.

A Familiar Recipe, But Still a Good One

A few moments leaned so hard into the comedy that the emotional moments felt a little light. Also, if you’ve read Sutanto before, you’ll probably recognize the formula: an eccentric older heroine, a mystery that pulls her into other people’s lives, plenty of misunderstandings, and found-family warmth under the chaos.

Still, a familiar recipe isn’t a bad thing when it works.

Final Thoughts

Ms. Mebel Goes Back to the Chopping Block is a warm, entertaining story about a woman who goes to cooking school to save her marriage and learns she might not need saving at all.

I would recommend it, particularly if you like cozy mysteries, bold older heroines, and stories about women rebuilding their lives after everyone assumes the interesting part is over.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for an advanced reader’s copy; all opinions expressed in this review are my own.