This is the best cheese shop mystery yet! Willa Bauer is settling into Yarrow Glen after two wonderful years at her beloved cheese shop. But her past comes to haunt her when her ex-fiance and ex-best-friend come to establish their own chocolate shop in Willa's town. Even worse is when Willa finds herself a suspect to a murder--in what will be one of the most twisty cases she's solved yet!

Moss kept me turning pages and devouring this book like a slice of muenster. Even until the ending, I had no idea who the murderer was, despite Moss's carefully placed clues. This is one of the best plotted cozy mysteries I've ever read. Moss is an expert at writing the coziest stories that still keep you guessing!

In "Bait and Swiss," life takes a sharp turn for Willa Bauer, the dedicated cheesemonger and owner of Curds & Whey. The serene cheese-infused atmosphere of Yarrow Glen is shattered when Hope's Cakery announces a grand opening, paired with the arrival of the Chocolate Bliss pop-up shop. To Willa's dismay, the chocolatiers are none other than her ex-fiancé, Pearce, and ex-best friend, Riley. As if the circumstances weren't complicated enough, Willa accidentally finds herself caught up in a murder mystery when she delivers a box of Chocolate Bliss candies—meant for the local newspaper editor, AJ—that leads to the death of the newest reporter, Kevin. Her note she included to AJ, laced with a hint of her annoyance with his recent actions, places her in a sticky situation on the suspect list alongside Pearce and Riley. Now, with the town of Yarrow Glen in a state of unease, Willa must team up with her trusted friends in Team Cheese to uncover the truth before the killer melts away like fondue.
From the opening page, "Bait and Swiss" captivated me like an indulgent piece of chocolate. As a passionate admirer of culinary mysteries, this book presented a delightful mix of suspense and humor, keeping me on the edge of my seat right until the very conclusion. Team Cheese, with their unique blend of personalities and clever camaraderie, makes the investigation both engaging and entertaining. Their dynamic interactions, filled with wit and a touch of humor, remind me of a well-aged cheese—complex, satisfying, and impossible to resist. The storyline is packed with twists and turns, and scattered red herrings, keeping me guessing and eagerly turning pages to see who would crumble under the pressure.
Korina Moss has crafted a deliciously intriguing mystery. The descriptions are so vivid, that I could practically taste the nostalgia of Sweet Tooth's vintage candies and the inviting aroma of Golden Glen Meadery's golden mead. The plot's twists are as smooth and unexpected, with each development adding layers to the mystery. Once again, Korina Moss has delivered a perfectly crafted cozy mystery tale, leaving me with an ending that ties everything up in a perfectly neat little bow, while still whetting my appetite for more.
In conclusion, if you're a fan of culinary mysteries that blend suspense with a touch of humor, "Bait and Swiss" is a must-read. Korina Moss has created a delectable mystery that offers the perfect balance of intrigue and charm. So, if you're looking for a story that's truly the cream of the crop, grab a copy and enjoy the flavorful journey through Yarrow Glen with Team Cheese. Reading this book is like savoring a slice of Swiss cheese—it's hole-some and gouda for your soul!
Book Rating:
Originality: 5.0 / 5.0
Plot Structure: 5.0 / 5.0
Pacing: 5.0 / 5.0
Dialogue: 5.0 / 5.0
Personal Enjoyment: 5.0 / 5.0
Cover Design: 5.0 / 5.0 (Not averaged in the overall rating.)
Overall Rating: 5.0 / 5.0

Team cheese is back! Willa was not happy when her ex Pearce and her former BFF Riley open a chocolate shop right access from her cheese shop but she's making the best of it even dropping off a box of chocolates to the local paper. So when it turns out that one of those chocolates was poisoned, she's back on the case, not so much for her exes but because she just can't help herself. She investigates, with her pals. It's a classic cozy with good characters. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC, Don't worry if you missed the earlier ones-this will be fine as a standalone.

Bait and Swiss is the 6th book in the Cheese Shop Mystery series by Korina Moss. Willa Bauer should be enjoying her wonderful new life with a thriving cheese shop in Yarrow Glen. Instead she is dealing with the intrusion of her ex-finance and ex-best friend that picked her town of all places to open a new location of their chocolate business. When the two become entangled in a murder, Willa reluctantly agrees to help investigate. But could the two people that used to be the most important to her actually be involved in this crime?

I really enjoy this series. It was one I found earlier this year and flew through the first five books in no time. If this is your first book in the series I think you would be able to pick things up but I highly recommend starting from the beginning because the series is so fun. I really like Willa as our main character. She is smart and empathetic. I always love when cozy mysteries have strong communities. Willa has a great support system of friends. The importance of that was really clear in this one. I enjoyed the mystery itself. There were plenty of suspects and some very interesting twists. I can't wait to see where this series goes!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

If I could give this book 6 billion stars I would. I adore Willa the main character and her little squad of people. (team cheese) The town and all the descriptions of chocolate, cheese , and atmosphere. (Don't think I won't be trying some pizza potatoes btw) I love that Willa got to deal with her past and also put a few bricks down for her future. Korina Moss writes the most perfect cozy mysteries, and I just want to gobble them up with a cracker and a slice of cheese. This mystery had me on the edge of my seat. I stayed up way too late because I couldn't stop reading. I want more team cheese! Thank you so much Net Galley for providing me this ARC.

The problem I have with this series is that I get hooked quickly with every book, can't put it down, and then it's over before I'm ready to say goodbye.

Willa is back with Team Cheese, trying to figure out who poisoned the chocolates that killed someone in town. With plenty of motives to pass around, Willa and her friends hurry to solve the murder because Willa is also a suspect. While I guessed the correct suspect, the motive was a little less obvious and the action leading up to the resolution was on point. We finally get Roman back for a few pages but less of Heath...I'm going to need more of both in future books. The ending was near perfection on the personal side and I can't wait to read the next book.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc.

once again another fun book in this series. There are so many characters who are so well fleshed out that they feel like people I either know or who I would possibly know in real life.

this particular mystery was the first time that I was not able to figure out who did it. And to me that's a mark of a great author. Even if I've been able to figure out in the past, that just meant the clues were easy enough to pick up on. but I like to be challenged and I like to be stumped. That's what Korina did here.

I'm so glad I picked up this series last year! Here's to more Team Cheese!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for the ARC of Bait and Swiss.

I will definitely be going back to the beginning to start this series from one! I'm a sucker for cute small towns with quirky, meddlesome townspeople. This gave me all of that, PLUS a few tidbits of cheese information. The main character owns a cheese shop and I was eating up all the cheese descriptions. Cheese is my favorite, so I feel like these books were meant for me! :)

The mystery was REALLY good. It was twisty and suspenseful. There were quite a few suspects and it was such a fun time trying to figure it all out! I've seen the cop/detective boyfriend in lots of mysteries lately and I'm digging it! Pushing forward in my cozy mystery era!

Great book! Was so invested in every second of the story. Thank you for letting me read in advance. Cannot wait to read other things from this author.

Willa Bauer is getting ready to celebrate the 2nd birthday of her cheese shop Curds & Whey in Yarrow Glen. However, the celebration is derailed when a new reporter in town is found dead after eating some poisoned chocolates. It seems that her ex-fiancé and ex-best friend planned a new pop-up shop selling their designer chocolates in her friend Holly's new cakery.

Now, Winna is a suspect, and she needs to investigate her former friends. There are a number of suspects and the first thing she has to figure out is who the intended victim was. The chocolates were supposed to be a gift to the newspaper editor, but they were with Willa's order at the cakery. Maybe someone intended that she'd be the one to eat them.

Willa is immediately suspicious of her exes since their breakup still haunts her. But maybe the bread baker who lost his job when the bakery became a cakery or the owners of the local vintage candy shop had reasons to poison chocolates.

This was another engaging entry into the Cheese Shop Mysteries. There are lots of returning characters from earlier books which made for a large cast of characters.

What a great addition to this wonderful cozy mystery series.
Willa's ex has decided to open a chocolate store in Willa's town along with her ex-best friend, the one he left Willa for. When someone dies eating a sampler box from the grand opening, fingers start to point at Will, who delivered the box. Of course the Cheese Crew will pull together to clear Willa's name and solve the mystery.
These characters are like old friends you love catching up with. Loved the plot, lots of little twists that kept the reader guessing. And, of course, I love all the cheesy recipes. I highly recommend to all those that love a good, cozy mystery.
I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC of this book. This was an honest review.

I love this cozy mystery series. A comfort read, this is made even better by the characters, setting, and cheese. It was also great to see this book focus on another treat, chocolate. Across the street, Willa's ex and his partner open a chocolate pop-up shop, but then someone gets poisoned. Willa and her reporter friend soon become suspects. Together with Willa's friends and employees "Team Cheese" from her shop team up to help Willa find a killer. Inside Willa's shop, Curds and Whey I was completely enchanted by the details every time I read a new book in this series

Wine country Yarrow Glen in Sonoma Valley has a new luxury chocolate pop-up shop come to town and it turns out to be the ex-fiancé with the former BFF of our favorite cheesemonger, Willa. She is blindsided and upset by their appearance, but things can and do get worse. Something is wrong with some of the chocolates and it leads to the death of a local newspaper reporter. Willa's local detective boyfriend has had to recuse himself from the investigation because Willa, herself, is a person of interest. Good investigating by Willa and friends complete with s few very surprising plot twists and red herrings. Another winner in a delightful series!
I requested and received a temporary uncorrected e-galley from the St. Martin's Press/St. Martin's Paperbacks via NetGalley.
#BaitAndSwiss by @korinamossauthor #CheeseShopMysteriesBk6 #stmartinspress
#cozymystery @goodreads #*****bookreview @goodreads @bookbub @the.storygraph @booksamillion @barnesandnoble @bookshop_org @bookshop_org_uk #culinarycozy #cheese #chocolate #cheeseshop #amateursleuth

Set in the Sonoma Valley in California, the Cheese Shop series is a tale of friends working in the small town of Yarrow Glen. Curds & Whey is a getting ready to celebrate their 2nd anniversary with lots of great plans. Unfortunately, a new dessert shop is also opening that day. To Willa’s dismay, her ex-fiancé and girlfriend are opening a chocolate shop inside the cake shop. Somehow, Willa gets involved with dropping off a gift box at the local newspaper. When the new reporter turns up dead, Willa becomes a prime suspect. Team Cheese joins in to find the murderer and clear Willa. Another great one! #Netgalley

BAIT AND SWISS is the sixth book in the Cheese Shop Mysteries by Korina Moss. With cheese as a central theme (one of my top favorite things!) I didn’t see how the author could improve upon it. Well, she did. The charming wine country Yarrow Glen in Sonoma Valley has a luxury chocolate pop-up shop come to town. Everyone except protagonist Willa Bauer and the local candy shop owners are excited to have the new shop. Unfortunately for Willa, the chocolate shop is owned by her ex-fiancé and her ex-best friend and as you’d expect, it’s an uncomfortable, emotionally fraught situation. Ms. Moss captures the emotions flying about with a strong descriptive skill. And don’t get me started on her mouthwatering descriptions of the different cheeses her shop serves. It made me want to book a trip and camp out in Willa’s Curds & Whey shop. Another aspect I adore about this series is the close friendship Willa has with her employees and how they’ve created their ‘Team Cheese’ group to help solve crimes. I also enjoyed seeing Willa’s relationship with Detective Jay Heath progress, even if they had to take a break from seeing each other during the investigation because of Willa’s involvement.

After Willa helps by delivering a box of the luxury chocolate candy to a local reporter, a suspicious death occurs. When it’s found that the hapless victim was poisoned by the chocolates and Willa’s fingerprints are all over the box, along with what could be construed as a threatening note written by her, she becomes the number one suspect. Unfortunately, her detective boyfriend is ordered to keep his distance from her, which leaves Willa on her own. The author deftly creates an intriguing plot, making the reader question their guesses as the clues unfold. The read is fast-paced and kept me turning pages to find out what happened next. Was the victim really the intended target, or was Willa the target all along? As food service businesses in town suffer from lack of customers worried about a poisoner, Willa and team cheese (love their name!) come together to solve the mystery. If you enjoy a well-plotted mystery with characters you’d love to call friends, then I highly recommend Bait and Swiss!

Bait and Swiss is book number in the Cheese Shop cozy series but could be read easily without reading all the other books. Willa’s friend Hope is planning the grand opening of her bakery while Willa is working on the two year anniversary celebration of Curds and Whey. At Hope’s grand opening, a chocolate shop is announced to be joining the bakery and it just happens to be Willa’s ex-fiancé and ex-best friend who did Willa wrong that owns the business. Willa doesn’t eat chocolate because of these people but winds up with a mistaken chocolate sample box intended for the local reporter for a food review. Willa offers to deliver the chocolates not knowing that the busy new reporter will eat the chocolates. One dead reporter due to poisoning later finds Willa on the suspect lists. Cutoff from her policeman almost boyfriend, Willa begins to dig into the case. Easy to read and at times unpredictable, the whodunnit may not be a big shock but the mystery is fully engaging and entertaining. Willa and her friends make for interesting characters that reader wants to read more about. My voluntary, unbiased and non-mandatory review is based upon a review copy from NetGalley.

It was interesting getting some insight into Willa’s romantic history. Willa is lucky she has loyal employees since she spent most of the story running around town and not working.

Title: Bait and Swiss   
Author: Korina Moss  
Genre: Mystery/thriller   
Rating: 4 out of 5

 t’s been almost two years since Willa Bauer opened Curds & Whey in Yarrow Glen, and both cheesemonger and cheese shop are thriving in the Sonoma Valley. While Willa doesn’t eat chocolate, it’s true that life is like a box of chocolates. Unfortunately, life’s latest curveball is that Willa’s ex fiancé and ex-best friend—the reason for her chocolate aversion—are opening a chocolate pop-up shop across the street. By the end of the shop’s first day, the town’s newest reporter is the victim of death by chocolate. Now Willa’s ex wants her to be Swiss Congeniality, solve the case, and save the day. As much as Willa wants to hit him with the nearest cheese wheel, she can't stop herself from saying yes. And it’s not long before tourists decide to stay clear of town until the killer is caught. To save Yarrow Glen, Willa and Team Cheese have some work to do.

This series is a solid read, and this entry was no exception. As always, there’s a lot of cheese talk, which makes me hungry, a lot of friendship and having each other’s back, and, of course, a seemingly random murder. Willa and all of Team Cheese are fun to read and taking Mr. Detective mostly out of the game this go around added a bit more trouble to the mix. This would be a fun weekend read.

Korina Moss is an award-winning author. Bait and Swiss is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.)

(Blog link live 4/25).

There is a lot going on in this book. In half of the new bakery in town, a chocolate shop is opening. Not just any chocolate shop but one run by Willa's old boyfriend and friend. The ones she had a falling out with. Next there is a death from eating chocolates. There are plenty of suspects at first. A poisoning is bad for business in town. So Willa decides to solve the murder and hopefully get rid of the old boyfriend as well. What follows will keep you involved until the end and will keep you guessing.

Willa owns a speciality cheese Shop located in the Sonoma Valley area of California. Author Moss has penned a delicious story in which the murder revolves around poisoned chocolates from a local chocolatier. The question is who added the poison? The plot is clever and the cheese offerings are, as always, yummy! My only complaint is that Willa and her boyfriend need to commit to a relationship that isn’t as lukewarm as it is now—this is the sixth book!!

if you’ve read previous stories in the Cheese Shop series, you’re already hooked on it. If this your first book of the series, rest assured it is as excellent as the first five are! I highly recommend to cheese lovers and cozy mystery readers.

I honestly reviewed an unedited digital arc provided by NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press. All opinions are my own.