Willa is looking forward to the second anniversary celebration for her shop Curds & Whey. The same day Hope opens her cakery with a surprise side shop inside that brings Willa’s past into the present.
Chocolate Bliss is Pearce and Riley’s chocolate shop. Pearce is Willa’s former fiancé. Riley is her former best friend. It’s been 10 years, but Willa is thrown for a loop.
Things go awry after the opening, and Willa becomes a suspect in an unexpected death.
The cheese shop mysteries seem to get better as each book comes out. There were a limited number of options for suspects, but Korina Moss kept us guessing right up to the end.
I think this might be my favorite. Willa has grown as a character and her Team Cheese is such a wonderful group.
I recommend picking up Bait and Swiss. This book may even do well as a stand-alone. It has all the back story you would need to enjoy it for itself. The cheesy recipes in the back sound delicious.
Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s for the opportunity to read this book.

Dollycas’s Thoughts

Death by chocolate – not cheese. You would think that would keep cheesemonger Willa Bauer out of the investigation, and she would concentrate on celebrating the 2nd anniversary of her Curds & Whey cheese shop. But no, she has a connection to this crime. Her ex-fiancé and ex-best friend have surprisingly arrived in Yarrow Glen and have opened a pop-up chocolate shop. The chocolate shop that made the chocolate creams that killed the town’s newest reporter. Her exes have asked her to help clear their names and their pop-up.

Willa really has no desire to help them, but their pop-up was coordinated with the new bakery in town owned by Archie’s friend Hope, who was already taking a big chance by completely changing a successful business. Plus, an unsolved death will hurt the whole town of Yarrow Glen.

So, it’s time for Team Cheese to get together and cream the killer before it’s too late!

There is nothing I like better than a multigenerational group of people that comes together to solve mysteries. I also enjoy when coworkers become genuine friends who truly care about each other. Willa, Baz, Archie, and Mrs. Schultz fit both to a tee. It is easy to get invested in their lives. Right now, they are all dealing with romance issues. Mrs. Schultz has an admirer, but she sees a different side of him in this story. Archie and Hope are now trying to be friends, and he is worried about how that will go. Baz dates, but could he have finally found the right woman? Willa and Heath’s relationship was going in the right direction until she became a person of interest in the current case.

The mystery Ms. Moss has penned is complicated; Was the new reporter the actual target? Could the target have been his boss? Was it Willa who was supposed to die? Did her actions land her on the suspect list, or are both true? How were the chocolates tainted? Could someone from Yarrow Glen have tinkered with the treats? Involving people from Willa’s past was hard for her. Could she trust them after how they hurt her? Team Cheese did their best to follow every clue, but a secret had to be disclosed to get the investigation truly moving in the right direction. The reveal caught me off guard, I was right there with Willa when we both got an enormous surprise. The showdown was suspenseful and painful for our protagonist, but the truth prevailed.

I always enjoy my visits to Yarrow Glen and to Curds & Whey. Willa’s anniversary celebration didn’t go as planned, but I loved all the things they had planned for the day, with costumes, games, and plenty of cheese. The author’s attention to detail in her descriptions took me right into the shop and everywhere Willa and Team Cheese went, even to a dumpster in an alley. That scene was pretty funny.

Readers will be craving cheese while reading. May I suggest you flip to the recipes at the back of the book and whip up Ms. Schultz’s Swiss or Miss Dip, then grab some pretzels or crackers to snack on as you enjoy this story.

Bait and Swiss is an excellent addition to this series. The pages were flying. The characters entertained. The mystery was well-plotted and written. There was some humor to tickle the funny bone. And plenty of cheese to tempt the taste buds. Willa’s betta fish, Loretta, was “wiggling happily in her fishbowl” at the end of the story. I was happy too and can’t wait to see what Ms. Moss has planned for her next Cheese Shop Mystery

Bait and Swiss took me back to Willa and her cheese shop Curds and Whey. There is never a dull moment when I am reading about the adventures of Willa and her friends.
This time a reporter for the town’s newspaper is poisoned and Willa is a suspect for committing the crime.
The story is filled with twists and turns until the real person is found. I love the interaction of all the characters and cannot wait for the next installment in this wonderful cozy mystery series. I highly recommend this series the Cheese Shop Mystery.
Thank you NetGalley, Korina Moss and St. Martin's Press for the copy of Bait and Swiss. This is my personal review.

I discovered cozy mysteries about five years ago, and now I’m hooked, especially when the cozy features great characters and great food! Reading Bait and Swiss was like cozying up with a big plate of favorite comfort foods, in this case, cheese and chocolate! This is the first book by Korina Moss I’ve read, and it is also the first one from this delicious series. After reading the first few chapters, I knew I had to go back and read the other five books in the series, because the fictional town of “Yarrow Glen,” (in the very real Sonoma Valley region of California), and so many fabulously entertaining and well-written characters, especially main character and cheese monger Willa Bauer, completely drew me in. Ms. Moss does a great job of giving enough background and context to help the reader get up to speed, but I have so many questions that I can’t wait to read to go back to the beginning!

In this installment, Willa and her staff are getting ready to celebrate two years of Curds & Whey, Willa’s cheese shop. On the same day of the celebration, a new cakery opens in town, and much to Willa’s dismay, there is also a pop-up chocolate shop, Chocolate Bliss, that is owned by Willa’s ex-fiancé and his girlfriend, who is Willa’s ex-best friend. Although she hasn’t seen them in 10 years, old feelings of anger and mistrust surface. Later that day, someone is poisoned, and Willa is one of many suspects. Now she and some of her friends, known as Team Cheese, work to solve this “whodunit.” What made it even more fun was that every time I thought I had it figured out, the story went in another direction, and even at the end, there were a few additional twists. The friendships among Willa, her friends, and staff are also a delightful part of this story, and yet another reason to go back to the beginning to get to know these fun characters.

Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press, for the opportunity to read this ARC. My review is voluntary and all opinions are my own.

The Cheese Shop Mysteries by Korina Moss has quickly become one of my favorite mystery series. So when I saw that the latest installment was releasing, I knew I had to get my hands on Bait and Swiss.

The Cheese Shop Mysteries follows Willa and her staff in a small northern California town. In Bait and Swiss, the shop is celebrating its second anniversary, and the town is welcoming a new cake and specialty chocolate business. However, when a reporter dies from poisoned chocolates, Willa appears to be the prime suspect and her business is taking a hit. Of course, Team Cheese can’t just sit by and hope that the police will solve the mystery, so they begin their own investigation.

I really liked that in Bait and Swiss, Willa’s backstory was expanded upon and her budding relationship with Detective Heath continues to grow. Willa is shocked when her ex-fiance and best friend show up in town as the business partners in this pop-up chocolate shop. Willa doesn’t hide her surprise and even anger that these two from her past are in town, but she’s determined to support Hope’s half of the new business. But when chocolates are determined to be the murder weapon and Willa happens to be the one to deliver them to the newspaper office, well, it puts her as the prime suspect and puts a strain on her relationship with Heath. I found this to be a nice twist to the series to help advance Willa’s growth as a character.

I continue to enjoy Team Cheese. Willa, Archie, Baz, and Mrs Shultz are so different, yet they make a great team. Their friendship and interactions enhance the story, making me wish I was part of their group. They genuinely like spending time together in and out of work, and I appreciate that aspect of the story. And I even like that each member of Team Cheese got a bit of character development in Bait and Swiss.

The mystery wasn’t bad, but for me, it felt more like the vehicle for all the character development rather than the primary focus of the book. Willa actively investigated, and she did it with the help of her team, yet somehow it all felt secondary to their relationship growth. I wasn’t terribly surprised by the reveal of the murderer or their motives, even though I hadn’t figured it out on my own.

I have no problem recommending this book, but I suggest starting earlier in the series to understand the setting and characters better. Bait and Swiss was a fun ride and I will definitely continue with this series. Thank you for another enjoyable read, Ms. Moss!

On the eve of the second birthday of Willa Bauer’s cheese shop Curds & Whey, she got a big shock. Her ex-fiancé and ex-best friend appeared in her small California town. Local baker Hope had a grand opening for her new cakery and announced a partnership with Chocolate Bliss, the chocolate shop owned by Pearce and Riley. There had been a time when Willa had been a part of the business plan and about to marry Pearce, but while Willa had been putting in long hours learning to run a business, Pearce and Riley had been putting in long hours falling in love.

After the breakup, Willa had gone to France and fallen in love with cheese. When she came back to the States, she had chosen a small town where she could open a cheese shop and start a new life. Now Pearce and Riley are in her town, and she’s not happy about it. Willa had ordered a cheesecake for her shop birthday party, and when she goes to the cakery to pick it up, she finds a box of chocolates with it. The chocolates weren’t for her. They were supposed to go to A.J. at the local newspaper for a review. Willa swallows her hurt and offers to take the chocolates to A.J.’s office.

When Willa got to the newspaper office, she hears angry voices. Her friend and local reporter Deandre is arguing with new reporter Kevin about assignments. Kevin is competitive and pushing in on Deandre’s assignments, and she doesn’t like that. She leaves her resignation letter on A.J.’s desk and storms out. Willa leaves the chocolates on A.J.’s desk along with a note that says, “You’re in trouble,” as she was upset that Deandre would rather quit than work with Kevin. She and A.J. had worked together solving some local murders, so Willa knew she could poke at him like that.

But when A.J. shows up at the office, he finds Kevin dead. The police determine that he had eaten the chocolates, which someone had poisoned. And when they make an announcement through the town, asking anyone who had bought anything or eaten anything from the cakery’s opening, tourists start to worry about whether it’s safe to eat anywhere in town, even Willa’s cheese shop.

Willa wants to help figure out who killed Kevin and why, but there are a lot of questions. Who had access to the chocolates to poison them? And was Kevin the intended target? He was known for having a sweet tooth, but those chocolates were meant for A.J. And at first, they were placed with Willa’s order, so maybe it was someone who wanted to get rid of her. And was it meant to be a murder, or was someone trying to sabotage Chocolate Bliss and run them out of town? As Wills and Team Cheese, as she calls her crime-solving and cheese-loving team, try to sort through what they know, they get closer and closer to a killer. So even if Willa wasn’t the target originally, she becomes one as the clues pile up and the true picture of the murder comes together. Will she be able to solve it before they come for her?

Bait and Swiss is book six in Korina Moss’s tasty Cheese Shop mystery series. In this one, Willa’s past comes to her small town and upends her quiet life. I was really excited to find out more about her past, about the relationships that shaped her life in Yarrow Glen. I also love all the cheese talk in the books, but it does make me hungry. The Raclette over potatoes? My mouth was watering. Sadly, that was not one of the recipes included at the end of the book, but there are No-Bake Chocolate Cheesecake Jars and Pizza Smashed Potatoes, so all is forgiven.

I really enjoy Korina Moss’s cheesy mysteries. These are smart characters who believe in justice and cheese, and I am all in for that. Bait and Swiss is a fun read, cozy and delicious, with everything I’m looking for in a good, solid cozy mystery.

Egalleys for Bait and Swiss were provided by St. Martin’s Press through NetGalley, with many thanks, but the opinions are mine.

Bait and Swiss was so good! Willa and her crew (#TeamCheese) are the best at sniffing out clues and solving crimes. And so much yummy cheesy goodness! I can't get enough. So many twist and turns, I thought I knew whodunnit, but not sure how or why. And then when the mystery was solved, I was all, "What? No way!!" I just love it when a cozy mystery surprises me!!
Highly recommend!

Many thanks to St. Martin's Publishing and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book. My thoughts and opinions are my own and without bias or favor or expectation.

I adore this series and am always happy when there is a new book. The cheese loving mystery solving group is loveable and there are plenty of good twists.

Bait and Swiss is book #6 in the Cheese Shop Mysteries series by Korina Moss.

Not only do we have cheese in this book but there is chocolate too! Of course it’s not so good for a new reporter who ends up being poisoned by it. Or good for Willa because the chocolate shop is owned by her ex-fiancé and her ex-best friend. Willa is reluctant to help her ex when he asks her for help figuring out who poisoned the chocolates. But soon, she and Team Cheese are on the case. I enjoyed following along as they investigated. This book is another great addition to the series!

Thank you to the author, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) copy of this book and I am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

Willa’s peace as she is settling into her new relationship with Detective Heath is interrupted when her ex-fiancée & his new partner move into town & open a business near hers. Things get even worse when he becomes the prime suspect when a journalist is murdered. And he comes running to Willa for help.

I enjoyed this one a lot better than the last one! There were plenty of suspects, a clever twist in how the murder was done, the fun of Willa’s investigating w/ her Team Cheese, and a bunch of recipes that I can’t wait to try! One of my favorite things in this series is Willa and the friendships she has throughout her community, not just her employees, but other business owners and people working for the newspaper.!

And Moss does such a great job making all the suspects valid. Each time I was certain I knew who the murderer was, one of the suspects would do something so suspicious I had to stop and reconsider. And the actual ending surprised me! I do feel the final culprit could have been set up a little better, but overall a twisty mystery that kept me engaged.

Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for this arc!

Bait and Swiss is a cozy mystery and thriller for YA written by Korina Moss.


My favorite supportive character was Holly. The setting in Yarrow Glen was a nice place to work. Willa was the owner of Curds and Whey, who had an aversion to chocolate.


Willa's ex-finance and her ex- best friend set up a chocolatier shop in Yarrow Glen. The last time Willa saw them was ten years ago.


Kevin, the new reporter at the Gazette was killed. Did Deandra kill him? Baz was the investigating officer who also saved Willa's life. The chocolates were poisoned.


I appreciated the twists and turns of Bait and Swiss giving it 5*. There are recipes at the end of the book that sound amazing.


Disclaimer: I receive complimentary books from various sources, including, publishers, publicists, authors, the Libby app, and/or NetGalley. I am not required to write a positive review and have not received any compensation. The opinions shared here are my own entirely. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for a free copy of the e-book. All opinions are my own.

Bait and Swiss by Korina Moss is a fun cozy mystery and the sixth book in the Cheese Shop Mystery series. Readers return to the small town of Yarrow Glen in the Sonoma Valley. Cheesemonger Willa Bauer is the successful owner of Curds and Whey, the local cheese shop. Life is going well until her ex-fiancé and ex-best friend, now married, set up a pop-up chocolate shop across the street. Willa had no warning they were in town, let alone setting up a store so close to hers. The chocolate shop is in the same space as the local bakery, and Willa needs to go inside to pick up a cheesecake order. When she leaves, she also has a chocolate delivery to make to the local paper. Her bad day gets even worse when the newest reporter in town helps himself to the chocolate Willa left for the editor and is found dead.

Willa is a suspect. The editor is a suspect. But what is worse is when her ex-fiancé and former best friend press her to solve the murder and clear their names so the shop doesn’t go under. The request puts Willa at odds with herself, and the internal conflict adds tension to the story. But clearing their names may also clear hers, so she agrees to their request.

The mystery is well-written, with plenty of suspects and red herrings to throw Willa and the reader off trail. More than once, I was forced to change my “I know who did it” until the end of the book. The only drawback for me was trying to keep all the characters straight. Overall, I enjoyed reading Korina Moss’s Bait and Swiss.
4/5 stars

Willa’s team at the cheese shop and her sleuthing buddies are like visiting old friends now. Her protégé Archie’s grown and changed so much since the first book, and now they had not one but two new employees. I remembered June from the last book and how she’d hit it off well with Archie at the dairy festival.

Willa’s worst nightmare came true when the pop-up shop going in with Hope’s Cakery was her ex-fiancé and his girlfriend, so poor Willa had a ton on her emotional plate including being a person of interest in the murder case. She and her sometimes-buddy AJ from the paper did their own sleuthing. He cracked me up going under cover dressed like some 1940s detective, lol. Willa said the same thing I was thinking: he’s gonna attract more attention that way.

After a tense and crazy showdown at Hope’s Cakery, the perp was going away for a long time and peace reigned in Yarrow Glen once more. Willa and her friends celebrated my favorite way with food and fellowship. And Willa had a special moment with her detective who finally wanted to give their relationship an official label. I can’t wait to see what happens next!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book provided by St. Martin/Minotaur books via NetGalley, and my opinions are my own.

This book was awesome. The author has developed a fabulous world of cheese and friendship. You can’t help but love the characters in this series. They continue to grow and surprise with each book. The plot was non-stop excitement and intrigue. I didn’t guess the killer and that’s always a sign of a five star mystery.

This review is entirely voluntary and reflects my personal opinions.

The last thing that cheesemonger Willa Bauer expects when she goes to the grand opening of Yarrow Glen, California’s new cake store is to run into her ex-fiance and ex-best friend. Pearce Brenner and Riley Stephens broke her heart a decade ago when the two fell in love while all three were working to open a chocolate store together. Willa hasn’t been able to stomach chocolate ever since, and feels even sicker when she sees that Pearce and Riley have started a pop-up location of their chain, Chocolate Bliss, in the brand-new Hope’s Cakery.

A mix of emotions – including a need to pretend that she’s less bothered by her exes’ presence than she really is, and a strong desire to get out of there as quickly as possible – leads her to volunteer to deliver a box of chocolate accidentally set aside with the cake she’d ordered from Hope. She’s known A. J. Stringer, the editor of the Glen Gazette, for quite a while now, and is happy to deliver the box to his office.

She’s surprised, however, to find that not all is well in the local newspaper’s bullpen. The Gazette’s newest reporter, Kevin Wallace, is more than willing to step on toes to advance his career. He offers to take the box of chocolates off of Willa’s hands, but there’s something about him that Willa doesn’t quite trust. Instead, she leaves the box on A.J.’s desk with a little note of reprimand for the tension he’s allowing to build in his newsroom.

It’s thus a huge shock when Kevin is found dead later that night, after having apparently ingested poisoned chocolates from the box Willa delivered. Everyone becomes a suspect, as no one really knows who was the target. Had someone meant to kill A.J.? Had Kevin’s greed caused his death, or had someone deliberately induced him to sample the fatal sweets? The worst theory – in Willa’s opinion anyway – is that she added the poison in order to ruin Chocolate Bliss’ reputation.

No one really takes that last theory seriously, but no one in Yarrow Glen is eager to risk shopping at businesses linked to suspected poisonings either. With her cheese shop and reputation on the line, Willa and the rest of Team Cheese will plunge into solving the mystery, racing to figure out who the poisoner is before anyone else gets hurt.

This sixth installment of the Cheese Shop mystery series finds Willa confronting one of the greatest heartbreaks of her past, even as she navigates her own current relationship with Police Detective Jay Heath. I really identified with her romantic struggles in the present day, as having necessary conversations can be a surprisingly difficult thing to do. I also really enjoyed the playfulness of her friendships with the various townsfolk, and especially with the other delightful members of Team Cheese.

There were three delicious recipes included, and I decided to try out this one:

QUOTE
Pizza Smashed Potatoes

15 baby potatoes, scrubbed
1 tablespoon salt
1-2 tablespoon olive oil or spray bottle
⅓ cup marinara sauce
1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
1 ½ cups mozzarella cheese
1 cup cheddar cheese
2-3 oz. sliced pepperoni or mini pepperonis
Red pepper flakes (optional)

Parchment paper will be needed.

Preheat oven to 425°F.

Put the potatoes in a large pot and just cover with water. Boil potatoes with salt for about 12 minutes until fork tender. (Don’t overcook.) Drain.

Cover two baking sheets with parchment paper. Put the potatoes on the parchment and score them with a sharp knife about halfway down in a crisscross pattern. Flatten them carefully by pressing down on each potato with a potato masher or use the bottom of a glass with parchment or wax paper between the glass and the potato (to keep them from sticking). Drizzle or spray with olive oil and season with salt. Bake in oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until they start to turn golden brown on their edges.

Remove the potatoes from the oven. Cover each potato with about 1 teaspoon of marinara sauce and Italian seasoning. Top with mozzarella and cheddar. Top that with pepperoni. Put the potatoes back in the oven until the cheeses are melted and golden. Add red pepper flakes if desired.
END QUOTE

Cheese and potatoes are one of my favorite food combinations, and this was a wonderful way to meld the two! The dish is both easy and forgiving: I mostly eyeballed the ingredients, adding more or less as I saw fit. If you use a variety of differently colored baby potatoes, you also get a visual feast to accompany the treat for your tastebuds. I was also surprised by how well these keep as leftovers: they’re not quite as good as fresh and crispy from the oven, but they do reheat nicely in the microwave.

Next week, we travel to the Midwest to make a delicious soup while investigating the death of a stranger to town. Do join me!

Thank you St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the DRC of Bait and Swiss! All opinions in this review are my own.

In Bait and Swiss, we meet Willa's ex-fiancee and ex-best friend who are trying to open a chocolate shop in Yarrow Glen. Unluckily for them, someone is poisoned by chocolates from their shop. Now the two people who broke Willa's heart and inspired her move to Yarrow Glen in the first place are asking for her help in clearing her name.

Bait and Swiss is another fantastic Willa adventure! I love that we get more of her backstory in this one, especially since this is the sixth book! The Cheese Shop Mysteries is my favorite cozy mystery series so I'm always looking forward to the next one!

Bait and Swiss

A Cheese Shop Mystery

By: Korina Moss

Publish Date: April 29, 2025

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press/St. Martin’s Paperbacks

Mystery and Thriller

200 Book ReviewsProfessional Reader

I would like to thank both NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for allowing me to read and review this book. All opinions are my own.

Book Review:

This is the 6th book in the series. I haven’t read the other books even though I do have some of the e-arcs. With that being said you don’t have to read them in order, but I recommend that you do so you know the characters from the start. The author does a good job with some background information on each character as needed. I love the friendships in this book and the way the stand up and support each other even when they are stabbed in the back.

In this book Willa is about to celebrate her second year as a cheese shop owner. The day before a new shop is about to open and that owner used to be the girlfriend of one of Willa’s workers. During the grand opening there is a surprise for several people, and the surprise isn’t a good one for Willa. Willa’s ex-best friend and ex-fiancé have joined with the new owner to open up the cakery/chocolate bliss shop. Things don’t end up going well after the opening because a reporter is found dead with an open box of chocolate on his desk. Come to find out the chocolates have been poisoned. Who would have done it and why? Was the reporter the target or was it a mistake? Willa is on the case because she dropped them off for the manager of the chocolate shop/cakery.

During all the goings on you find out what happened between the three and why they are no longer speaking to each other.

This book was fast paced and fun to read. I gave it 4 stars.

This one starts off with a shock, when Willa’s ex & ex bff open a chocolate shop across from her store. When they’re on the suspect list, Willa is the bigger person & chooses to help. As this series has gone on, I find each book better than the last. And this one is my favourite, so far. The group of friends Willa has are well established, as is the cheese shop & the neighbourhood. The descriptions of cheese are mouth watering but also happily informative. This mystery was such a page turner! Not only to find out who the killer was, but who is even the intended victim? Definitely a series you should be checking out!
🧀

Read if you like:
* Grilled Cheese series by Linda Reilly
* Bake Shop series by Ellie Alexander
* Deep Dish series by Mindy Quigley

This is my favorite of the series! The shop and the characters have come so far. I don’t know if it’s just me, but when I first read the words, Detective Heath, my heart just warms automatically along with a smile on my face. Now, I know what Willa must feel like! There was so much drama with Willa’s ex-fiance and ex-best friend being in town. The mystery had me constantly guessing and it was a lot of fun. I am ready for the next one!
 
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my e-copy in exchange for a review.

Willa's ex boyfriend and ex best friend surprise her with opening a chocolate shop in Yarrow Glen. But when chocolates meant for reviewing are consumed by the wrong person who ends up dead, Willa finds herself talked into helping her ex friends. This is a twisty tale that leads with several suspects and plenty of motives. Just when Willa finally believes she knows who the killer is, she is surprised by another suspect who turns out to be the real killer. Well written and plotted. Love the continued progression of these books and the group working together to solve the mystery.
I was given an advanced copy of the book in exchange for a review.