Curds & Whey has only been open two years and Willa needs to solve a sixth murder.

Willa’s ex-fiancé, Pierce, and his partner, Willa’s former best friend, Riley, have opened a pop-up chocolate shop in the town’s revamped bakery. Willa is, reasonably in my opinion, angry that the pair has chosen her town for their newest store, but when a reporter is killed by poisoned chocolates, she knows she’s not guilty, even if the police chief isn’t so sure. I felt a little bad for the character who got killed. We met him, saw he was pushy, and then he was dead. There was never much consideration that he was even the intended victim.

The reader has several suspects to look at, although Willa would rather not believe any of them are guilty. And was destroying the business’s reputation the point, or was someone trying to kill AJ, the newspaper editor, or Willa herself? Turns out Pierce is not a very nice guy – no surprise, and not entirely honest. Duncan, the store manager, is unhappy with the contract. The owners of the town’s candy shop aren’t thrilled with the competition. And the bakery’s former bread baker/manager is out of a job due to the change in the bakery’s focus.

As always, I enjoy the friendship and banter between Willa, Archie, Baz, and Mrs. Schultz. Detective Heath annoys me a bit – I wish he could be more supportive, but the ending gives me hope.

I was surprised by who the killer turned out to be, but I probably should have seen it coming.

There are also a couple of recipes in the back that I might try: a creamy dip that sounds perfect for game night and pizza smashed potatoes.

I enjoyed this book very much. I liked getting a sense of Pearce and Riley, since they were so key in Willa's life and decision to open her shop. The mystery was a good one, with nicely developed red herrings.

Willa's ex is in town. He and his girlfriend (Willa's former BFF) have opened a pop-up chocolate shop in Hope's new cakery. Of all the places they could have put a pop-up shop, they had to come to Yarrow Glen. And yes. It goes exactly how you'd think it would. But when one of their customers dies after eating poisoned chocolates, it looks like revenge might be sweeter than anyone may have thought.

I really enjoy this series and this book was among my favorite of the series so far. Every single thing that is going on in the book is serious and I was very anxious to find out how everything turned out. Sitting down to read one chapter inevitably turned into two, then three, then six. There was also a lot of humor, A. J. in his fedora, Willa with a squirrel on her head, and of course the calming cheeses!

For anyone who is a fan of cozy mysteries, this series is a must read.

Thank you to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.

Kindle Copy for Review from NetGalley and St Martin's Press.

I received a free, advance copy of this book and this is my unbiased and voluntary review.
Team Cheese us back not only with delicious cheese and even chocolate. Willa’s former ex-fiance and boyfriend needs her help when a murder takes lace at a pop up chocolate store. Can they be civil or will someone end up in a gooey mmess? It’s one cheesy event that will required some melting of feelings. Sit back and nibble your favorite cheese and chocolate along the way.