Bait and Swiss by Korina Moss

Item: Bait and Swiss
Rating: 4
Author: karenbaron

Posted April 28, 2025 by karenbaron in #BookishRecipe, Mystery, Review, Series / 0 Comments

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy from the Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Bait and Swiss

by Korina Moss

Series: Cheese Shop Mysteries #6
Series Rating:

Published by St. Martin's Paperbacks on April 29, 2025
Setting: Yarrow Glen, California
Genres: Cozy Culinary Mystery
Format: Kindle, Paperback
Source: the Publisher
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Get Your Copy at: Amazon
Also in this series: Fondue or Die

In Korina Moss's Bait and Swiss, Yarrow Glen’s newest business gives one unlucky resident the swiss of death.

It’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.

Bait and Swiss by Korina Moss brings Willa’s past to haunt her.

Can Willa get past her old feelings of betrayal from Riley and Pearce?

Willa

Willa thought that she had left her past behind when she left Oregon to pursue her cheesemongering endeavors. Well, that is until the grand opening of Hope’s Cakery, and she finds out that her past has come back to haunt her. Pearce and Riley own a successful chocolate business called Chocolate Bliss. Willa decided that she would be the better person and get past her emotions regarding how much they both hurt her. I must say that I love Willa in this novel, as she is strong and proves it by not letting her past cloud her judgment in solving the case.

The Mystery

Willa took a box of chocolates to the newspaper office for AJ to try and write a review on them. After she does that, a new reporter tries them and ends up dying. Now, to keep her and AJ out of the police crosshairs, Willa decides to solve the case. Well, and okay, her ex did ask for her help, but mostly Willa is doing it for her AJ. This mystery has so many red herrings that it was hard to keep track of them all, and everyone kept pointing fingers at each other. I must admit that I am proud I didn’t fall for the red herrings and stayed focused on two possible suspects, and I was right on the mark.

Four Stars

My rating for Bait and Swiss by Korina Moss is four stars, and I’m recommending it to all cozy culinary readers out there. Ms. Moss does a perfect job of writing these stories as standalone pieces while keeping them connected to the series. It’s great for a new reader to dive into it without feeling completely lost in the series.

Like always, Ms. Moss has recipes at the back of the book. They are No-Bake Chocolate Cheesecake Jars, Swiss or Miss Dip, and Pizza Smashed Potatoes. I may try some of these.

Cheese Shop Mysteries

Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of Bait and Swiss by Korina Moss.

Until the next time,

Happy Reading!

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About Korina Moss

KORINA MOSS is the author of the Cheese Shop cozy mystery series set in Sonoma Valley, including the Agatha Award winner of the Best First Novel, Cheddar Off Dead. Her books have been featured in USA Today, PARADE Magazine, Woman’s World Magazine, AARP Magazine, and Fresh Fiction. She loves creating quirky characters who live in idyllic small towns. She grew up on a healthy dose of Nancy Drew and Agatha Christie novels, which developed her passion for solving mysteries and eventually writing her own. She lives in a small New England town with its own share of quirky characters.

Korina is a member of Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America.

For the past several years, Korina has been on her own Eat, Pray, Love journey, which seems to have stalled at the Eat phase. When not writing or sampling new cheeses (a perk of the job), she can be found with a new favorite cozy, doing jigsaw puzzles, or discovering new travel destinations. She has an affinity (some might say ‘addiction’) to coffee mugs, loves cats, and can’t pass up a new notebook or journal with all those fresh, empty pages.

Reading this book contributed to these challenges: