Bait and Swiss: A Cheese Shop Mystery (Cheese Shop Mysteries, 6)
“Katherine Moss has several cozy mysteries to her name, and her experience has brought her many fans. Bait and Swiss will certainly add to her fan base.”
Willa Bauer couldn’t be happier as she plans for her two-year celebration of the opening of her cheese shop, Curds & Whey. She is also thrilled about the opening of another shop—that of her friend Hope: Hope’s Cakery. The grand opening of Hope’s Cakery will coincide with Willa’s two-year birthday. The Cakery was once a bread bakery but closed, and its manager and primary bread maker, Claude Bently, is out of a job. Claude is not happy, and Willa offers him a job at Curds & Whey.
As Willa and her Cheese Team—Archie, Baz, and Mrs. Schultz—go to support Hope, the thrill of the day rapidly begins to subside as she discovers another small shop that has been set up inside Hope’s Cakery. Chocolate Bliss is a surprise to everyone, but more so to Willa when she encounters the entrepreneurs from her past, Pearce Brenner, Willa’s ex-fiancé, and Riley Stephens, her ex-BFF! Two people who dumped her for each other.
Although a decade has passed, Willa is still upset. Pearce and Riley approach her as if nothing has ever gone wrong. They ask for her help. They have offered a free sample of their chocolate in return for a good review from the local newspaper editor, A. J. Stringer.
Since Willa is picking up a cheesecake from the Cakery for her own celebration, she agrees to deliver the chocolate. Upon her arrival at the Gazette, she encounters the two reporters, Deandra and Kevin, in a heated argument over A.J. giving Deandra’s story assignment to Kevin. Deandra resigns, then and there.
Not wishing to be further involved in the dispute, Willa writes a short note to A. J. bawling him out for his behavior to Deandra, and she leaves the box of chocolates on A. J. ’s desk.
And here is where Moss takes the reader and her characters to the crux of the matter. Murder! As Willa is preparing to meet Baz for a snack at the Taco Truck, she sees activity and police cars at the Gazette. Curious, she encounters A. J. and learns that he found his reporter, Kevin Wallace, dead.
When Detective Jay Heath—Willa’s current love interest—approaches them, Willa informs him that she had just seen Kevin and Deandra in an angry discussion.
It does not take long for Heath to learn that Kevin’s death was no accident, but cold-blooded murder. He was poisoned.
The police quickly discover that all of the candy pieces were poisoned with tetrahydrozoline. Thus, Moss begins to set up her potential candidates, and there are many to choose from for myriad reasons.
Reasons to sabotage Chocolate Bliss: Willa, since she might want to see her ex-fiancé and ex-BFF fail in their endeavor. Then there is Duncan, the manager-to-be of Chocolate Bliss, who is being deceived by Pearce. And Gil and Trevor, owners of the Vintage Candy Store, believe they will be run out of business if Chocolate Bliss is successful.
And Pearce and Riley—what if they got a bad review and had to close the shop, not to mention the other two shops in other states? Perhaps no review would be better than a bad one.
And what about Deandra, who is being moved out of a job she has had for decades, by Kevin Wallace. And is A. J. the real target? The candy was meant for him, not Kevin.
What about closing Hope’s Cakery? Certainly Claude. Has reason to hate Hope—she took over the bakery, and he is out of a job; Jasmine, downgraded when Hope took over the shop; and Gia, who is Duncan’s new girlfriend but is jealous of Hope, who is still loved by Duncan.
And Moss can’t keep Willa and Heath together while Willa is a suspect. For a number of reasons, but this one at the front of the line, Willa knows she and the Cheese Team have to find the murderer, and fast. Losing Heath and clearing her name are two of the best reasons, and the team is determined to set things right.
Moss is skilled at developing her characters through both direct and indirect dialogue, and her ability to start a strong story and keep the plot moving is to be applauded.
Katherine Moss has several cozy mysteries to her name, and her experience has brought her many fans. Bait and Swiss will certainly add to her fan base.