Cheese Shop Mystery: Book 4
Publication Date: September 26, 2023
What in the bleu blazes is happening in Yarrow Glen now?
Cheesemongers from across the Northwest have come to the Sonoma Valley for the Northwest Cheese Invitational. As owner of the local cheese shop, Curds & Whey, Willa Bauer loves it. The event showcases custom cheese creations, and it’s the perfect time to gather with old colleagues to honor her former boss, the late and grate cheese legend, Max Dumas. He was famous for journeying into the wild bleu yonder to where he aged his award-winning custom Church Bleu. Only Max knew the recipe and location to his beloved cheese, and many are eager to have these revealed at his will reading.
But instead of naming someone to inherit his cheese and its secrets, Max stuns everyone with one cryptic clue. When a fellow cheesemonger dies under mysterious circumstances––the woman they all thought would get the secrets to Max’s prized possession––everyone falls under suspicion. Willa adores Church Bleu as much as the next cheese connoisseur, but it’s not to die for. Is a killer trying to get away with murder…and the cheese?
I’m a huge fan of Korina Moss’s Cheese Shop Mysteries. So, I was excited to jump into Case of the Bleus. And while it’s an enjoyable read, I felt this is the weakest link so far.
In this book, Willa has a handful of old co-workers in town for a cheese convention. They’re also there for a memorial service and the reading of the will of Willa’s old boss, who also happened to be the creator of an award-winning cheese. The reunion is rocky at best and then takes a nosedive when one of Willa’s friends dies. And, of course, Willa and her #teamcheese can’t help but jump into investigating the mystery.
I found Case of the Bleus to be a slow starter. I was happy to be back in Yarrow Glen and see the staff of Curds and Whey. But I had a tough time getting through the first few chapters as all the regular cast was re-introduced, and the new characters met for the first time. I think it was because of all the backstory that had to be established between Willa and her ex-co-workers. It probably also didn’t help that I didn’t like any of these new characters, who also happened to end up being suspects (well, except for the victim) in the murder.
The murder mystery was well-developed and kept me guessing until the end. And really, about the time the murder happened, the story finally took off and had me turning the pages to see how it ended. There was also a secondary mystery concerning the award-winning cheese and who would inherit the secret, and while I wasn’t really invested in that subplot, I did like how it ended.
Case of the Bleus is a good addition to the Cheese Shop Mysteries series. Despite a slow start, I found myself drawn into the story and trying to solve the mystery alongside Willa. It was nice to reunite with #teamcheese, and I can’t wait for the next book.
KORINA MOSS is the author of the Cheese Shop cozy mystery series set in Sonoma Valley. 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 but 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, bonding with her sibs, or discovering new travel destinations with her teenage son. 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.
Korina also enjoys writing short stories. She blogs on Writers Who Kill.
