Cheddar Off Dead is a solid start to the Cheese Shop cozy mystery series. It is a bit formulaic, but also features appealing characters and a nice twisty murder mystery. I'm also a bit fond of the cheeses myself, so be aware - the book may make you hungry (and has a few tasty recipes at the end!).

Our cheesemonger, Willa, finds the body of a magazine critic soon after he threatens to write a scathing review of her new store. Her desperation to prove her innocence is an easy way for the reader to be introduced to all of the Yarrow Glen residents. There are plenty of red herrings and a multitude of motives.

This is a fun, easy read - recommend it.

I'm a sucker for a cozy mystery in the summertime. This one was enjoyable and left me smiling. First, I love cheese, which helps when you're reading a book about a cheesemonger. Second, the characters were warm and genuine, and well-developed. And finally, the mystery was exciting and full of twists and turns. I'd happily pick up more in this series.

The gorgeous cover and pun title immediately caught my eye. And it was definitely worth it. I loved every second of this read and can't wait to see what happens next in the series.

Fun, engaging, hilarious read. After reading a bunch of heavy books, I needed something light and cozy. Reading this story is like spending the afternoon at the movies with your favorite snacks. The characters were fleshed out. I liked how they conducted themselves in various situations. The story moved along well and and not once did I get bored or find the story dull. Looking forward to future books by this author.

#cheddaroffdead #NETGALLEY #korinamoss

Enjoyed this first book in a new cozy mystery series around cheese. I didn't think I was going to like it as it took me a few chapters to get into this one. But then I was hooked and couldn't put it down.

One of my favorite parts of cozy mysteries are their punny titles! Cheddar Off Dead had me from the first time I saw the book.

Willa has just opened her dream store in the Sonoma Valley- a French inspired cheese shop called Curds and Whey. She’s meeting other local shop owners and she even lines up a review with the local critic. But she learns that’s not a good thing- Guy had a reputation for being very hard. When he surprises Willa at her shop, it doesn’t go well. And things take a turn for the worse when Willa finds Guy’s body later that same night.

Along with some new friends, Willa helps to investigate who could have done this. Lots of people were mad about their reviews from Guy and so there are a lot of suspects. I especially loved Baz and the other employees that work for Willa. I appreciated Willa’s expertise and ambition with her store. She was genuinely excited for her customers to learn and fall in love with different cheeses.

This was an incredible debut novel. Thank you so much to @stmartinspress and @korinamossauthor. I’m really looking forward to Gone for Gouda!

CHEDDAR OFF DEAD is cozy mystery perfection. The characters, the small town, and the wonderful unraveling of a mystery by an amateur sleuth all come together in one delightful package.

This was a fantastic start to a new series. If I could, I would immediately travel to this Sonoma Valley town just to try all the fantastic food and drink options described. Curds and Whey sounds so cozy and the perfect place to sample interesting cheeses. This whole book had my mouth watering and appreciating the subtleties of different cheese varieties. Willa's passion really shines through and I loved learning about her past and how she ended up opening her dream shop (even the though things that really helped determine her path). Being new in town, I think she was a bit too trusting of everyone, and spent too much alone time with people she considered murder suspects, but did enjoy following her sleuthing. I especially love the little crew she's gathered around herself (esp Mrs Shultz) and can't wait to see more of them working together. Overall this was very cozy and kept me on my toes until the very end.

I just love the titles of these cozy mystery books. “Cheddar Off Dead,” by Korina Moss, is the first of the Cheese Shop Mystery series (St. Martin’s).
Featuring Willa Bauer, who has moved to Yarrow Glen, a small town in Sonoma Valley to open a cheese shop called Curds and Whey, we find our protagonist awaiting a visit from the local food critic. When said critic turns up with stab wounds from one of her cheese knives, the newcomer becomes the prime suspect.
Readers will get introduced to the characters who populate the small town as Willa tries to get the police to focus on another suspect.

The cheese shop setting is an interesting twist, and the main character Willa has room for geowth. The supporting characters are actually a bit stronger than the main character. Being that this is the first book in the series, there is time for character development. The mystery kept me going back and forth between suspects. I enjoyed it enough to give the second book a try.

WWK Blogger Korina Moss’s debut book, Cheddar Off Dead, will be released next week on March 29th. Korina’s main character Willa Bauer is a likeable character. As the daughter of dairy farmers, she knows her milk products and has worked in the cheese industry. Opening her new cheese shop in Sonoma Valley should be easy. What better to eat with wine than good cheese?

But Willa is the new shop owner in town. She’s lucky that her employees are knowledgeable about the townspeople because when she finds a murder victim’s body, she has to solve the case or land in jail. I especially liked Korina’s secondary characters who help her investigate.



Please welcome Korina Moss as my interviewee to WWK. E. B. Davis




Yarrow Glen is in Sonoma Valley. It has a few wineries and farms surrounding it. Why hasn’t it made more of a name for itself?

Its roots are in dairy farming, so it’s more of a working-class town, whereas the towns with the vineyards and wineries tend to attract the tourists. I wanted Yarrow Glen to sort of mirror Willa’s journey—both are ready to blossom. Many of the characters that you’ll see throughout the series are also finding their footing, the same way Willa and Yarrow Glen are.



Willa’s parents owned a dairy farm in Oregon. But Willa never was into farming. She made and sold cheese at an early age. What kind of cheese did she make to sell in farmers’ markets?

You’re right that she preferred the cheese-making aspect of their dairy farm, although she had to do plenty of farming growing up, since that was the family’s main source of income. The creamery was a smaller part of their dairy business. She eventually convinced her parents to let her sell mozzarella and ricotta at their local farmer’s markets.



I can understand why Willa didn’t return to live near her parents. They have sayings that come back to Willa in times of stress that I don’t think are very helpful. What are some of their sayings and how does Willa use them?

Willa’s parents are hardworking, humble farmers who always put in an honest day’s work, which is enough for them. Willa sees life a little differently, but their sensibilities still stick with her. When she remembers them saying things like, “It’s not about the outcome, it’s about the work,” or “We do our best and we don’t get upset,” they mean for her stay focused on the work she’s putting into something. You can’t control the outcome or how others perceive what you do. This helps her when she’s nervous about whether the magazine critic will like her shop. It gives her confidence that the critic’s judgement won’t change how great Curds & Whey is.



Why didn’t Willa know that the food critic, Guy Lippinger, rarely gave good reviews to Yarrow Glen venues?

The book begins in Willa’s cheese shop, which readers learn has been barely open two weeks. She’s just moved to Yarrow Glen and opened her shop. She’s never lived in northern California before and hadn’t been familiar with All Things Sonoma magazine, which is where Guy Lippinger’s reviews are published.



One of your characters, Roman, owns a meadery across from Willa’s shop. What is mead?

Mead is an alcoholic beverage somewhere between wine and beer. Whereas wine is made from grapes, and beer from barley, mead’s base is honey. It’s brewed and fermented like beer, but its alcohol content is about the same as wine. Also like wine, it can be produced in a variety of sweetness levels, from very dry to sweet, and can be still or sparkling. It can also be brewed with grains, fruit, spices, or hops to give it many different flavors. Over the last few years, meaderies have been popping up all over the U.S.



Roman attracts Willa. But she doesn’t approve of her own feelings. Why?

Willa enjoys flirting with Roman, but he’s known for being a serial dater. Willa was burned by love badly once, so she needs a certain level of trust before she’ll allow herself to really fall for someone.



Willa incorporates her store promotions with sleuthing. What promotions has she created?

The most successful one is the Cheese Hunt. It’s a game where customers get a fun fact about a type of cheese, and they search for which cheese it describes. When they find the right one, they get a discount. It was a fun way to add some cheese trivia into the book and it was also an important scene to ensure all the townspeople were in her shop that day.



Willa has a cheese making class, which interested me. What cheese were they making?

They were making fresh mozzarella from curds, which is how all cheese starts. (The whey is the liquid it floats in.) All mozzarella gets stretched, which prevents the proteins from breaking. If they break, it alters the texture. Anybody can make their own mozzarella and some cheese shops have cheese-making classes like the one in my book.



Sixty-something Mrs. Schultz was a favorite of mine. Please describe her to our readers. She has some particular notions!

I’m glad you enjoyed Mrs. Schultz. It’s fun to write her. She’s a retired high school drama teacher “smack-dab” in her sixties, who was looking for her next chapter after being widowed. She rides a retro bicycle to work and I describe her appearance as “an updated Lucy Ricardo, but with the curly blonde hair of her sidekick, Ethel.” She prefers to be called Mrs. Schultz rather than by her first name, but don’t let that fool you into thinking she’s stuffy or formal otherwise. She’s unconventional, loyal, whip smart, and always up for the next adventure to take her out of her ‘comfort zone.’



Who is Loretta?

Willa isn’t home often enough to have a dog or a cat, so she has Loretta, a fluorescent red and blue Betta fish. But, according to Willa, she’s not just any fish—she’s a fish with attitude and particular preferences, such as having a favorite TV show.



Toilet guy’s real name is Baz Tooney and lives next door. Why does Willa take a liking to him?

He’s the first one to arrive after Willa discovers a dead body, so they’re bonded in that way. He also reminds her of her younger brother, who she misses. There’s not any physical attraction to their relationship, just a fast friendship.



What is the cheese trail website?

The cheese trail is a map of cheese shops and creameries in California. You can work your way up the coast, tasting and buying cheese. When people think of northern California, their image is wine country, but it also has a long dairy farming history. If you plan a trip to visit wineries in Sonoma or Napa Valleys, check out the cheese trail too. What’s better than wine and cheese? https://cheesetrail.org



Like wine, do some cheeses have province?

Some cheeses must be made in a certain region and only have certain ingredients in order to be labeled that type of cheese. Parmigiano-Reggiano is one of these cheeses. It’s not just a fancy name for Parmesan. It must be made with only three ingredients: milk, calf rennet, and salt, and it’s solely made in the regions of Parma, Reggio Emilia, Modena, Bologna to the left of the Reno river, and Mantua to the right of the Po river in Italy. Their website is beautiful and fascinating if you want to see how it’s been made for the last thousand years. https://www.parmigianoreggiano.com.



When Willa makes fondue in her store, she melts three cheeses together. I thought fondue always had wine added to thin the cheese. Is that wrong?

When Willa makes cheesy dishes, I don’t list every step, so as not to bog down the book with too many cooking details. With that scene, I mention that the three cheeses are the base for the fondue. Plus, one of characters, Archie, was partaking and he’s not yet 21, so I didn’t want to get into trouble with any readers by specifically adding wine. The fondue recipe is one of the recipes in the back of the book. It includes wine, but you can make it without wine and use chicken broth and lemon juice instead.



Willa and her two employees use different methods to dip the bread into the cheese mixture. Is this symbolic of their sleuthing styles?

For sure. Archie goes in for the full dunk, which is indicative of his all-in method of investigation. Mrs. Schultz, on the other hand, tends to ask more questions while they’re trying to figure out whodunit, and how she takes her time by dabbing her bread to coat it in the fondue is analogous to this.



Like yogurt, were many cheeses discovered by accident?

Cheese predates recorded history, but it is thought to have been discovered by accident. In my research, I did come across some types of cheeses that were produced accidentally, such as Tilsit cheese. It was made by accident when the Dutch, settling in East Prussia, were trying to recreate Gouda (which originated in the Netherlands). The caves of that area where it was aging were damp and infected it with unintended molds, yeasts, and bacteria, which created a new cheese they named after the town.



What type of certification do you need to be a cheesemonger?

It’s a rigorous standard. You must have 4,000 hours of documented experience (paid or unpaid) in the cheese profession or 2,000 hours of experience and 2,000 hours in cheese-related formal education. Then you must pass an exam given by the American Cheese Society (ACS), much like the bar exam for law school graduates. In addition, you can also get a sensory certification. That exam requires you to be able to evaluate cheeses by using your senses, similar to how a sommelier would be tested for their knowledge of wine. An example of a past exam question: test-takers were asked to identify 10 vials of milk based on scent alone.



What’s next for Willa and her employees?



Gone for Gouda, the second book in the Cheese Shop Mystery series, comes out in September. Here’s the jacket description:



Things are going from gouda to bad to ugly for cheesemonger Willa Bauer in Gone for Gouda.

Yarrow Glen’s newest cheese shop, Curds & Whey, has a lot on its plate, but cheesemonger Willa Bauer relishes a challenge. There’s a float to build for the fall festival, plus the French-inspired cheese shop is playing host to celebrity vegan chef Phoebe Winston. But when photos surface that prove this vegan influencer is, in fact, a carnivore, things crumble faster than any cheese on the market: Phoebe is murdered. Willa’s employee, the affable Archie, was the last one to see Phoebe alive and the first person the police suspect. To clear his name Willa must uncover who’s been up to no gouda...

I’m not gonna lie – I was drawn to this book cover and title because of the cheese. LOL. I LOVE cheese and am always up for trying new types of cheeses, so diving into this cheese-themed cozy mystery seemed like an easy decision.

And while the cheese was what initially drew me in, I stayed for the characters. In a very short span of time, I was drawn in by the varied personalities and friendships.

The protagonist, Willa, has just opened her new cheese shop, which has taken all her savings and a big bank loan, so she has a lot riding on Curds & Whey. She has two staffmembers – Mrs. Schulz, a former drama teacher and a widow, and Archie, a 19-year-old student. Unfortunately, all of Willa’s knowledge and her team’s enthusiasm can’t impress Guy Lippinger, a well-known food critic who has the power to make or break a business with his reviews. Unfortunately for Curds & Whey, Willa learns that Guy has never given a positive review to any business in Yarrow Glen (with one exception) and she prepares for the worst. However, Lippinger getting murdered was much worse than Willa could have imagined!

I really liked the dynamic between Willa, Mrs. Schulz and Archie. They range in ages and backgrounds, but they get along very well and I felt that they were a good support system for Willa.

In fact, I felt that all the characters were really well characterised and I felt like the reader got to know them all fairly well in a very short span of time. A prime example is the victim, Guy Lippinger. He’s killed within a few pages of getting introduced but in those few pages, I already disliked him immensely.

The pacing in this story was very well done. From introducing the characters, to discovering the body, to looking for suspects and motives, the pacing was very even from start to finish. The first book in any series can often feel like an information dump, since every character has to be introduced, every location described, etc, but it never felt like that with Cheddar Off Dead.

And while the murder was the central plot driving all the action, there were lots of sideplots to keep things interesting, including Willa’s instant BFF Baz (I must admit, their trust and close friendship was so fast, I suspected Baz of ulterior motives for the LONGEST time), and a possible love-triangle brewing between Willa, Roman Massey (the rakish owner of the local Meadery) and Detective Heath (the handsome newcomer to the local police force).

Honestly, between the cheese, the growing friendships and the kinda-almost love triangle, I never wanted the story to end! I almost forgot I was supposed to be trying to solve a mystery (something that rarely happens when I’m reading a cozy mystery!). There were quite a few suspects and enough red herrings to have me guessing (wrongly) more than once. What a fantastic ride!

I know that Book 2 in the series will be coming out later this fall (and I have an author interview lined up with Korina Moss), but in the meantime, I’ll just go assemble a small cheese plate and try to wait patiently until I can return to Yarrow Glen and visit Curds & Whey again.

*** Thank you to the publisher, St. Martin’s Press, for providing me with an e-copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

I loved everything about this book - fro the characters, to the cover to the food! Especially the food. I usually can figure out who the murderer is but this one was tough - in a good way. I can't wait for the next book in the series.

Willa opens a cheese shop in the small town of Yarrow Glen. She is new to the area and gets to know people in the community when a Food Critic from the local paper is murdered with a cheese knife from her store. Can she clear her name before the murderer comes after her?

I enjoyed this book but didn't love it. I liked the premise of the story and the characters but felt it lacked something to make it great. I do want to read more of the series because I want to see what happens next with Willa.

Korina Moss kicks off her Cheese Shop Mystery Series with Cheddar Off Dead where Willa Bauer has recently opened a cheese shop in the Sonoma Valley and is doing many different things to get customers in the door and make the shop a success. Unfortunately, after teaching a cheesemaking class to several of the other local merchants, Willa comes across the body of the food critic from the local newspaper who had visited her store very briefly at the conclusion of her class and had intimated that he was not impressed.

The author has done a good job of introducing an intriguing cast of characters that I can see will have many stories to share down the road. This particular book has an intricate, well-written plot line with enough twists and red herrings to prevent early identification of the perpetrator but also creates a realistic backstory and history for many of the characters making it a surprise for the final reveal of both the killer and their motive which in turn changed a seemingly sympathetic character into a cold and calculating individual with a score to settle.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and St. Martin's Press and am leaving this review voluntarily.

This is the first book in this series. Willa loooves cheese! So much so that she had learned the trade of a cheese monger. She is opening up her first stores, Curds and Whey. In an attempt to meet other local business owners and to make friends, Willa has a night when she invites her neighbors to come and make cheese. Before the class she expects a food critic to stop by. Time comes for the class and no cheese critic. Everything seems to be going well when the critic shows up at the tail end of the class. He is drunk and not very nice. Willa tries her best to salvage the situation, but it appears hopeless As she is cleaning up and taking the garbage out, she sees the critic in his car. She decides to check on him and finds him dead with one of her cheese knives, in him.

This was fun. Lots of interesting characters and many with a good reason to hate the murdered man. I enjoyed the setting in a small town and the quirky characters. The writing style is easy to read and the story kept me engaged. I would definitely read another book in the series.

As a cheesemonger and new store owner, of course, Willa Bauer wants everything to run smoothly, customers to stream in, and to introduce those customers to new cheeses they never knew existed. When a food critic wants to come to the store, she’s a nervous wreck, arranging and rearranging displays to make sure they’re perfect.

The man is a no call, no show. She’s got a cheese making class to teach and will have to worry about the critic later. Too bad he bursts in during the class, under the influence, behaves like a jerk, and once he sees who is in her class, announces he doesn’t like the company she keeps so don’t expect a good review. Nothing will change his mind.

When Willa leaves her upstairs apartment for the shop the next morning, she sees the critic’s car parked in the alley. He’s slumped against the door, but he’s not sleeping off a bender. He’s dead.

Considering he’s written a bad review for every place in town, there are quite a few suspects. Too bad the murder weapon was a cheese knife, one Willa had in baskets for the cheesemakers to take home with them. After the outburst, she forgot to hand them out. Although many have a motive, since the knife was the murder weapon, only the people in her class have the means.

In order to protect her store from a ruined reputation, Willa decides to ask a few questions here and there, just to see if she can discover who also had opportunity. It could be her undoing.

This is the first in a new series. Readers will love the cheese shop employees, Mrs. Schultz and Archie, as well as Willa’s neighbor, Baz. There’s a lot of information about different kinds of cheeses, but it doesn’t distract from the story. Plan ahead and have a cheesy snack on hand while you read.

Willa Bauer has opened her very own French inspired cheese shop, Curds & Whey (adorable name!). Little does she know a food critic who is known for his negative reviews will be found murdered after visiting her shop. Willa will need to figure out who the killer is as she is suspect number one or risk losing everything she has worked towards.

Ok, I have to admit it - I am a sucker for the cover of this book and the punny name. I loved that it was an easy breezy cozy mystery that was full of red herrings, twist, and turns. It was a delight and I am looking forward to reading the next in the series.

I want to thank NetGalley, Korina Moss and St. Martin's Press, St. Martin's Paperbacks for the e-ARC of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are honest, my own and left voluntarily.

I absolutely loved this delicious debut cozy! Cheesemonger Willa Bauer is an endearing protagonist, and I loved following her as she and her crew solved the murder. The writing style is fun with clever banter, great descriptions, and all the cheese talk. I cannot wait to read book 2!

Cheddar Off Dead is the first book that I have read by Korina Moss and I can’t wait to read another. Cheddar Off Dead is a murder mystery and the main character is the owner of a cheese shop called Curds & Whey, hints the name of the book. Early in the story a murder takes place near the cheese shop, so Willa, the owner of Curds & Whey is desperate to figure out who the murderer is in order to clear her name, since the murder weapon came from her shop and she also is the one to find the body. Will Willa find out who the killer is before the killer has her meet with the great cheese maker in the sky? I highly encourage you to read Cheddar Off Dead to find out.