Book Review: Bait and Swiss

Bait and Swiss

Bait and Swiss is the coziest of reads. It has a devilishly good mystery, a charming setting, and characters you can’t wait to spend time with.

• Series: A Cheese Shop Mystery (Book Six)

• Written by: Korina Moss

• Published by: St Martin’s Press

• Release date: April 29, 2025

• Mystery type: Culinary cozy mystery

Plot Overview

Cheesemonger Willa Bauer is getting ready to celebrate the second anniversary of the opening of her French-inspired cheese shop, Curds and Whey. But then the unthinkable happens. Her traitorous ex-fiance, who cheated on her with her equally traitorous ex-best friend, opens a pop-up chocolate shop right across the street from Willa’s cheese shop.

Things go from bad to worse when someone gets a bad batch of chocolate and drops dead. Once word gets out that there has been a victim of death by chocolate, nobody wants to go into the pop-up shop…or any of the other shops in Yarrow Glen, including Willa’s cheese shop!

Willa’s ex begs her to help him save his reputation and his store. Willa wants to say no, but she has also come under suspicion, and someone needs to save the town from total ruin, so she agrees. You cheddar believe that drama and mystery ensues!

Spoiler-Free Review

I loved Bait and Swiss. I devoured this cozy mystery in a single day and felt disappointed when it was over (because I wanted to read more!). After reading so many cozy mysteries, I can often guess whodunit before the sleuth, but this time, I was truly on the fence right up to the big reveal. The mystery was twisty, with lots of red herrings and an unforgettable ending.

It was great to be back on the case with Team Cheese again. Willa and her three sidekicks, Mrs. Schultz, Archie, and Bas are the kind of characters you want to hang out with. It has been lovely watching them grow over the last six books.

I also enjoyed meeting Willa’s two exes, who have been a part of Willa’s backstory since the very first book, Cheddar Off Dead. These two really ratcheted up the drama in Bait and Swiss.

As usual, author Korina Moss nailed the tone and perfectly balanced heart, humor, and suspense. She has a knack for writing cozies and creating charming settings and characters.

I also really liked the many cheese descriptions peppered throughout. Hot tip: You’re going to want to make a cheese plate BEFORE you start reading this book so you have something to snack on! Or, you can flip to the very end, where you will find three tasty and cheesy recipes that you can try. Each recipe is for a dish mentioned in the book.

You can read the books in the Cheese Shop Mystery out of order without any real confusion, but you’ll enjoy the characters more if you start at book one, Cheddar Off Dead. I highly recommend every book in the Cheese Shop Mystery series. They are the coziest of cozies.

Review disclosure: I received an advanced reader copy of Bait and Swiss from Net Galley and St Martin’s Press. Affiliate disclosure: This page includes affiliate links. Clicking on a link and purchasing a product may allow Cozy Crime Reads to earn a small commission. This will not cost you any extra, but it will help support the operation of this website.