When Willa Bauer was asked to set up an open bar at the wedding shower of Summer Harrington and Nelson Trumbull, she was thrilled. Because it was a cheese bar. And as cheesemonger for Curds & Whey in Yarrow Glen, she was the woman for the job. She chose a delectable assortment of cheeses and accompaniments and waited for the day of the shower.
But weddings are never that simple. So when Olivia Harrington, mother of the bride, calls and wants a tasting of the chosen cheeses before the day of the shower, Willa has to stop everything and set that up for them as requested. She knows that the Harringtons are wealthy, and they just bought the magazine All Things Sonoma. A mention in the magazine will bring customers to the store, so Willa has to get this right. And she does. Olivia is satisfied with the tasting and announces that they need to leave, to meet the groom and his family for dinner. Nelson is the nephew of Mayor Trumbull, so Willa is happy to wrap things up.
Plus, she has a date that night. Willa and Roman have been getting closer as they’ve spent time together over the past several months. Tonight, he’s made a dinner reservation, and Willa’s best friend Baz thinks Roman is going to make their relationship official. Instead, he gets into an argument outside of Curds & Whey with the Harringtons. He’d never mentioned to Willa that he used to date Summer. Or that they’d been engaged. Or that he had stood her up at the altar. But Nelson knew, and he took a swing at Roman.
Willa is stunned to find out that Roman and Summer had a past. Roman left without talking to her, so she’s not sure where their relationship stands after Nelson’s punch. She doesn’t see him again until the wedding shower.
Roman wasn’t supposed to be at the shower, but Willa saw him talkin to Summer as she was parking her car down by the garden shed. She had to get back to the garden to set up her cheese bar, arranging her cheeses, vegetables, and crackers on the bespoke boards Baz had carved just for this occasion. But the shower is cancelled when Nelson is found in the horse barn, murdered. Willa immediately tries to get ahold of Roman, to make sure he’s okay. He replies that he is, but he doesn’t give her any more information than that. The police won’t offer up much information either.
Willa’s friends want her to investigate the murder, but she’s not feeling it. Having Roman as a suspect is making her reluctant, especially since she doesn’t know where she stands with him. But then the mayor herself reaches out and asks Willa to look into the suspects, to make sure the powerful Harringtons are considered just as much as as anyone else who was at the house that day. How can Willa say no to that?
But when Willa gets too close to figuring out who killed Nelson, will she be able to save herself, or will she be forked?
Curds of Prey is the third book in Korina Moss’s Cheese Shop Mystery, and it will make you just as hungry as the first two did. These books are smart and filled with small-town characters and charm. There is lots of cheese talk, so grab some curds to snack on or your favorite cheese slices, or if you’re feeling like heading to the kitchen, you can try one of the recipes at the end to make your own Goat Cheese Breakfast Quesadilla or Savory Dutch Baby with ham and cheddar.
I am a bid fan of cheese, and of these books. I love the cheese shop and wish I could drop in for some ideas. These characters are the type I love to spend time with. I love the setting of the wedding. I thought that added a lot of texture to the story, and it added intrigue into Willa’s relationship with Roman. I am looking forward to seeing where this series takes us next. And until then, I’ll be over by the cheeses.
Egalleys for Curds of Prey were provided by St. Martin’s Press through NetGalley, with many thanks.
