dipping into murder
It’s Dairy Days in the nearby town of Lockwood, and Willa Bauer has cheese and is willing to travel. From her cheese shop in Yarrow Glen, she and her Curds & Whey team are packing up themed grazing boxes filled with selections of cheeses that they can sell from their booth. They are ready to take part in the celebrations, from the cow parade to the butter sculptures to the Miss Dairy pageant. But the pageant is put on hold when Willa finds the pageant runner, Nadine, dead in the Lockwood Historical Society Museum.
The local sheriff starts to investigate like it’s an accident, but Willa questions that. Nadine had been found under some very heavy shelves, and Willa doesn’t think that they could fall on their own. And the lights had been turned out. Willa is concerned that the local police aren’t taking Nadine’s death seriously enough, so she turns to her friend Detective Heath. Heath can’t officially investigate in Lockwood, but he agrees that something isn’t quite right with the current investigation, so he agrees to spend some of his time at the Dairy Days. Willa is relieved and tries to focus on enjoying what she can of the festival.
Despite Nadine’s death, the pageant goes on, with the drama of teenagers and pageant moms, judges and a $15,000 scholarship. The celebrity judge they had originally asked to participate pulled out after the suspicious death, so they ask Willa to step in. She had no ties to Lockwood and has one of the critical requirements, an in-depth knowledge of dairy, and she agrees to help out. It also gives her an excuse to be near to the pageant, to keep investigating. And just like that, Team Cheese is on the case.
Team Cheese is Willa and her two employees, retired teacher Mrs. Schultz and Archie, young cheesemonger-in-training, along with Willa’s best friend Baz. Mrs. Schultz is already helping with the pageant, so she is in a position to get information from backstage. Archie helps out in the booth when Willa wants to go check out some clues, and Baz has handyman skills that can get him into places others can’t get to.
As Team Cheese gathers information, this time with the help of Detective Heath, Willa finds that there are other crimes that may be motive for the murder. Willa suspects that the head judge is taking bribes. And the town’s museum talks of both a public fire that trapped two teenagers briefly and a kidnapping where the child was returned unharmed but no one was ever charged with the crime. As Willa puts the information together in a way that makes sense, she finds herself in the sights of a killer. Will Team Cheese be able to bring a killer to justice, or will their chance to catch a killer melt away?
Fondue or Die is book 5 in the delicious Cheese Shop Mystery series. Korina Moss blends cozy mysteries with mouth-watering descriptions of cheesy delicacies in these fun mysteries about a cheesemonger in a small town in Sonoma Valley. These books are well written with interesting characters, including a pet fish who is a big fan of Chopped (but then, who isn’t?), and they give descriptions of cheeses that are popular and hidden gems, offering facts about where they come from, how they’re made, how they look, and how they taste. There are even recipes with recommendations for anyone who wants to up their grilled cheese, pasta, or fondue game.
I liked Fondue or Die a lot. I love the idea of the dairy festival, and I wish I could have been there to try out that Cow Chip Bingo. I thought this one was well plotted, with some good red herrings and even strong hints at an MLM. Author Korina Moss does a really good job balancing the cheese with the crimes and thinking up complex cozy plots for a very entertaining book. My main complaint is how hungry I always get reading these, but I love that I get to learn so much along the way.
Egalleys for Fondue or Die were provided by St. Martin’s Press through NetGalley, with many thanks.
