Case of the Bleus: A Cheese Shop Mystery (Cheese Shop Mysteries , #4)

by Korina Moss

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 honour 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?

• ISBN10: 1250893895
• ISBN13: 9781250893895
• Publish Date: 20 November 2023
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Minotaur Books,US
• Format: Paperback (US Mass Market)
• Pages: 320
• Language: English
• URL: http://melia.co.uk/page/detail/?k=9781250893895

Reviews

[annieb123]

Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.

Case of the Bleus is the fourth Cheese Shop cozy mystery by Korina Moss. Due out 26th Sept 2023 by Macmillan on their St. Martin's Press imprint, it's 320 pages and is available in mass market paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links throughout.

Cheese shop owner Willa Bauer is back with her quirky helpers, her cheese store, Curds & Whey, lots and lots of cheese trivia, and a well constructed puzzle to solve. This time, there's a lost recipe for an award winning bleu cheese and cheesemakers dropping dead. It's up to cheesemonger Willa and friends to get to the bottom of the mystery. 

As with most cozies, the emphasis is on the characters and the puzzle. The crimes are described off-scene and without being gruesome. The language is very clean. The series continues to improve, from a strong start, and the ensemble cast of Willa and her employees continue to mesh and become more three dimensional and believable (for a cozy)

Although it's the fourth book in the series, the plot arc and resolution are self-contained, and it works well enough as a standalone. With four books currently in the series, it would make a good choice for a cozy series binge or buddy read.

Four stars. Definitely one for shopfront cozy fans. It's full of esoteric cheese minutiae and I found a number of specialty cheeses I'm looking forward to trying. The author has also included intriguing cheese themed recipes for a ham & blue cheese tart and Gorgonzola garlic bread (yum!).

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.