This particular day in my life was supposed to be all about cheese and love—two things that go hand-in-hand, as far as I’m concerned. After all, cheese is my love language. My cheese shop, Curds & Whey, was slated to provide an elaborate cheese bar for the wedding shower of socialite Summer Harrington. What a boon for Curds & Whey! Surely, you’ve heard about the powerhouse couple—the younger daughter of the wealthiest family in Yarrow Glen set to marry the mayor’s nephew. The Harringtons had even bought All Things Sonoma magazine to ensure every detail of Summer’s impending nuptials to Nelson Trumbull would be covered. Truth be told, they also hoped it would erase any memory of Summer’s last wedding when her first groom left her at the altar. I didn’t care about any of that. I was just thrilled my cheese shop would be mentioned in the magazine, even if it meant dealing with the momzilla-of-the-bride, Olivia Harrington.

As it turned out, she was the least of our problems! Fighting sisters, Nelson riding in on horseback as a prince, and a surprise appearance by Summer’s former runaway groom and the ensuing fight between them, brought enough heat to practically melt the four-foot champagne ice sculpture. Who knew that would just be the warm-up?

The worst of it was after the shower was called off, when I found Nelson dead in the stables with a pitchfork in his abdomen. The shock had barely worn off when I was told my boyfriend, Roman, was one of the suspects. Did I mention Roman was Summer’s former runaway groom? Yeah, it was news to me too.

At least my best friend, Baz, and my cheese shop crew, Archie and Mrs. Schultz, are all having better luck in the love department. Twenty-year-old Archie just may get up the nerve to ask his longtime crush to the town’s Valentine’s dance next weekend, and if Baz can choke down another energy smoothie from the vegan girl he likes, he may find love too. Mrs. Schultz, “smack dab” in her sixties, is completely unaware that she’s in the middle of a love triangle between one of our shop neighbors and a new suitor from her teaching days at the high school. Since love isn’t doing me any favors, I have other things on my mind, like who killed Nelson Trumbull? But Roman and Detective Heath implored me not to get involved in this case, since they’re both aware of my penchant for amateur sleuthing, especially to help a friend.

I swear, I planned to stay out of it and focus on my decorating committee duties, while eating copious amounts of cheese to make myself feel better that I’ll probably now be going to the dance solo. But my good intentions went out the window when the mayor requested a secret meeting with me. She wants me to investigate who may have murdered her nephew! She doesn’t trust that the Harringtons won’t use their influence to sway the police and possibly get away with murder. I don’t trust that they won’t catch on to me, which would put my little French-inspired cheese shop squarely in their crosshairs. But how do I say no to the mayor? Walking this tightrope between two very powerful families to figure out this murder is going to take a lot of extra cheese.

Curds of Prey, A Cheese Shop Mystery Book #3
Genre: Cozy
Release: March 2023
Format: Print, Digital, Audio
Purchase Link

In Korina Moss’s Curds of Prey, murder again comes to Yarrow Glen, and cheesemonger Willa Bauer must be the predator… before she becomes the prey.

Yarrow Glen’s favorite cheese shop, Curds & Whey, gets to be a part of the social event of the season: Summer Harrington’s wedding. Cheesemonger Willa Bauer is going all out for the wedding shower’s cheese bar. But the eagle-eyed Harrington family is proving to be a pain in her asiago. A last-minute tasting ends in disaster when one of Willa’s potential beaux, Roman, gets in a fight with the groom. Then the shower arrives, and while there’s anything but love in the air, there is plenty of cheese. Oh, and Roman… again. The day officially ends in disaster when Willa finds the groom—who also happens to be the mayor’s nephew—in the stable, dead as a dodo. At the mayor’s request, Willa must follow the trail of cheese curds to find a killer while continuing to walk a tightrope between two of Sonoma Valley’s most powerful families.

About the author
Korina Moss is the author of the Cheese Shop Mystery series set in the Sonoma Valley, including the Agatha Award nominated first book, Cheddar Off Dead. Other puntastic titles in this cozy mystery series include Gone For Gouda, Curds Of Prey, and Case Of The Bleus, with more books forthcoming. Korina is a member of Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America, and blogs on Writers Who Kill. You’re invited to visit her website and subscribe to her free newsletter at korinamossauthor.com.

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