Cheddar Late Than Dead is Book 3 in the Grilled Cheese Mysteries by Linda Reilly.
This can be read as a standalone, but I highly recommend reading the first two books as they are both equally as fantastic and will provide some back story.

I love Carly who owns a grilled cheese restaurant, and, in this outing, she is catering a bridal shower as a favor for a former classmate, Klarissa.

Unfortunately, the groom is found dead after the shower and Klarissa is the number one suspect.

Carly and her friends investigate to try and save Klarissa from being arrested.

I LOVE this series. The characters are fun, well written, and CHEESY!

I have a huge fan of this author having read many of her series, but this to date is my favorite series! Highly recommend !

Great book 3 in the series! Engaging mystery, good character development, interesting side stories, and delicious food. This was such a zippy read; started it and the next thing inknew it was over!

Thank you to the publisher for allowing me to read this eARC!

I didn't realize this was third in a series but I was able to read it as a standalone and that's great! This was such a delightful and interesting quick mystery! The author was really good at creating clues and twists that weren't predicable. Will definitely read more by this author!

The third entry in the Grilled Cheese Eatery series finds our heroine, Carly unexpectedly catering the bridal shower of a high school friend. She is drawn into investigating after the groom collapses and dies after crashing the gathering and her friend is the prime suspect.

I enjoyed this title more than the others in the series. The mystery is layered, relationship dynamics explored. I feel like we're finally finding some of who these characters are. There was a little more meat here than in previous entries in the series. I like Carly's relationship with her staff and her family. The chaste, innocence in her relationship with Ari is the odd point for me. She is a widow with relationship experience so that part feels off at times.

The opinions expressed are mine and given freely. Thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the opportunity!

A delightful series. It kept me guessing. I missed the many clues. Linda Reilly kept me engaged and turning the pages. She writes a cozy without some of what I consider needless filler such as clothing descriptions. Thanks to the publisher for providing a copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary.

When grilled cheese shop owner Carly gets corralled into catering a bridal shower for an old classmate, she doesn't expect to discover the groom dead during the festivities! When the police reveal he was poisoned, Carly can't help looking into what happened--she was there that day, after all. And when the town manager goes missing, things go from bad to worse.

Linda Reilly's cheesy cozy series is a new classic. With a great cast of characters, interesting details, and creative killings, it's hard not to love these books. Unfortunately for this one, I picked up on the killer about halfway, so it was difficult to watch Carly overlook so many obvious clues from there on out! I don't mind an obvious clue so long as our heroine picks up on it, but Carly, despite her observantness, wasn't the best at putting her observations together in this book. I still enjoyed the book, though, and can't wait to continue reading this series.

Thanks to Poisoned Pen Press for my eARC! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

4 stars - 8/10

I enjoyed Cheddar Late than Dead so much, and I loved the plot. I love a mystery where the main sleuth is the caterer of an event where there's murder and everything comes out wrong. Visits to Carly's Grilled Cheese have always been a pleasure. The setting in small town Vermont is so comforting. I did find there were far too many characters to keep track of. However, it was still enjoyable to get to know them and I was shocked at who the killer really was.

Thank You Poisoned Pen Press and Netgalley for the ARC of this book. This was an honest review.

I’ve read the first two in Linda Reilly’s Cheddar Cheese Mystery series and really enjoyed them. And while Cheddar Late Than Dead was still enjoyable, I just didn’t find it as good as the first two.

There were two big things that left me wanting; the characters and the mystery.

The characters were still well written, even the new ones, but there just wasn’t enough of the old characters for me, especially Carly’s BFF and the employees that have been at her shop since the beginning. We do get a side story with the new assistant manager of the restaurant and the BFF shines in her artwork for the animal shelter, but I wanted more!

That being said, I did enjoy the new characters and hope one of them becomes a part of the group.

And the mystery itself just felt very easy to figure out. Now there is nothing wrong with that. Many people read cozy mysteries for the characters and the mystery itself is a bonus. But combining the easy to solve mystery with the lack of seeing what is going on with the regular characters just didn’t make me love Cheddar Late Than Dead as much as the others.

Will I give book four a read, yes! And I encourage you to pick up this series if you haven’t already… the yummy descriptions of the food and the recipes at the end are to die for!

This was a cute mystery. I liked Carly a lot more in the first book than in this one though. I'm definitely craving some grilled cheese now.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Poisoned Pen Press through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you, Poisoned Pen Press.

At the last minute, Carly is asked to cater a ritzy bridal shower for a former high school classmate. When a party attendee turns up dead, the bride-to-be is the number #1 suspect. Despite her ambivalent feelings, Carly sets out to prove her friend’s innocence.

Book #3 of this series is just as good as the first two, even though all the talk about cheese bothers me (I love it, but cheese and I do not get along well). I like Carly, her staff, and her family and friends, and the support she gets from the town’s residents is amazing, although I still have trouble envisioning an eatery that serves only variations of grilled cheese. I didn’t especially care for the attitudes of some of the party guests, but that’s what made so many of them good murder suspects :) I had the killer on my list, and the character moved up near the top as the book progressed, but the motive took me by surprise.

Knowing that many publishers do three-book deals with authors, I’m not sure if there will be a book #4 in this series, but if there is, I’ll certainly read it.

Carly agrees to cater a party for Klarissa and Tony before their wedding but then...Tony is found murdered. Of course Carly, our intrepid heroine, is determined to find out who did it and,, in classic cozy fashion, works her way through a list of people who had issues with him. There were a few too many characters in this latest in the series but the twists are good. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. For fans of the series.

I gave Cheddar Late Than Dead by Linda Reilly 5 stars

Okay, this series has become one of my favorite cozy mystery series. It truly is a joy to read this third installment in the Grilled Cheese Mystery series. However, I am now really sad I have to wait so long until I can read the next one :'(

Linda Reilly has created another well-written book with a great plot and an interesting mystery that kept me guessing. The characters, both old and new, are as always well-developed and I love seeing them grow with every book I read. Especially Carly Hale, who has become one of my favorite sleuths.

I really recommend this series and I can't wait to read book number four. Please, Linda Reilly, hurry up and finish the next book!! :)

This book comes out 31 January 2023

Thank you Net Galley and Poisoned Pen Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

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Cheddar Late than Dead is the is the third mystery on the Grilled Cheese mystery series. When restaurant owner, Carly ends up catering a wedding shower, she gets more than she bargained for. After a dead body interrupts the party, Carly takes it upon herself to figure out want happened to the poor victim.

This is the third book in the series I have read and just like its two companion mysteries, I found this to be a good read. I really enjoy Carly and her nosy ways of ferreting out the truth. I enjoyed following along with Carly as she uncovered clues and slowly found the killer. My only complaint is that about halfway through the book I figured out who the murder was. I’m not sure if that was just a lucky guess if the book was pushing me to that conclusion earlier than normal. Overall this was a good mystery and a good series. This is worth the read if you like cozy mysteries!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC!

This is the 3rd book in the series but it can be read as a stand alone. I discovered the series a few months ago and was so happy to receive this ARC. It did not disappoint and is a wonderful addition to the series!!

Carly saves the day when she fills in last minute to cater for a bridal shower. Unfortunately, that also means she is present during an unfortunate death. Carly can't help but get involved and starts asking questions of suspects and soon finds things are a lot more complicated than anyone could have imagined.

What a clever plot. There are a lot of surprises with memorable characters and a comforting ending. Thanks to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for an ARC. The opinions expressed are my own.

Each book in this series gets better! Carly runs a grilled-cheese eatery in her hometown and when a high-school 'friend' bursts into tears at one of her tables, Carly is drawn into catering a bridal shower. Drama, tears and a Bridezilla - what could possibly go wrong?! Of course, Carly involves herself in more than the catering! It's definitely a good thing that the chief of police is a family friend. Each of the characters gets more remarkable and developed throughout this series and I'm really enjoying the stories. (Oh, and there are recipes!)

In Cheddar late than Dead, the third in Linda Reilly's Grilled Cheese Murder Mysteries, restaurant owner, Carly Hale, steps in to cater the almost cancelled wedding shower of high school classmate, Klarissa Taddeo. The shower goes well, the speciality grilled cheese doughnuts are successful and then Tony Manous, the groom shows up and he and Clarissa argue. Dawn, Klarissa's wedding planner, who is not fond of Tony, becomes a suspect, after Tony's body is found at the bottom of the stairs. When Gretel Engstrom, town manager and Klarissa's step mom, disappears, the plot thickens and the suspect list grows. Carly needs to sort through all the suspects and clues to solve the murder. Well written with several surprisingly plot twists. 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Carly is forced into catering a wedding shower for a former classmate. The shower goes well, despite many guests having a grudge with someone else. There’s so many possible suspects in this one, it kept me very engrossed. I love Carly & her restaurant, it’s such a unique restaurant for a lead character to start up. I loved the ending too! Such a great solution, didn’t see it coming at all.

This is a perfect wintery read to cozy up with! Grab some soup & a grilled cheese sandwich & enjoy. Pick up the first two books too so you won’t be lost. It’s a fantastic series & one that should be on your radar.

Cheddar Late than Dead is the third book in the Grilled Cheese mystery series. I haven't read the first two and have no problems, although I did enjoy this one so much that I will be reading them, and following the rest of the series.

Carly has been roped into catering a bridal shower for someone she went to high school with, she is making grilled cheese.. donuts! ( recipe included at the end of the book) After a series of bizarre events, that Carly witnesses, she finds the prospective groom at the bottom of the staircase. It's determined to be murder The mystery begins.

Carly has had some success at solving crimes previously, and as much as she has vowed not to get involved in any murders she can't help but be sucked into this one. Especially when one of the women who attend the shower ends up missing, last seen the morning after the murder.

I really loved all the characters and the Grilled Cheese restaurant. The mystery was quite good, there were so many viable suspects with great motives to want this guy dead, that throughout almost the entire book I had no idea who the killer would be. I only ended up with a good idea of who the killer would be after Carly searched the missing woman's home and a piece of evidence was found, and that is right before it's revealed to us. I also totally loved the recipes at the end! This was a fun, and entertaining read that had me sucked in from the first page, and I can't wait to see what is going to happen next!

Cheddar Late than Dead is the third installment in Linda Reilly's wonderful Grilled Cheese Mystery cozy series, and it was one of my most anticipated releases of 2023. It takes us readers back to Balsam Dell, Vermont to catch up with Carly Hale; a young woman who runs a popular grilled cheese eatery while stumbling upon murders on the side.

Carly is asked last minute to cater a bridal shower for a woman she went to high school with, but things turn deadly when the woman's fiancé is found murdered right at the shower. Of course, Carly can't help herself from getting involved; especially when so much is at stake, and the mystery seems to keep on growing. Soon a missing person's case is dragged into the mess, and Carly will stop at nothing to see justice served.

Another worthy title in this cozy mystery series, I'm happy to say that Cheddar Late than Dead kept me guessing from start to finish as to just who the dastardly villain was, and what their nefarious intentions truly were. It was also a fun addition to get to learn more about Carly's employees, and I truly loved how the whole staff came to feel like a family of sorts who truly care about each other, despite not having much in common.

The mystery was well plotted and paced, but perhaps a bit darker than it was in the previous title. Linda Reilly's writing style kept me engaged throughout, and I continue to enjoy Carly as a protagonist. I'm looking forward to following along on more of her adventures in future novels, and I'm hoping for a little more romance between her and Ari in the next story.

My only complaints would be the fact that I don't personally enjoy how this one is told from third person perspective. I think the reader would connect more with Carly if we were following it in first person. And secondly, the mystery in this one was quite a bit darker than I was expecting, and maybe just be forewarned of that fact before picking it up.

All in all though, it was a fantastic story, and I'm grateful I had the opportunity to read it.

Final Rating: 4/5.

Thanks so much to Poisoned Pen Press for allowing me to advance read and review this one!

I voluntarily read and reviewed a complimentary advance reader copy of this novel from the publisher (Poisoned Pen Press) via NetGalley. I was not required to give a positive review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.