Great cozy mystery book. Especially if you're a fan of some of those other cook/baker female civilian mystery solvers. Loved that there wasn't any raunchy romance. Just the right amount of flirtations and female friend building. Even if the women don't see eye to eye, they still support each other. I could see a series blooming from this, but it would be okay, maybe even better, if the author stuck to this style of writing but created new characters. Maybe did a different person from the town as the main character each book. Explored their world with the previous characters playing supporting roles.

I'm a big fan of a cozy mystery, especially in audiobook form. This one is adorable, and each and every single time I listened to it I was hungry for a grilled cheese! If you love a small town cozy mystery with a huge emphasis on yummy food, this is a great one to listen to!

This is a nice cozy mystery with yummy cheeses! My Rating: 4.5 of 5.0 Overall; Story 4.5; Narration 4.5.

Carly Hale lost her husband to a tragic accident. She returned to her family hometown to open Carly’s Grilled Cheese Eatery where she serves popular, creative, and delicious sandwiches. Business is going well, and things are looking good until Lyle Bagley, her high school boyfriend, becomes her landlord and gives her notice to vacate so he can renovate to put in a shop for his new fiancé. Suzanne, one of Carly’s employees, threatens harm to Lyle as he leaves the shop. A day or so later Lyle is found dead in the back parking lot of the eatery.

When Suzanne looks like the primary suspect, Carly is determined to find the killer and prove her employee/friend innocent. While questioning potential suspects Carly stirs up threats. Can she figure out who is the real danger before they get to her?

First, I love grilled cheese so this title and cover quickly caught my eye. It is an easy listen oozing with some pretty cheesy puns (couldn’t resist) which made it fun for me. There is a good group of supporting characters, including a musically talented soup chef, and a possible future romantic interest. There is a stray pup too that Carly dubs “Havarti”. I liked the twist that reveals the true villain although there were a few hints. I definitely recommend this to fans of cozy mystery… and to cheese lovers too! I hope to read more in the series.

Audio Notes: Mia Gaskin does a grand job with the narration. The presentation had energy and distinct voices. It moved along very nicely. I am not sure if I have had the occasion to listen to Ms. Gaskin before but I would be glad to listen to other works she narrates.

Source: 2022 NetGalley.

This is a terrific little cozy mystery. It’s well written with great characters and if you like grilled cheese will leave you salivating.
When Cary Hale’s husband dies, she heads back to Balsam Dell to heal. She is finally going through with her lifelong dream of opening up a restaurant called “Carly’s Grilled Cheese Eatery”. She’s been in business for five months now and it’s booming. Townsfolk and vacationers alike rave about her sandwiches. She comes up with some clever little names such as Party Havartis. Enter Lyle Bagley. Lyle was Carly’s boyfriend back in high school days and is now the town bully. He just bought the building the Eatery is in and wants her to move out. She argues a bit but realizes she will have to find a solution in order to keep her dream going, even if that means somewhere else.
All of that changes though when Lyle is discovered dead right outside behind the dumpster of her shop. Soon, one of her employees is the prime suspect. Carty is determined to both save her Eatery and prove her friends innocence so she puts on her detective hat and gets to work!
This is a really cute cozy. It has excellent characters, a great backdrop, a good murder, and a fun little mystery. Definitely recommend.

This was a fun cozy mystery and it really got me craving a good grilled cheese! I love the small town setting and the characters. Carly was a great MC. She's strong, likeable, and charming.

I'm looking forward to more in this series.

I am always looking for new cozy mysteries, and this one did not disappoint. I liked the quirky characters and small town. I am looking forward to the new installment in the series.

Book 56 for 2022! 4/5 stars for this cozy mystery! Love love the title, and the cover! Such a fun story, set in a small town. We may have got a hint of a love interest! I can't wait to see some of these small town characters again in the next book! Narration was great!

*I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for honest review*

I finally got my hands on this book from my local library. The idea of a grilled cheese restaurant sounded very fun & the cheese puns made me smile too. This is the first book in a new series & Reilly kicks it off with strong writing, charming details & delicious sounding food. Carly is a strong heroine & I like that we jump in & she already has the restaurant up & running. Her coworkers are delightful as well. The mystery is dealt with well really well. I look forward to more in the series!

Warning, this book may cause you to become very hungry hearing about all the yummy sandwiches ☺️

First in a new series, and there is nothing cheesy about it except for the wonderful sounding sandwiches. Dream of a lifetime turns into a real life nightmare. Carly, recent widow and new restaurant owner of a grilled cheese bistro learns that the new building owner is kicking her out to build a boutique for his fiancé. Lyle Bagley, the reason Carly and her BFF haven’t been on speaking terms since high school. So you can guess who the victim is and unfortunately, Carly’s hard working helper is at the top of the suspect list to be grilled. Not everybody enjoyed interacting with Lyle, not even his own brother so there are plenty of likely suspects, plenty of red herrings, and plenty of yummy sounding sandwiches like Smoky Steals the Bacon.

I love grilled cheese and this book made me want one! I also want to try all the ones in Carly's restaurant. Culinary cozies are a favorite of mine. The mystery in this one was so good. I did not guess until very close to the end! I loved all the characters. Gina and Carly's friendship was so awesome. I will definitely be reading more of this series! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really liked this first installment in the Grilled Cheese Mysteries series. Set in a small town in Vermont, Carly Hale is the owner of the Grilled Cheese Eatery. Business is going well, until the town bully, Lyle Bagley, ends up dead behind a dumpster at the eatery. Carly used to date Lyle, and her shop was owned by Lyle so some people start looking at her as a suspect. She has to figure out who killed Lyle, clear her name, and keep cooking awesome grilled cheese sandwiches (I wish there were recipes). The narration was also excellent. I want to thank the author, the publisher, and Netgalley for giving me an e-copy of this book, in return for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book and liked the narrator. The main characters were wonderful, but there were too many extras and it was a bit tough to remember who was who at times. All in all, it was a fun start to a unique cozy mystery series.

Carly is a widow who has fulfilled her dream of running a grilled cheese eatery in her hometown. She is just making things work when she's told she will be evicted by the new owner of her building. Then, that owner is found dead in the alley behind her restaurant. Carly and one of her employees are on the list of suspects, so she ventures out to find the killer. A good cozy mystery with all the right elements. Some nice twists in the plot!

I had not intended to start a new cozy mystery series, but after reading so many good reviews, I couldn't resist. I am glad I took a chance as I really enjoyed this story. Carly Hale has returned to Balsam Dell, Vermont to heal after the death of her husband. She is finally pursuing her lifelong dream and opened Carly's Grilled Cheese Eatery. Business is booming after only five months when she gets some bad news. Lyle Bagley, Carly's one-time high school boyfriend just bought the building that houses her eatery and wants Carly out. He has promised his girlfriend that she can open her own fashion boutique in the building. She can't afford to move and renovate a new building, if there was even one available. When Lyle is discovered dead behind the dumpster of Carly's shop, one of her employees becomes the prime suspect. In order to save her eatery and prove her friend's innocence, Carly must figure out who the real killer is.

This is a good start to the series. The characters are likeable, believable, and well developed. I really like Carly. She is a strong woman who has endured hard times and loss. I love that she is moving forward and opened the eatery that she has dreamed about. The small town is charming with some great secondary characters. I have to mention, little Havarti, the scruffy little dog, I want to get to know better. I love when pets have a role in a story. Becca, a homeless veteran we meet in this story plays a big role and I hope she continues to be part of the cast of characters. Of course, because the murder victim is not very well liked, there is a large pool of suspects, some obvious, some not. The mystery is well plotted with great pacing and just enough twists and turns to keep me listening intently and I loved the ending. I was happy to see some recipes at the end as all of Carly's grilled cheese sandwiches sound amazing. I am looking forward to the next book in this series. I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Mia Gaskin. I enjoyed her voices, pace, emotion and tone. An enjoyable listening experience.

🧀After the death of her husband, Carly returns home to Vermont and opens a grilled cheese restaurant, making a long time dream come true. For the first few months, everything seems to be going well until old high school boyfriend Lyle informs her that he now owns the building and is evicting her. Carly’s resigned to her fate and then Lyle winds up dead behind the restaurant dumpster and one of Carly’s employees is suspect number 1.

🧀While this is the first in a new cozy mystery series, Reilly is an accomplished cozy author and it shows. The murder is well crafted and while I suspected something was up with the murderer, I never would have guessed what, and there is an additional puzzle that comes into play. All the exposition that is needed for the first in a series is there, but it is well integrated with the plot. Characters are well done. I especially like Grant and his story line. I also appreciate that the chief of police is concerned but friendly and that Tiffany is more than just another pretty mean girl. With a hardware store, greeting card shop, bakery, cheese makers and more, all full of characters as well, there is a lot of potential for future series entries. I listened to the audio book and the reader is one who has done other cozies and I enjoyed her interpretation.

🧀I can’t wait to see more of the little dog Harvati and read about more delicious grilled cheese combinations. If you like the Country Store Mysteries by Maddie Day, you definitely need to check this series out.

*I received a free copy of this novel from NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for my honest review of this audio book version.*

Carly has lost her husband, moved back to her hometown, and opened a grilled cheese diner in a very short amount of time. And while facing an eviction from the space she is renting, the new owner is murdered.

I enjoyed the first in this new cozy mystery series and am already looking forward to the next installment. The characters have been set up well for building on in the books to come and I am sure there will be more dastardly characters to off, as well. I only wish there were some recipes for the grilled cheese because I would like to try some of them!

I will definitely be checking into Balsam Dell, Vermont for the next book!

There was a lot to like in this first book of the Grilled Cheese Mystery series. I loved the idea of the restaurant and the Vermont small-town setting. I loved the dog, Havarti. And the mystery itself kept me guessing.

When I read cozies, I prefer the ones that aren't quite so squeaky clean, but after a while, the "Mayberry" qualities were almost humorous and I just decided to embrace them. You can enjoy phrases like:
-Coinky dink
-I don't give a flying' hoot
-For the love of butterflies in January
-For the love of daisies in December
-Good gravy on a rolling reptile
-like pulling the antlers off a moose

However, it starts to grate on me when all the main characters are annoyingly wholesome without so much as having a single negative thought. I'd like to have a few real people to relate to other than the murderer. It feels almost like toxic positivity.

I liked the setting, the recipe ideas, the voice of the narrator, and the dog enough that I'd read or listen to a second book if the series continues. I'd love to see some new emotions from Carly -- like anger or jealousy. :)

Note: I literally stopped this book to make myself a grilled cheese about half way through. I would love to be able to visit this fictitious restaurant.

*Thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for an advanced copy of this audiobook.

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Audio for the Early listen. What a fun cozy mystery! Love visiting these cozy little towns. Author did a great job loved all the characters. Love when the cozy mysteries include animals! Narrator did a fabulous job telling the story.
Definitely recommend!

This is the first book featuring a grilled cheese eatery owner who is returning to her hometown after the death of her husband. Carly Hale has just recently opened this eatery in a quaint Vermont town, when the building owner suddenly decides to kick her out! After a body is found behind Carly’s shop, one of Carly’s top employees becomes the main suspect. Carly is determined to figure out who the killer is!

This was a very cute book that I listened to on audio. The narrator did an excellent job and the book was paced pretty well. I find cozy mysteries are easier for me to listen to so I would definitely recommend this audiobook!
I’m very grateful to Netgalley and Dreamscape media for providing the audiobook in exchange for an honest review

I really enjoyed this first book in a new series. I liked the setting of a grilled cheese sandwich restaurant. The characters are well developed and you will find yourself loving some while not liking others. The murder happens early in the book and the author does a great job of keeping you interested. I am looking forward to more adventures with Carly, Becca, Joyce, and Grant. Great beginning to a cozy mystery series.

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for my advanced review copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.