A bridal shower, a fancy Vermont mansion, and a menu packed with gourmet grilled cheese—what could go wrong? Oh, right… murder. In “Cheddar Late Than Dead”, Carly Hale, grilled cheese connoisseur and part-time detective, agrees to cater Klarissa’s wedding shower, expecting nothing more than some melty cheese magic and a little high-society drama. Instead, the groom ends up very dead, and suddenly, the biggest problem isn’t whether someone ordered gluten-free—it’s finding out who laced his last meal with poison.

Listen, if I found myself in the middle of a murder investigation, I’d probably just lock my doors and mind my business. But Carly? She’s got the small-town sleuthing gene and a knack for sniffing out secrets between bites of perfectly crisped bread. The charm of Balsam Dell, the colorful cast of townsfolk, and the downright mouthwatering grilled cheese descriptions make this mystery an absolute snack. Is it a little predictable? Sure. But when you’ve got a town full of quirky suspects, a dog named Havarti, and enough cheese puns to make a Wisconsinite blush, it’s easy to sit back and enjoy the ride.

A solid 4 out of 5 stars! It’s cozy, it’s fun, and it fully embraces its cheesy charm (pun absolutely intended). If you love a small-town mystery with a side of delicious food and murder served hot, this one’s worth sinking your teeth into.

It archived before I could download but I just finished my copy from the library and was glad I finally was able to read it.

I’ll be honest I totally grabbed this book for the title alone. And I’m so glad I did!!! The coziest of cozy mysteries. AND IT’S A SERIES!!! I’m beyond down for it!!!!

Grilled cheese restaurant owner Carly Hale is talked into providing the last-minute food for former classmate Klarissa’s bridal shower, held at the maid of honor Dawn’s family mansion. As Carly is getting ready to leave, she discovers the groom-to-be dead, his drink poisoned. Carly can’t resist figuring out who did it to clear Dawn’s name.

This is the 3rd book in a series about Carly, but it can easily be read as a standalone. Mia Gaskin did a nice job with the audiobook narration. This book has all the ingredients you would expect in a cozy mystery, and the grilled cheese eatery is a unique shop for the main character to own. If you like cozy mysteries, check this one out!

Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an audio ARC of this book.

I really enjoyed “Up to No Gouda,” the first of the series, but apparently missed the second book, “No Parm No Foul.” That said, after reading the third in this series, I’m going to have to go back and read what Carly and Havarti get up to in the second book after reading “Cheddar Late Than Never!” That said, I do think you can read this as a standalone, but I did catch some references to the first book.

Carly is a “reluctant sleuth” and almost always gets caught up in a mystery while trying to run her grilled cheese business. This feels like a classic food themed cozy mystery. My favorite part about Carly (besides her furry companion) is how she tries not to get involved but ultimately gets sucked in by curiosity. It feels really relatable and often mirrors my own curiosity, which is one element I love about cozies.

Some dialogue is cheesy (pun intended) but I feel like that’s normal for a lot of cozies these days, and it isn’t overboard in this book. The mystery at the end wasn’t expected either!

Get yourself a grilled cheese sandwich and check this one out!

I adore this series! This book had two mysterious happenings and it kept me guessing the entire time. The characters are endearing and so entertaining. I love the location of this book being a grilled cheese café. So cute! Linda Reilly is an all time favorite cozy author. Sometimes in cozies there are so many characters to keep up with, as each new book has a partially new cast, that I get people confused. Not so in these books. She paints such a vivid picture of each personality that you feel like you get to know everyone.

Great book! I give this a strong 4 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Just HAD to request this based on the cheezy title alone! 😉 An absolutely adorable food-themed cozy mystery about a grilled cheese shop owner who sticks her nose into her former classmate’s murderous bridal shower. This is #3 in a series apparently but I had no trouble reading it as a standalone. I do want to go back and read the others now, though and read more as they come! This is a nice delightful and predictable palette cleanser from the heftier horror and thrillers I typically read.

Thank you so much to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for the ALC!

What can I say? I'm a sucker for a good grilled cheese sandwich. And what goes better with that than a book from the Grilled Cheese Mystery series? I really enjoyed this story and the plot had me second guessing who the killer was, which is always a good time if you like cozy mysteries like I do. Set in Vermont (I mean come on, it's a mystery featuring cheese) in a small town, and the MC is the owner of the local deli, Balsam Deli, who gets roped into catering her friend's bridal shower. Then, the groom is found dead at the bottom of the stairs. Was it murder? An accident? Our heroine dives in to help solve the case and gets herself in a bit of trouble. 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 have enjoyed the books in the Grilled Cheese series. The characters are well developed and the mystery keeps you invested in the story. Reading this book will have you craving a hot grilled cheese sandwich. The regular characters from the series are back and Carly and Ari’s developing relationship is fun to explore. Some new characters are introduced, but it is not overwhelming. I can’t wait for the next adventure in this series.

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

For more reviews, please visit my blog at: https://www.msladybugsbookreviews.com/. Over 1000 reviews posted!

Cheddar Late Than Dead is Linda Reilly's third book in the Grilled Cheese Eatery Mysteries. In this installment, Carly is persuaded to cater the bridal shower of one of her high school classmates. Unfortunately, the groom shows up during the bridal shower and ultimately ends up dead from a fall down a staircase. Carly is drawn in to the investigation when the maid of honor falls under suspicion and asks for help.

This series a unique setting and protagonist and the author has done an excellent job of creating multidimensional characters whose intertwined past and present in town enriches the overall storyline and captures the reader's interest. Within the plotline, the author has created a number of reasonable suspects who each have their own motive in this story and through unusual twists and red herrings the reader is kept guessing until the end as to the ultimate culprit and motive, which also ends up resolving another death from many years before.

The narrator of this audiobook has done a good job of pacing the reading. However, I would like to hear a bit more definition of voices between the various character and the connecting narration.

I look forward to many more installments in this series as I can envision numerous cases in Carly's future as she continues to grow her business and her various relationships deepen and grow.

I received an advance copy of this audiobook from NetGalley and Dreamscape Media and am leaving this review voluntarily.

I accessed a digital review copy of this book from the publisher.
This book was the third in the series, but it is not necessary to read the previous ones to understand or enjoy the story. The book was a nice cozy, not overly complicated in story or mystery. There was just enough complication in the murder to keep me interested and not easy to guess.

This book was really good! I liked the characters too. I hope to read more by this author soon!
I liked the setting too and the style of the author.

This is a perfectly cozy mystery! Author Linda Reilly does a great job of world building in Balsalm Dell where protagonist Carly owns a grilled cheese shop (how cute is that?!).
It's got all the hallmarks of a cozy: a murder, small town, friendship, quirky characters, and a touch of romance.
It is part of a series but can totally be read as a standalone too. A wonderful read!

This audio book was well done but the story was a little boring for me. I have enjoyed the previous books but this one just didn't draw me in like usual. The story was cute, the grilled cheese sounded delicious and I really enjoyed the narration.

Cheddar Late than Dead was cheddar than ever! I loved getting to devour this cozy mystery audiobook. Carly is hired to cater a wedding shower with grilled cheese donuts, but when the groom turns up murdered she works overtime to solve the case!

I love everything about this series. I love the writing, the characters, the audiobook narration - seriously, this series is fantastic. Also, i can't be the only person craving grilled cheese on the regular, after reading from this series.

We follow Carly on, yet, another murder investigation when the groom to be crashes his fiancé's bridal shower, only to show up dead shortly after his arrival.

Did I guess the culprit? No.

Linda Reilly literally had me on the edge of my seat from the start to the finish.

I will definitely be continuing this series and hope that my fellow readers do the same.

A cozy mystery about a woman who owns a grilled cheese shop, what's not to love?

This story was absolutely adorable! I honestly went back and bought the first 2 in the series! This gives all the cozy and all the mystery needed. it was light and skirts the darker bits.

I know I've been reviewing a lot of cozy mysteries lately. but honestly, they're my comfort zone. ❤️

Thank you to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for a chance to read and review the audio book. This is the third installment and it is just as good as the first book in the series. This author has become one of my favorites for cozy mysteries.

Great, now I have ANOTHER cozy mystery series to add to my list that I love!! This was such a cute book and I am now going to go back and read books 1 & 2 so that when book 4 comes out I am all up to date and ready to go!!

#CheddarLateThanDead
#NetGalley

Synopsis: Carly’s business is thriving with its famous grilled cheese. After offering to cater an old friends wedding shower Carly finds herself wrapped up in yet another mysterious murder. Everyone is a suspect and Carly just can’t help but try to solve it!

I absolutely enjoyed this book, there were many suspects and the murderer was a complete surprise! Each character was well described and Carly was a kind hearted, relatable character. This book kept me intrigued until the very end. Definitely read this one!