Though I have not read the first two books I am completely in love with the theme and the characters. In fact, I would say it is fate. The book sounded fun and I started it right away then my mom showed up saying she had just made homemade donuts. Hmmm...I asked her if she had heard of using them as grilled cheese sandwiches. Of course, she had not. Then a friend stopped in to tell me about her lunch date...AT A GRILLED CHEESE RESTAURANT! Are you hearing this? Meant to be and should be for anyone that loves a great grilled cheese.

I really enjoy the Grilled Cheese Mysteries and Cheddar Late Than Dead is a great addition to the series. Carly Hale runs the Grilled Cheese Eatery in Balsam Dell and is doing quite well. When Carly’s former classmates Klarissa and Dawn meet to discuss Klarissa’s upcoming bridal shower, they argue over the fact that their venue was double booked and they have to have the shower somewhere else. Dawn agrees to have the party moved to her family’s mansion but only if Carly caters the event. Carly reluctantly agrees to help out her old friends and they come up with a new sandwich to debut at the event. The day of the shower arrives and there are problems, the groom shows up and has an argument with the bride and his mother is upset about her treatment. When the shower ends, the groom is found dead, poisoned, and someone at the shower is responsible. Was it the bride-to-be? Her maid of honor? or one of their guests? Carly agrees to help find who objected to this marriage enough to kill the groom before they even made it to the church.

One thing I enjoy about cozy mysteries is the wonderful cast of characters they have. Carly is a wonderful protagonist. She is a great boss, friend and chef. Carly really didn’t want to get involved but is quickly pulled in. Her caring nature makes it easy for people to open up to her especially when she brings her sweet little Morkie, Havarti, along. They tell her things they don't necessarily tell the police. The restaurant is doing well with Grant her grill master and Valerie Wells, her new assistant. Her relationship with Ari, her boyfriend, is moving along nicely, and friends Gina and Suzanne are there when she needs them, even when trying to solve a mystery. There are a lot of new characters in this story, due to the new mystery and they all play an important part in the story. We meet Klarissa’s aunt, Megan Gilbert who practically raised her and has many skills that were quite impressive and her best friend Gretel Engstrom who is the town manager of Balsam Dell. There is a second mystery in this book, that of the disappearance of Gretel. Both mysteries were well plotted with clues, red herrings and several suspects. As the story unfolds, it seems both mysteries are unrelated, but in wonderful fashion they come together in the end. The reveal was a surprise to me, but I wasn't surprised that Carly was in danger. Of course, there is food in this book. The Grilled Cheese Donuts they describe, cook and eat in this one, sound delicious, although I haven't tried them yet. Cheddar Late Than Dead was a delicious read and I was entertained from beginning to end. I am already looking forward to my next visit to Carly's Grilled Cheese Shop in Balsam Dell. I did a read/listen with this book and enjoyed both formats. Mia Gaskin does a great job with the voices, pace, emotion and tone. An enjoyable listening experience and I recommend either format to those who enjoy a good culinary cozy mystery.

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.
Cheddar Late Than Dead is part of a series but coming in without having read previous titles I still was able to greatly enjoy this as a standalone book. The characters are very likeable and developed well so you are introduced and get to know them even though they’ve been a part of the series already. If you are a fan of cozy mysteries you will really enjoy this. This was well written and I’m looking forward to checking out the rest of the series.

This series is so fun. I love the settings and the stories and everything goes with it. This series is one of my new favorite cozies series and this latest installment didn't disappoint. I can't wait to read more in this series and more from this author.

Cheddar Late Than Dead is the third Grilled Cheese shopfront cozy by Linda Reilly. Released 31st Jan 2023 by Poisoned Pen Press, it's 384 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. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.

This is a fun small town cozy. The usual village eccentric secondary characters are present and cheese shop cafe owner Carly has to put her amateur sleuthing skills to the test to save her friend from prosecution when Klarissa's soon-to-be-husband is found poisoned after a very public pre-wedding argument.

Much of the book's plot arc is outlandish and silly in true cozy-mystery manner. The dialogue is rough in places, but overall, it's a fun light read. I like main character Carly's honesty and loyalty to her friends. There are tons of cheesy puns throughout, and the author has included a few recipes, including cheddar cheese donuts, which admittedly raised some eyebrows.

The language and action are squeaky clean. Despite being the third book in the series, the mystery, denouement, and resolution are all self contained in this installment and it works perfectly well as a standalone. With three books extant in the series at this point, it would be a good candidate for a mini-binge read or buddy read.

The unabridged audiobook has a run time of 8 hours and 30 minutes and is nicely narrated by Mia Gaskin. She has an interesting and nuanced voice with an American accent (sort of standard Midwest, not an intrusive regional accent). She enunciates very well and although her voice is youthful (she's young), it doesn't detract from the read at all. The sound and production quality of the recording were high throughout.

Four stars. Fans of small-town shopfront cozies will likely enjoy this one as well. Recommended for fans of Korina Moss, Vivien Chien, and Amanda Fowler, this is another fun (somewhat silly) addition.

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

Carly old classmates enter her café one day with a dilemma: after failing to pay the upfront fee in time, Klarissa has lost her spot at a local historic inn for her bridal shower. Not one to shoulder blame, she forces her Maid of Honor and wedding planner to host it at her mother's beautiful home. Then the pair recruit Carly to cater, and she can't help but say yes. The shower went well and Carly's food is a hit, but when she goes to leave she stumbles upon a body crumbled on the floor. Turns out it's the groom - and he's not getting up.

Carly, being naturally observant (and maybe a little nosey) is interviewed and taken into confidence by the police chief Holloway- but expressly told not to investigate. Which she completely disregards.

This is my second of the series, and they were both fun. And cheesy. (I had to!)

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for accepting my request to audibly read and review Cheddar Late Than Dead.

Published: 02/14/23

No pun intended -- this was too cheesy for me, and I have great respect for the sixth food group.

While this is the third book in the series, it was my first and I won't be continuing. The book was okay. I'm giving it three stars, which means it wasn't great and it wasn't bad. I didn't connect with the characters, the town or the restaurant. Don't judge me -- I am a cheese connoisseur. Grilled cheese is to be served and eaten hot. That is not debatable. Frankly, I could not get past all the cold cheese sandwiches being passed out. A murder, wedding shower, people running in and out of the restaurant like it's a rest area.

Give it a try, this may work for you. I did like the narrator.

Listening to this made me laugh. This book was fun, witty, sad, and happy all at once. The storyline was great. I would definitely would listen to other books from this author.

Number 3 in the Grilled Cheese Mysteries series of books by Linda Reilly.

Fun quick read about a woman who ownes a deli and makes delicious grilled cheese sandwiches and happens to get involved in solving crimes. Some recipes are included in the books. Lighthearted, fun book.

Thank. you to NetGalley for the audio book. I love audio books.

I loved this one! I love the grilled cheese theme and the dog Havarti! The mystery was well paced, and the characters were fantastic. The small town setting was endearing, and I really loved the main character, Carly. I cannot wait for the next one!

I have had the Grilled Cheese Mysteries on my TBR for ages, but the opportunity to listen to an ARC of this one came up and I jumped at the chance! To begin, I'll absolutely be going back to read the other 2 books in this series. The mystery was full of twists and turns and grilled cheese! I loved the narrator of the audiobook and enjoyed every character involved in the story. Carly, the main character, is charming and sweet and dives into the mystery whether she wants to or not. Even when she tries to keep her nose out of it, she stumbles on information to help solve the case. I truly enjoyed every minute of this mystery and can't wait to read the other two in the series.

This book is a solidly comfortable cozy mystery read. The descriptions of the sandwiches in the shop made me salivate as they did in the previous books. I found the mystery reasonably compelling and not too easy to figure out. It's nice to read a cozy mystery where the mystery takes the forefront of the story. Lately it seems like authors just throw a murder into a slice of life or a romance novel in order to market it as a cozy mystery, and this was not that.

In general, a quick and easy enjoyable read.

I will suggest that the author should consider using a sensitivity reader to weed out some of the questionable slang words. Describing the Black man's hairstyle as "dreds" isn't really appropriate in this day and age. It really stood out to me when listening to the audiobook.

The narrator did an excellent job.

A decent entry into the cozy mystery genre. Biggest complaint was that there were a ton of new characters that were a bit difficult to keep straight, especially in audio with very similar names. Also the premise of the murder was a bit thin. Still a pretty good book.

Another great installment in the Grilled Cheese Mysteries. Carly finds herself involved in another murder. As she is catering a bridal shower, she runs across a dead body. She has to come to the aid of an old classmate to find out who is responsible and why. She goes to explore and find out things about the possible suspects that were interesting. Several times I decided I knew what was going on only to find another twist. I wasn't sure if I would like the new type of grilled cheese sandwiches that she served to the guests but there were others that I would love to give a try.

4.5/5.0 stars! This is the third installment in the Grilled Cheese Mysteries series, although it is the first of the series that I have read. Cheddar Late Than Dead read well independently and I easily got to the know the characters and their atmosphere. I enjoyed the MC and the Grilled Cheese eatery, and I am excited to read the previous two books in the series. I've never thought to make/eat a "donut grilled cheese" before, but who knows, maybe it's delicious!

Thank you to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an audiobook copy of Cheddar Late Than Dead by Linda Reilly. My comments are an independent, honest review.

I want to thank Netgalley and the author for gifting me the audio version. I have read I think one other book from this series. And if you like light hearted murder mystery novels you will like this one. Great fast read for the weekend.

This was fantastic! While this is the third in the series, you can read this as a stand alone. I'm reading them out of order (oops), but I've already put a hold on the other two in the series.

The characters are believable and feel real. Their scenarios make you feel for them, and this feels like a Hallmark Movies and Mysteries Movie that you WANT to watch on premiere night. There are no loose ends or questions I have left at the end, which is always a great check mark.

I enjoyed the latest book in the Grilled Cheese Mysteries series. It was fun to see the recurring characters and the plot was engaging. I did suspect the murderer fairly early on, but wasn't certain until the end.

If I am going to get picky, there was a mention of gluten-free cookies being part of a healthy lunch that perpetuated a misunderstanding. Gluten-free is healthy for those with health problems that require them to avoid gluten. But gluten-free cookies aren't necessarily healthier to the general population than regular cookies.

I both read the eARC and later received and listened to an ARC of the audiobook. Thank you to the author and the publishers for the ARCS in exchange for my honest review.

This was a great story. When Carly's former classmate Klarissa loses the venue for her wedding shower, she demands that Carly solve her dilemma. Since the opportunity would be good for business, Carly rises to the challenge and pulls everything off without a hitch. Well... Almost everything. She hadn't counted on all the discord among various people at the shower or that the groom would turn up, dead.

As Carly tries to piece together what happened, she discovers that one of the party-goers is missing and has to figure out whether the missing person is a murderer or a victim and if the two cases are even related!

I enjoyed the characters (except the ones I wasn't supposed to!). The story was well-written and engaging, and kept me on my toes, trying to solve the mystery before we found out the answer.

Thank you to Linda Reilly, Dreamscape Media, and NetGalley for an advance review copy.

Cheddar Late Than Dead is the 3rd book in the Grilled Cheese Mysteries and is enjoyable. Carly owns a grilled cheese restaurant in a small town in VT. A high school friend, Klarissa is having a bridal shower but the venue falls through so Carly offers to cater it at Maid of Honor Dawn's family home. The groom shows up during the shower and ends up dead. There aren't too many suspects and I guessed who it was but wasn't sure until the reveal. The characters are likable and the story moved along at a good pace. I had the audio book which was well done. My only comment was there is a Dawn and a Don which was a little confusing. This is an enjoyable cozy mystery and well worth reading. #CheddarLateThanDead #NetGalley #Dreamscape