Book Review: Cheddar Late Than Dead by Linda Reilly (Grilled Cheese Mysteries #3)

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Good mystery, fun characters

Cons: A couple of niggles with the ending

The Bottom Line:

Wedding shower death

Did Carly serve a killer?

Enjoyable book

There Falls the Groom Down the Stairs

Weddings are supposed to be times of joy, yet they pop up regularly in cozy mysteries as backdrops for murder.  That’s the case in Cheddar Late Than Dead, the third Grilled Cheese Mystery by Linda Reilly.

If you’re a fan of the series, you’ll be delighted to return to Balsam Dell, Vermont, to spend more time with Carly Hale and her friends.  She runs a grilled cheese diner in the town, but she keeps getting involved in murders.

This latest one starts when two friends from school walk into her restaurant.  Carly was never close with Dawn and Klarissa, so she’s lost track of them since they all graduated.  Klarissa is getting married in just a few short weeks, and Dawn is doing double duty as maid of honor and wedding planner.  And, when plans for Klarissa’s wedding shower fall apart, Carly gets roped in to providing the refreshments for the revamped party.

While Carly spends most of the shower in the kitchen, she is out and about enough to see the tensions between several people in Klarissa’s life.  But things step up a notch when Klarissa’s fiancé crashes the party.  A little while later, he has crashed down the stairs dead.  While Klarissa is heartbroken, Carly suspects that someone is happy the man is dead.  Who did he make angry enough to kill him?

The book really doesn’t waste any time.  Yes, it takes a few chapters for the murder to happen, but all the time is spent introducing us to the suspects and providing motives and conflict that Carly has to sift through to figure out what is really going on.  There are a couple of great twists that really made things more interesting as well.  Yet the climax ties all of this together well.  I am torn on a couple of things about the ending, however, but they are minor overall.

Back at Carly’s restaurant, we are introduced to a new member of the staff in this book, and I really liked this new cast member.  Yes, the other regulars also get page time as well, and I am enjoying watching them become better developed in each book.  As I already hinted, the suspects are all strong, and I really came to like several of them.  I also appreciate that because it makes it feel like the stakes are raised as we work to find the killer.

This book introduced me to something brand new – the grilled cheese donut.  Not being a fan of donuts (I know, I’m weird), it just doesn’t appeal to me.  But if you are intrigued, you’ll be happy to find that it is one of the recipes at the end of the book, along with the tomato soup served at the diner.

With wedding season approaching, now is the time to pick up Cheddar Late Than Dead.  This is a fun mystery that will make any wedding drama you experience feel tame by comparison.

Enjoy more of the Grilled Cheese Mysteries.