The third book in Linda Reilly's Grilled Cheese Mysteries serves up another tasty mystery as Carly Hale gets roped into catering a wedding shower at the last minute. Carly is serving up an unusual pairing of grilled cheese on doughnuts. The food is a hit, but when the fiance of the bride-to-be ends up dead at the bottom of the stairs, Carly knows she has another mystery on her hands in CHEDDAR LATE THAN DEAD.
The dead man is Tony Manous and his devasted bride-to-be is Carly’s old high-school acquaintance, Klarissa Taddeo. Klarissa’s friend and wedding planner, Dawn Chapin, was seen at the top of the staircase after Tony’s fall. Was she jealous of her best friend’s upcoming nuptials? Carly doesn’t think so, and when she learns Tony was poisoned, she agrees to help Dawn clear her name. Carly begins investigating possible suspects including the best man, an aggressive videographer, Auntie Meggs, and Tony’s stepmother. When the Town Planner, Gretel Engstrom, disappears after the wedding shower, Carly wonders whether Gretel should be on the victim or suspect list. As Carly juggles running her grilled cheese eatery and investigating Tony’s death, her friends are starting to get worried. Is she placing herself in the crosshairs of a killer?
CHEDDAR LATE THAN DEAD is an enjoyable cozy mystery set in Vermont and filled with warm relatable characters. Carly’s grilled cheese eatery is a unique business that offers different variations on comfort food with humorous names. Carly’s employees; Valerie, Suzanne, and Grant, round out the cast and add texture and dimension with their own story arcs, and Carly’s romance with a local electrician, Ari Mitchell, is blossoming. The action starts quickly and the mystery plays out nicely with some misdirections that will keep readers guessing the killer’s identity. Overall, this is a solid addition to a fun and enjoyable series. Recipes included!
Winter in Balsam Dell is a snowy affair, and to add in some cheer after the holidays Carly's former classmate Klarissa Taddeo is hosting her extravagant bridal shower at the historic Balsam Dell inn. That is, until a double-booking throws some mold in the cheese and leaves Klarissa scrambling. With the venue moved to the maid of honor's family mansion and Carly rinding to create a new delicious treat it seems the group is going to pull off the shower without a hitch.
That is, until a rowdy band of groomsmen crashes the event. Klarissa is furious with her groom-to-be and when a loud argument ensues, everyone is shocked by what they hear. When the groom is later found dead at the bottom of the stairs, his drink spiked with a hefty dose of poison, Carly must put her nose to the rind and save Klarissa from being suspect #1.
Because you know what they say: it's always the (almost) wife.
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