This was such a fun cozy debut. I love the grilled cheese theme and that the dog's name is 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 book 2!

It did not disappoint. The story was well paced and plenty of red herrings. I was pretty much guessing until the very end.
I enjoyed Carly and all her friends. Her back story was very touching to me.

I am looking forward to the next book in this series.

Up to No Gouda is a slice of small-town New England at the beginning of summer. A slice served up with a side of an incredible cast of characters. Carly is a fierce and loyal friend to all she knows. Grant is a teenager trying to figure out what he wants, and I hope he gets to chase his dreams! Also, I want to try his tomato soup recipe. I hope Suzanne gets the happily ever after she’s working toward, the same for Tiffany. I think I had better stop there, or I may spoil a few things.

One character I wish there were more of is Havarti! If you wonder who that is, he is the cute ball of fluff on the cover. I want to know more about him and see how Carly’s life changes with him around.

While I did guess who the murderer was early on, I did not know the why until the end. As I read, I did find myself doubting my guess, which is what you are supposed to do, right?

Up to No Gouda is a deliciously easy-to-read cozy mystery. And I, for one, can’t wait for the sequel, No Parm No Foul, to be released.

The plot of the book was such a great page turner. The plot of the book was very well written. I truly cannot wait to read another wonderful book from this author. This was a truly great book.

An interesting start to a new cozy series featuring Carly, who owns a grilled cheese restaurant. She's happy, things are going well and then Lyle, who was her love interest in high school turns up and informs her that she must move out in a month so that his fiance can open her own shop in the space. How did Lyle grow up to be such a rat and bully? No time to ponder than because he's found murdered and Suzannah, Carly's friend and employee is the main suspect. OF course, Carly's got to investigate and she discovers, no surprise that there is more afoot in this town and more danger out there than she expected. As this is the first book, there's a fair amount of scene setting and back story (as well as characters). Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. A good read and I'm looking forward to the next one.

The book features Carly, the owner of the grilled cheese shop, who gets caught up in a murder investigation when one of her staff becomes the police's main suspect. Carly is determined to prove her staff innocent, so she jumps head first into trying to find the killer. Unfortunately, in her small town everyone seems like they have something to hide and Carly doesn't know who she can trust.

This book was an easy read and I read it in one sitting. The characters were memorable, and the twists were fun. I am very much looking forward to more additions to the series, and Carly's adventures!

This ARC was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Need a new book to devour? Then I have a winner for you!
This is an absolutely delicious first book in a new series.
I could not put it down, it grabbed me from the get go.
The characters were realistic and interesting and the whodunit was well written and the pacing was top notch.
The premise is unique and you will be craving a grilled cheese guaranteed!
I look forward to reading the next book in the series.
I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book.

Up To No Gouda was a decent start to a new series but I think I am finding I am not a huge fan of culinary cozies though I just couldn't put my finger on why I didn't like this one more than I did.

Carly has start over after the death of her husband and moved back to her hometown where she used her husbands life insurance to open up her grilled cheese eatery. She bought the lease from the old ice cream shop and she new it was a gamble because the building was being sold but she just figured the new owners would renew her lease.

This isn't he case though as she is told that the person who bought the building is kicking her out. Lyle is dating the lady upstairs and wants to build hera boutique in the spot that Carly is renting. This didn't go over very well with Carly but it was her employee who works with her that really got mad and so when he is found murdered it's the employee who accused of killing him.

Carly doesn't think she done the deed so she starts snooping around to see if she could figure out who might have killed Lyle, and there are lots of suspects because he was not a very good man. The chief who is investigating and is a family friend keeps telling her to not get involved but of course that doesn't work.

I liked the characters just fine which is why I am not sure why I didn't take as well to this book as others who have read it. It took me way longer to read than most cozies as I kept putting other books in front of it which is why I know it wasn't a book I really liked but it was just okay.

I will say that I didn't guess the killer and was actually happy that my suspect wasn't the killer because then I would have not liked this book at all...lol. If you like grilled cheese it will make you hungry while reading it.

I think others will enjoy this one a lot more than me and it has a cute dog and a great cover so if you like culinary cozies give it a try!!

Carly Hale has always wanted to open her own grilled cheese restaurant. Although she’s still grieving the loss of her husband, she is determined to make her restaurant a success. She’s doing very well until an old flame, Lyle Bagley, shows up. He’s the new owner of the building where her restaurant is located. He makes sure to let Carly know she’s being evicted. Carly and her friends let Lyle know exactly how they feel about him.

Not long after, Lyle is found dead in a dumpster behind Carly’s restaurant. One of her employees is the prime suspect. She vows to find the real killer, but she had no idea that Lyle had made so many enemies. Carly is sure one of them is the guilty party, not her employee.

When I heard the premise of this series is a grilled cheese restaurant, I jumped at the chance to review it. It’s so unique from some of the typical cozy settings such as bakeries, coffee shops and libraries. Although I love all of those as well, this is so different. It grabbed by attention (also, I love grilled cheese - LOL).

The cast of characters is well developed right from the start. I didn’t feel the “stiffness” that sometimes happens with an introduction to a new series. They came to life immediately.

The story is filled with suspects, twists and turns from beginning to end. I was totally shocked at who the culprit turned out to be. Someone not on my list. I had such fun trying to untangle the mystery.

It’s fast-paced and one of those books I just couldn’t stop reading. I can’t wait to see if there will be more books in the series. So far, it’s off to an excellent start and it makes it to my top list of 2021!







FTC Disclosure: I voluntarily reviewed a free Advance Reader Copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own.

This was a great cozy mystery. I really enjoyed the charming small town atmosphere, and the supporting cast of characters were diverse and interesting. As always with cozy mysteries, you have to suspend your disbelief a bit, but the plot was well thought out and there were several viable suspects. The killer didn’t end up surprising me; there were several subtle clues, but I didn’t have it all figured out either.

I would love for this to become a series - there are so many different directions the story could go in because of all the charming characters the author created. I’m hoping for Havarti to be given a more prominent role, and I’d like for the love interests’ squeaky clean image to be smudged up just a bit (don’t make him to good to be real).

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read this early! loved this first book in a new cozy series. It has wonderful cast of characters. It has great mystery that was difficult to guess but still made perfect sense. Can't wait to read the next in the series!

CONTENT WARNING: murder, blood, mild violence

I’ve really been on a cozy mystery kick, and this one was one of the better ones that I’ve read lately. It also kicked off a powerful craving for grilled cheese and tomato soup, so the inclusion of a variety of grilled cheese recipes at the back of the book was especially helpful.

The characters are adorable. It’s got a charming small-town vibe, and it’s an exceptionally clean story. Instead of cursing, the characters say things like “gosh” a lot, which I’d normally think of as suspect, except for the fact that I have a friend from a small town who actually says that fairly often. Carly is a charming character that I couldn’t help but adore and want to see succeed, even as the odds stack up against her. She’s surrounded by some really good people in her life, although I wasn’t quite sure who the real bad guy was. There were quite a few people who seemed suspect, but in the end, I was fairly surprised by the real villain.

The setting was perfect for the story. It takes place in Vermont, and Carly chose a farm-to-table approach for her new restaurant. I loved the idea of a grilled cheese restaurant, especially since that’s one of the major comfort foods. Even the plot itself was a good one — I was sucked into the story quickly, and couldn’t wait to get back to it when I had to stop reading for any reason.

It fell perfectly into the cozy mystery genre, with a plethora of punny names for the grilled cheese sandwiches on the menu, an adorable little dog that winds up being named Havarti, and a potential romance budding — all key aspects that I look forward to when reading a cozy. I’m definitely a fan of this new series, and can’t wait to see what the next book brings!

I've never heard of a restaurant that specializes in grilled cheese sandwiches. What an unique idea! I can see where amateur sleuth and owner of Carly's Grilled Cheese Eatery, Carly Hale, would find much success opening the specialty restaurant. I found this novelty restaurant a refreshing new idea for food oriented cozy mysteries. I liked that Carly was brave enough to open this on her own and extended that bravery to helping solve a murder case. Her investigative techniques were fun to follow. I really liked the characters and was so glad to see Havarti get adopted.

I received an ARC and this is my honest review.

Who doesn't love a grilled cheese mystery?! Overall I liked this book but I did find some plot lines a little weird - like Grant's parents want him to give up his culinary dreams for a music career? Umm, hello - these are both completely ridiculously unstable and low-paying options. Maybe for an engineering career in STEM or to be a lawyer but music over food? That doesn't make any sense. IDK why but I got really hung up on this one detail.
LOL

Cozy mysteries with a culinary background is one of my favorite type of genres and so I was so excited when I got the first book of the grilled cheese mysteries.

Carly owns a grilled cheese diner which becomes one of the sought out places among Vermont vacationers. But five months into successful business, Carly's ex-boyfriend from high school and the town's bully, Lyle wants Carly to vacate the premises. However Carly is not willing to give up her fight and is determined to fight for her place.

But soon, Lyle's body is found in the parking lot in front of her own diner the next morning and her friend Suzanne, who threatened Lyle the day before Lyle's murder was the main suspect. Carly knew her friend is not responsible for Lyle's murder and so she starts investigating the case on her own.

I actually enjoyed reading this book! Besides all these murders and sleuthing, the descriptions of the grilled cheese made me hungry as well. The writing was good and the author does a good job of drawing the reader into the story. Carly's character also grew into me and I do like how the community as well as friends supported her. It was quite unputdownable, there were too many suspects who had genuine reasons to want Lyle dead. Overall, this was an unputdownable thriller that will keep you hooked into the story and I so cannot wait for the next adventure of Carly! Worth five stars!

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC. The review is based on my honest opinion.

Four and a half stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭒

Up to No Gouda by Linda Reilly is her first book in her Grilled Cheese Mysteries series. This cozy mystery had me stumped until the very end and I loved the journey this book took me on.

Carly Hale has just opened her Grilled Cheese Sandwich shop in the picturesque Vermont town of Balsam Dell. Business is going well, but when an old high school boyfriend, Lyle Bagley, buys the building, he gives her only one month’s notice to vacate her shop so he can make room for a fashion boutique for his fiance. She loves her downtown location and is angry with Lyle for forcing her out of her business. The day after she gets the eviction news, Lyle is found dead behind her shop and the main suspect is Suzannah, Carly’s employee, and Carly is a close second. Carly works to find out who the real killer is in order to clear her employee and friend Suzannah and herself.

As this is the first book in the series, we spend some time getting to know Carly and the other characters in the book. The mystery is the star of this book as there are so many suspects and I was unable to figure out the mystery until the end. The characters are interesting and relatable. I loved Carly’s strength and ingenuity.

*** Note: Reading this book may cause grilled cheese sandwich cravings. Many grilled cheese sandwiches were consumed during the reading and reviewing of this book. ***

I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a cozy mystery. I received a complimentary copy of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

First in a new cozy mystery – Carly fulfilling her life long dream of owning a Grill Cheese Restaurant. Where best to place it then in a small town and in an old building with lots of character, and great help. The new building owner gets murdered and one of Carly’s friends and co worker is pegged as the killer.
Lovely first book in the series, and the grilled cheese sandwiches does make one mouth water! Looking forward to book 2
Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for an early read in exchange for my opinion

Great start to a new series. Yummy grilled cheese along with a clever mystery that kept me guessing. I look forward to reading the further adventures of our charming protagonist. Thanks to the publisher for providing a copy via NetGalley.

Up to No Gouda is the first book in the Grilled Cheese Mystery by Linda Reilly and boy don't I just want a grilled cheese now.

The book follows Carly who is now a widow following her husband's death and is now the new owner of the best grilled cheese eatery in Vermont. But trouble is not far behind her when she clashes with former high school bully Lyle . Lyle is like a bad omen for her eatery as one of her employees is then accused of murder. What follows is a determined grill cheese eatery owner on a mission to find the 'burnt toast' . I absolutely enjoyed this book and this small town seems like a delight. I cannot wait for the next book. A huge thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for my complimentary copy .

Real enjoyable relaxing but exciting book that kept me on my toes till the end I did not think who it was who did it. Carly is a really amazing character i enjoyed reading it looking forward to the next book!!!