UP TO NO GOUDA by Linda Reilly is the first in the new Grilled Cheese Mystery series and it delivers up some delectable sandwiches as well as a compelling mystery with memorable characters in a small Vermont town.

After her husband’s death, Carly Hale has returned to her quaint hometown of Balsam Dell to open her own grilled cheese eatery. With the help of a part-time waitress, Suzanne, and nineteen-year-old culinary wiz, Grant, the grilled cheese shop is a hit in town. Unfortunately, Carly’s building has just been sold to a local businessman, Lyle Bagley. Carly briefly dated Lyle in high school and Lyle now wants Carly out of the building so his fashionista girlfriend can start her own boutique. Carly is crushed. She doesn’t want to relocate, and her business is just starting to take off. She’s angry with Lyle, and when Lyle’s dead body is found by a dumpster behind her eatery, Carly is looking like the prime suspect.

Fortunately, Lyle had a lot of enemies and as the police start investigating, it is discovered that Carly’s employee, Suzanne, was last seen arguing with Lyle at a restaurant. Lyle contributed to the demise of Suzanne’s marriage by leading her ex-husband down a dark course. Carly can’t afford to lose Suzanne and she knows her employee is innocent, so Carly embarks on her own investigation. There are a lot of suspects to cover including Lyle’s lovelorn employee, a disgruntled brother, an anxious newspaperman, and a shady local criminal. Carly has her work cut out for her and she has some grilled cheese sandwiches to cut as well. Can she keep her eatery open and track down a killer in her hometown?

UP TO NO GOUDA is a great start to a new series. Readers are introduced to entrepreneur Carly Hale and her hometown of Balsam Dell. Carly is smart and relatable. She has lost her husband in a car crash and is starting her life over. Several colorful townspeople are also introduced and will provide great material and secondary characters for future mysteries. The plot is solid with clues and suspects sprinkled throughout. The outcome could have gone several ways and the identity of the villain is surprising and wraps up the mystery nicely. This is a promising and entertaining new series by Linda Reilly with all the right ingredients for success. Delicious cheese sandwich recipes included!

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