Hello, I’m Carly Hale, and I hail from Balsam Dell, Vermont. Sorry for the silly pun, but I’m just so tickled that Dru Ann invited me here to tell you about myself!

My typical day starts at around eight every morning at my charming restaurant—Carly’s Grilled Cheese Eatery. If you’ve never been to Balsam Dell, it’s one of those quaint, picture-perfect towns you’d expect to see on a postcard of the Green Mountain state. My restaurant occupies the lower level of a beautifully restored brick building.

Once I arrive at work, I immediately put on a pot of java. That gets me revved up for the day. I begin my workday by slicing several cheese varieties—cheddar, Havarti, Swiss, pepper jack, and, of course, Gouda—enough to last through the day. I grill bacon (Smoky Steals the Bacon, anyone?) and whip up tuna salad (how about a Farmhouse Cheddar Sleeps with the Fishes?). By the time I’ve wiped down tables and counters and cleaned the (ugh) bathroom, I’m ready to start grilling sandwiches.

My server extraordinaire, Suzanne Rivers, starts her shift at eleven. Since she’s pretty much supporting her kid, Josh, she likes to be home by the time school lets out. My young grill cook, Grant Robinson, who works mornings at a local sub shop, starts his shift at two in the afternoon. A budding and creative chef, Grant is saving money for culinary school. The more hours he works, the more he saves.

Some background on me: Even though I grew up in southern Vermont, I spent most of my career in the northern region, working as restaurant manager at a historic inn. At the time I was married to Daniel Brownell (yup, I kept my “maiden” name of Hale), a bear of a man with a bellowing laugh who had a soft spot for the underdog. Sadly, it was that soft spot that ended his life. He was on a mission of mercy during a winter snowstorm when his truck skidded over an icy bridge and tumbled down an embankment. My heart was crushed into shreds that night. It was several long months before I felt human again.

What snapped me out of my funk was learning that the decades-old Bingley’s Ice Cream Parlor was going belly up. Leaping at the opportunity to return to my hometown, I took over the lease and opened the restaurant I’d fantasized about since I was a kid. Grilled cheese was my passion. Now it would be my career.

For five months, everything was wonderful. Locals embraced my grilled cheese concoctions, and my customer base was growing. Suzanne, Grant, and I were a dynamic team, until that awful day I found out I’d lost my lease. The building’s owner had been foreclosed, and the new owner was local bad boy Lyle Bagley. I’d dated Lyle briefly in high school, like for about two weeks, until I realized he wasn’t for me. Now that he was engaged to the stunningly gorgeous Tiffany Spencer, he wanted me out so he could turn my space into a high-end women’s boutique.

Bad news all around, but I was determined to relocate—if it came to that. But the morning after Lyle delivered my eviction notice, I discovered his body in the parking lot behind the eatery—dead as the oft-mentioned doornail. Unfortunately, Suzanne was overheard threatening him the day before. Now she was at the top of the suspect list, and the police were eager to prove her guilt.

I knew Suzanne well enough to know she wouldn’t murder a fly, let alone a human. Proving it was another story, though, so I had to do some sleuthing. I rattled a lot of cages, and my own suspect list was growing. By the time I figured out the real killer, I was in a seriously tough spot. But I’m here to tell the story, so if you stop by my eatery I’ll tell it to you, too. Would you like a side of murder with that grilled cheese?

Up to No Gouda, A Grilled Cheese Mystery #1
Genre: Cozy
Release: January 2022
Purchase Link

The first in a delicious new culinary cozy series featuring a grilled cheese eatery owner who must solve murders in her small town before she is put under lock and brie.

Back in Balsam Dell to heal after the death of her husband, Carly Hale is finally pursuing her lifelong dream—opening Carly’s Grilled Cheese Eatery. After only five months, business is booming as Vermont vacationers and townspeople alike flock to lunch on her Party Havartis and other grilled cheese concoctions. All but Lyle Bagley, Carly’s one-time high school boyfriend and now town bully who just bought the building that houses her eatery and wants Carly out. After a muenster of a fight, Carly’s forced to put her nose to the rind and find a solution to keep her business afloat.

That is. . .until Lyle is discovered dead behind the dumpster of Carly’s shop, and one of her employees becomes the prime suspect. In order to save her eatery and prove her friend’s innocence, Carly must sleuth out the killer before she’s the one who gets grilled.

With a delightful cast of characters, an inventive amateur sleuth, and a whole host of cheesy hijinks, Up to No Gouda is the perfect cozy murder mystery to melt into.

About the author
Raised in a sleepy town in the Berkshires of Massachusetts, Linda Reilly is a dyed-in-the-wool New Englander, and a lover of all things cheese. She lives in southern New Hampshire with her husband and her cats. When she’s not pounding away at her keyboard, she can usually be found prowling the shelves of a local bookstore or library—or standing over the stove making a melty grilled cheese.

All comments are welcomed.