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Thank you Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for an advance copy of No Parm No Foul by Linda Reilly.
After a long hot summer in Balsam Dell, Carly Hale is ready for crisp Vermont weather and gourmet grilled cheeses at her Grilled Cheese Eatery. And the upcoming Halloween food competition is the perfect way to impress the locals.
But Ferris Menard, the owner of Sub-a-Dub-Sub, is nursing a serious grudge against Carly. Two days before the competition, one of Carly’s employees quit his part-time gig at Menard’s sub shop, sending Menard into a serious snit. In a confrontation at the Eatery, Menard accused Carly of sabotage and vowed to bring her down.
That’s when Menard’s body is found in his kitchen the morning after the competition, a steak knife sticking out of his heart. But Menard had a slew of enemies, and if Carly doesn’t figure out which one is the culprit, she might find herself―or someone she cares about―serving grilled cheese sandwiches under lock and brie!
While this is the second book in the Grilled Cheese Mysteries, I felt like I could read it without having read the first book. There was no confusion, and each character was introduced without feeling like I missed anything. Plus, there was no carry over from the first book.
Carly Hale was an interesting amateur sleuth. I enjoyed reading about her life and loved the idea of a grilled cheese eatery. You would think the sandwiches would get repetitive but there was plenty of variety with interesting names. I found the mystery set up very good as well. There was plenty of suspects that kept me guessing. However, one story stood out as I was reading it (no spoilers) and I kept going back to the story because it seemed like it was thrown in for a reason and it was.
There were multiple supporting characters. I would have liked to see more of relationship with Carly and her best friend. But I did enjoy them both. Carly’s family especially her mom was a hoot. She reminded me of every mom that’s a little overbearing but not to the point that it is too much. My one complaint was Carly’s relationship with Ari. I liked that he was a suspect so you could tell the reason why Carly was so interested in finding the murderer not just because she was nosy. But I also felt like there was not much to the relationship and it felt a bit stunted. Carly is a widow so she has found love in the past but there was a line that she felt more for Ari than she ever did for her first husband which sort of surprised me since she has not lived in the town for that long.
Overall, No Parm No Foul is a good cozy mystery. There were many suspects that kept you guessing but I found about halfway through the suspect to be obvious. His reasoning was interesting, and I liked how it was all tied together (including Carly’s sister’s new boyfriend).
Have you read No Parm No Foul or another Grilled Cheese Mystery book? If it sounds like something you would enjoy, No Parm No Foul will be published July 26, 2022.
The Spinny Bookworm Mama 