Edam and Weep

• Author: Linda Reilly
• Genre: Cozy Mystery
• Publication Date: July 22, 2025
• Publisher: Beyond the Page
• Series: Grilled Cheese Mysteries #6

Thank you to NetGalley and Beyond the Page for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

When a fundraiser turns fatal, Carly Hale is confronted by a trail of clues that all point to her mother as the culprit . . .

When the local high school hosts a fundraiser, restaurant owner Carly Hale is happy to sign on and enlists her mother’s help selling her much-loved grilled cheese sandwiches at the school. But no good deed goes unpunished, and the vendor stationed next to them at the event turns out to be aggressively rude and bullies them both. Never one to be pushed, Carly’s mom gives the man a vicious tongue-lashing and assumes that’s the end of it—until later that day when the man is found dead, strangled with her scarf.

With her mom on the hook for murder, Carly has no choice but to find out who killed the man and why. It turns out the victim had always been bad news and had racked up a long list of enemies. One of those enemies may have been the menacing stranger Carly saw lurking on the edges of the fundraiser, but her intuition tells her the murdered man’s girlfriend may have been mixed up in it too. Certain one of them—or both—did the deadly deed, Carly realizes too late that all her sleuthing has landed her next on the killer’s hit list . . .

Includes tantalizing grilled-cheese sandwich recipes!

I discovered this series years ago, when I got an ARC of the first book. I’ve been a big fan of this adorable cozy mystery that hits all the right notes. What is cool is that it hasn’t lost any of the aspects that made me love it from the start. Also, following characters for years makes them feel like old friends when a new book is published. 

Struggling to find time to read the ebook amongst my backlog of ARCs, I also received an ARC of the audiobook, and found Mia Gaskin to fit well with the voice I picture for Carly when reading the ebook. She’s been the voice of the series, which I have reread several times to stay current before a new book, and it was an enjoyable experience to listen to her.

I adore Carly. She’s a small-town sweetheart with a strong instinct for justice, to the point where she’ll pursue it herself rather than wait for the slower moving wheels of law enforcement. Yet instead of seeking vigilante justice, she works to uncover clues using her personal connections, and shares her information with law enforcement. However, this sometimes causes her to get into dangerous situations.

Things are a bit hectic in this story, but intentionally. Carly and Ari have finally decided to tie the knot, and it has been wonderful to see her finding happiness and such a healthy, supportive relationship with Ari, after losing her first husband in a car accident. These two have taken it slow over the course of the series, and are now so comfortable with each other that I was thrilled for both of them. Not only have they become family, they’ve mixed well and get along great with their respective in-laws to be. That is really showcased beautifully in this story, where Ari’s sister Leslie shows up with her niece Quinne in tow with a favor to ask. Carly’s whole family is also really supportive, and they have such positive interactions with Ari’s family.

Carly and Ari’s wedding is getting closer day by day, and neither of them really needs any more on their shoulders. A local fundraiser is about as much as Carly can take on, but she’s the kind of person who genuinely loves to serve people her beloved grilled cheese sandwich. Of course the vendor in the next booth over is so mean to Carly that her mother Rhonda winds up giving him verbal hell for it. When the vendor is found strangled with Rhonda’s scarf, Rhonda finds herself the main suspect, especially after footage of her interaction is posted online. Carly is obviously going to do her own investigation to clear her mother’s name. On top of all of this, Leslie and Quinne show up looking for a little help. 

Despite all the stressors she’s facing, Carly somehow manages to keep her cool. I was surprised at how chill she was, and that she still found time to spend with all of the people who are important to her. Her generous and giving nature is on display here, and it makes it such a pleasure to fall back into her world, like visiting a good friend that I haven’t seen in a while. As light-hearted as the world of Balsam Dells can be, readers also get a really good sense of Carly’s desire to have children, especially as she interacts with the little girl who already calls her aunt. Carly and Ari have had this discussion, and I was thrilled to see them discuss their honeymoon and their future beyond that. 

For the first time in this series, I was able to guess the culprit by their second scene. It was still a fun read as I checked out all the red herrings, of which there were many. When an unlikable character is killed, there’s usually quite a few suspects. Guessing the culprit didn’t interfere with how much I enjoyed the story, especially since that was my guess and I didn’t know for sure because I almost always get it wrong. At least this time I was able to pump my fist in the air and say “Yes!”

Overall, this is such a fun series and I’ve really come to love it more and more with each book in the series. I hope that I will get to follow Carly and Ari for a while longer, because I am nowhere near ready to let them go. I love the punny names for the sandwiches at Carly’s Eatery, and the delicious recipes in the back of the book. Even though the two recipes included in this book aren’t for me, I’m sure that there are plenty of people who would love to know how to make a Croque Monsieur at home, and Bleu Cheese Tarts are an intriguing recipe that I’ll have to recommend to my bleu cheese loving friends and family. The pacing is wonderful, and the character development is top notch, as always. It’s easy to recommend them to everyone, especially if you’re a cozy mystery fan.

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