Between a Roquefort and a Hard Place

• Author: Linda Reilly
• Genre: Cozy Mystery
• Publication Date: April 21, 2026
• Publisher: Dreamscape Media
• Series: Grilled Cheese Mysteries #7

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for providing me with an ARC of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Restaurant owner Carly Hale Mitchell has to get her husband off the hook when he’s implicated in the suspicious death of a crooked coworker . . .

When the elderly owner of a historic mansion asks Carly to come visit and make one of her famous grilled cheese sandwiches, Carly can hardly say no. She loves spending time inside the fabled home, and she knows her husband will be at the grand old manse too, rewiring the electrical as part of larger renovations. But sparks fly when he gets into a shoving match with the contractor overseeing the project, and that puts him at the top of the suspect list when the contractor later falls to his death from the roof amid signs of foul play.

Desperate to clear her husband’s good name, Carly puts her restaurant work on the back burner while she tries to track down the real culprit. Thinking it must be someone on the renovation crew or an employee at the mansion, she begins grilling the suspects, only to learn that the victim had enemies throughout the community. Then another dead body is discovered at the mansion, and Carly has to approach the case from a whole new angle—just as the killer is angling to make her the next victim on their list . . .

Includes mouthwatering grilled-cheese sandwich recipes!

I started this series from the beginning (thank you, NetGalley) and have eagerly been awaiting this next installment. I’ve read all the previous books, although they’re familiar enough that I don’t have to do a quick reread of the entire series—however, there are some major points that are built upon over the course of the series, so they are best read in order.

It was so easy to immerse myself in Balsam Dell that it felt like I was almost a townsperson—each new book has been like revisiting my friends once a year. So it felt completely natural to see what is new in Balsam Dell. The slow-burn romance that has been building throughout the series between Carly and Ari has led to them getting married, and it was wonderful to see the dynamics between these two adapt as their relationship deepens. I really enjoyed seeing how their relationship grows and changes over the course of the series, but also how it went from a side storyline thread to a fully evolved and well-rounded relationship. Mia Gaskin is wonderful as a narrator, and now has come to symbolize Carly’s voice.

This story centers around a historic mansion called Peppermint House. While Ari is hired to do some repairs at the mansion, Carly is brought there to make the owner of the house one of her specialty grilled cheeses. Ari bumps heads with the construction manager shortly before the construction manager falls to his death, and Ari zoomed up to the top of the list of suspects. Naturally, Carly feels the push to help clear Ari’s name, except this time she is working with the town’s police and being open with them rather than running her own separate, secret investigation. It really showed how far Carly has come in this series and how her position in town has changed since the first book.

Pacing is quick and snappy, keeping the story fresh and engaging. I was more than thrilled to see that despite this being book #7, the story wasn’t boring or repetitive. Reilly manages to keep each new addition to the series unique and avoid being formulaic like some series can get. The plot centers around who was responsible for the death of Tate, the construction manager who wasn’t well liked, but there is a second body discovered at the mansion, and that leads to a whole new investigation.

Along the way, there is a lot of misdirection that is well done—there are quite a few characters to comb through, and I had a difficult time figuring out who was behind the fatal fall. It was entertaining to try and guess, even though I was off by a mile. Carly is so sweet and caring, and it was obvious how badly she felt about leaving her restaurant employees to run the grilled cheese shop without her, even as there is a contest for the most creative grilled cheese recipe. I developed a pretty strong hankering for a grilled cheese while reading, but it was so fun to see Carly and her employees test out and rate the recipe submissions, even if some are a little too out there for my personal taste (like a grilled cheese featuring hot dogs), but there are others that make me want to try my own creative grilled cheeses. 

Overall, this was a solid story in the series and I loved how different it is from previous books. The side characters are a little flat and not as well developed as others in the series, but I still found myself sucked into the book and eagerly devouring chapter after chapter. There is some complexity built into the storyline, and I loved unraveling all these threads to find out who was behind the murders while still adjusting to the deeper relationship between Carly and Ari. I especially loved seeing Havarti, the peppy little dog that Carly found in the first book, and how well he fits into their dynamic as well. The fast pace and complex character dynamics within the town are depicted beautifully, and the story becomes addictive. 

Bottom line: An engaging story with complex characters and dynamics, and a fast pace even if some of the side characters are a bit flat, but still a solid addition to the series.

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