This is the second Grilled Cheese Mystery. It's Halloween and the Balsam Dell is getting ready for the annual food competition. Carly is excited, as it's her first year entering her eatery. The owner of Sub-a-Dub Sub, Ferris Menard, is angry at Carly because Grant, her part-time employee left Menard's employ to work full time at Carly's eatery. He angrily confronts Carly in front of customers and is found dead in his own shop the next morning.
The investigation hits close to home, and Carly decides to see if she can figure out who the real killer is.
The mystery was interesting. The characters are more developing a bit from the first book. I really enjoyed Evelyn Fitch and hope to see more of her. This is the coziest of cozies, no curse words, witch is considered a harsh word, and Carly and her boyfriend share only the tiniest of kisses.While this a little more chaste than my normal cozy, I like the characters. I did find myself getting annoyed with Carly's method of analyzing her relationship with Ari. Honestly, the connection between Carly and Ari is where the writing falls the fattest for me. It feels artificial and takes me out of the story.
The descriptions of the food make me want grilled cheese. I see the Alvin Special in my future.
