Cheddar Luck Next Time

Cheese-obsessed Bird Eakles has just inherited her grandmother’s estate in a quiet, quirky Californian town. But when a body is found on her property, her life begins to get rather loud…

Bird Nichols is ready to make a fresh start in a familiar place. Last year, her parents died together in a car crash and her beloved grandmother is presumed dead from an ocean drowning. Bird is now moving onto her grandmother’s California coastal property, and finally living out her dream. Bird loves cheese like nothing else. It’s her autistic special interest, and she designs her boards along her sensory needs, and other people love them, too. 

But just when everything seems to be going right, the local troublemaker ends up dead on her rural road. Grizz, the closest thing Bird has to family, is the sheriff department’s favourite suspect, but she is determined to prove Grizz’s innocence. So now, Bird needs to unpack her possessions, assemble her pretty cheese boards, and find the true murderer before they strike again.

My Review:

Brilliant. Brilliant. Brilliant! A stellar start to what I hope to be a long lived series. From the pun-y perfect title to the engaging characters and the cleverly crafted mystery – it’s all cozy delight from start to finish.

Love neurodivergent heroine Bird whose obsession with cheese has led her to a unique career creating cheese boards for festive events. True confession: I might have deep dived into cheese boards on the internet — and oh my, but they are glorious works of art! Colour, texture, taste, arrangement — Bird has a talent and a passion that’s etching out a niche for her burgeoning business. And inheriting her deceased grandmother’s property has provided her with the perfect home/buisness base…except for the body in the woods. Bwahahaha!

Cato has achieved the perfect balance between the cozy elements (foodie descriptions to drool over) and the amateur sleuthing. All in a quirky town full of interesting (and sometimes aggravating) characters to provide depth and intrigue. Plus, there’s a potential for romance. Eeep! I am so on board for more Bird stories…even after that jaw-dropping , whhhaaattttt-just-happened?! ending. What is Bird going to do with that?

A compelling and captivating compulsive read…or listen in my case. I totally enjoyed Dominque Salvacion’s narration. She brought Bird’s personality to life along with a myriad of secondary characters which made for an entertaining ‘reading’ experience.

My thanks to Brilliance Publishing and Net Galley for providing me with an audio edition of this book.

14 thoughts on “Cheddar Luck Next Time”

    1. Ohhhhh…this book is right up your alley, Stephanie. It could have been written for you. And yes, the cover is the only unfortunate thing about this book. As to the red stuff while it’s supposed to be a visual pun on blood in true cozy fashion it’s some sort of jam or chutney or sauce. Honestly, you’d love the foodie descriptions — I had no idea how many different kinds of cheeses there are or the interesting food stuff they can be paired with. It all sounds so gourmet delicious! 🙂

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  2. I love the pun-ny titles on these cozies. I need to read one to see what I’m missing. 🤔 Love your delightful review (not sure about the name Bird), but hubby loves cheese more than anyone I know! Is that red stuff salsa? He loves that, too. Today’s our 52nd anniversary & yes, we got married at birth. hahahaha I need to fix him some 🧀 & salsa to celebrate! 😫

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    2. Happy Anniversary, Diane! Go all out and present him with a cheese board to celebrate! The red stuff could be salsa or jam or chutney or….cheese board artisans get very creative. 🙂 Happy Reading!

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  3. Thank you so much for your review on CHEDDAR LUCK NEXT TIME! What an amazing sounding book. I immediately added it to my TBR list (on the top). Hoping to get to dive in reading it sooner than later.

    2clowns at arkansas dot net

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