Death By Grilled Cheese: A Cozy Culinary Mystery

by Blake Rivers

She traded her law degree for a grilled cheese truck. Now someone wants her dead.

Former attorney Sage Whitman just wanted to sell gourmet sandwiches at small-town festivals. Simple plan.

Wrong.

The Millbrook Harvest Festival looks charming. Craft booths. Live music. Friendly vendors.

But underneath the autumn decorations, something sinister is brewing.

Her truck is sabotaged. Anonymous threats arrive. Other vendors warn her to stay quiet and pay up.

But Sage has two

Her sharp legal mind. And Cheddar—her brilliant orange tabby who has an uncanny ability to sniff out trouble.

The deeper they dig, the deadlier it gets.

Now Sage and Cheddar have stumbled into something that could destroy them both. And the festival is just getting started.

Genres: Fiction

303 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 7, 2025

About the author

Hi, I'm Blake and as you may have guessed by now, I'm a writer. Yup, that’s right, I write books and I wrote my first novel, The Assassin Princess, in 2011 when I was twenty-eight. Two sequels followed, A Step into Darkscape and The Assassin's Codaci. This magical fantasy series started as a story written about my girlfriend, at the time, an artist who dreamed of being a fierce warrior in another world, who kicked butt and swung a sword to battle the enemy. It grew and became The Assassin Princess, a tale of an artist who is kidnapped and taken to a strange land full of magic, talking unicorns and dragons. It goes dark, exploring jealously, greed and hunger; it goes light and reaches for the best in even the most flawed of characters. But in essence, it still remains about her at its heart.

I started writing when I was seven years old. Back then it was mostly poems about whatever interested me at the time, be it the seasons or the planets, or my love for libraries and books. I also turned my hand to a few short stories, all hand written and lost over time.

I don’t remember why I started writing, but I do remember what inspired me to do it. It was Yuri, writing his poems to Lara in the frozen house in the film Dr Zhivago, and the beautiful music played, Lara’s Theme; it was the sound of the typewriter at the very start of the film Misery, where Paul Sheldon finishes his latest book.

These still inspire me to this day, along with whole host of other influences: the novels by Brandon Sanderson, Sarah J. Maas, J. R. R. Tolkien, J. K. Rowling, Anne Rice, Stephen King, Patricia Cornwell to name a few. Any movie that shows a typewriter.

Reviews

[Carrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would like to thank the author, Blake Rivers, and BookSirens for an advance copy of this first in a series and cozy mystery.

I was drawn to the cover art and the title initially--well done artwork! The title had me expecting some kind of death in this novel (hopefully, I'm not spoiling anything); instead it was a mystery. Also, I'm a cat lover, so, I was curious with how Cheddar would help with this mystery. It was fun having a cat help as a sidekick. Overall, Death by Grilled Cheese filled the boxes when it came to a cozy mystery, and a themed one with a different profession--a food truck!

However......

Sometimes I like to wait a few days before writing a review to think about my reading experience, especially with ARCs. I had initially given a solid 4 stars. As I have had time to reflect on the overall writing/storyline, I am taking back a star. Why? After the first major mystery having been solved, the last four seemed overly repetitive to me (won't spoil), with the crimes being more or less the same. It does come together for the wrap up. It showed that the author had done her homework in researching. Kudos for that! The characters were believable and had dimension to them.

But when several different characters repeat word for word from previous chapters, it almost felt like the story was being copy/pasted. The first time that happened, I had to go back and re-read because I was a bit confused and thought I had missed something. For that repetition and confusion, and to an extent, the story feeling "rushed," I feel bad, but believe 3 stars is a better rating in this case. Perhaps Ms. Rivers could have used those "criminal" encounters in future books. It was almost a bit unbelievable that the criminal element would continue to target the Millbrook Harvest Festival as it did, day in, and day out.

With all that said, I still recommend this cozy mystery and believe that the series has some great potential. I would definitely be interested in reading the second story to find out what happens to these well-thought-out characters. I like the "team" who came together to help solve these crimes.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Jessica Wilhoite · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book sounded interesting when I decided to read it, but as I got into it, decided this was put out as an ARC WAY too early - almost an entire chapter is repeating the chapter before it.

I liked Cheddar, the cat, and thought the premise was a good one - a food vendor investigating crimes on the festival circuit. It was a promising start to a great series...however, it had a lot of issues that were distracting.

1. Almost every chapter ends with something akin to " Something told me our adventures were just beginning"

2. Several major crimes busted, none having to do anything with murder - seems like way too much criminal activity for 5 days in a row at a festival in a small town. Some of this could have been spread out over a few books. 68% into the book and no one has been murdered yet, which seems highly unlikely in a cozy mystery. Each scenario almost exactly like the one before it - much of the same dialogue and

3. More than once the same phrase about Sage's cat, Cheddar being remarkable and she should consider a career in law enforcement for him - almost verbatim each time; she replies that he prefer the freelance approach

Even by cozy standards - 5 busts in 5 days with no murder is a little far fetched

I feel bad leaving a bad review, but hopefully you can pick up the finished copy and see for yourself - maybe reply to my review and change my mind.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Cozy Reader Lady · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Death By Grilled Cheese (Melted Bliss Mysteries #1)" by Blake Rivers is a super cozy mystery. There's no bodies. So, the title doesn't fit. There are lots of racketeering, drug busts and micro stories built into one. Honestly, the cat is the only aspect of the story that kept me going through this one.

There'd be a couple pages or chapters of one problem that gets solved right away. The cat would lead them to something suspicious. The FBI guy would explain why he has the equipment he has or the badge he has. The cat would help block the bad guy's escape route. The cops would say the cat should be a professional investigator. The main character would give some reason why he'd prefer to be a consultant. Usually revolving around biting or snacks. Then, next day it would all start again. This festival should have been shut down after the first drug bust.

Honestly, this is just too much on repeat for me. Not enough substance that carries throughout the book. Only about a third wasn't constantly repeated throughout the book. It read like various drafts have the same story put together back to back with an intro and conclusion at the ends.

[RAECHEL THOMAS · Rating 3 out of 5]

As an orange cat lover, I was very excited to read this. I loved the idea of a cat helping out with an investigation. The second half of the book was very repetitive and confused me. Even some of the sentences were exactly the same after each investigation was solved. I also find the title confusing as there isn't a murder. Thank you to BookSirens for an advanced copy for an honest review.

[Bibliophile Foodie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A cosy mystery with a fun twist. Sage, a former lawyer turned food truck owner, and her clever cat Cheddar make a fantastic team. I loved the food truck setting and the festival vibe. It made the story feel lively and different from other mysteries I’ve read.

Sage is smart and determined, and I liked how she didn’t back down when strange things started happening at the Harvest Festival. Damaged equipment, shady behaviour, and rising tension among vendors kept the mystery interesting. Cheddar, her cat, added a playful touch to the investigation. It was fun seeing how he helped in unexpected ways.

The story had a good mix of humour, suspense, and heart. I enjoyed watching Sage work with other vendors to figure out what was going on. The mystery kept me guessing, and I liked how the clues slowly came together.

This is the first book in the Melted Bliss Mystery series, and it’s a strong start. I’m already looking forward to seeing what Sage and Cheddar get up to next.

[LaurenB · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I want to start out by saying the premise of this book has a lot of potential. I love that the culinary element is a food truck because there are so many options for future stories and settings. I also like that the main character has a legal background. There is potential here.

However, I found the story to be repetitive. Certain phrases kept being used (“The cat’s expression clearly said…”, “Something tells me our adventure was just beginning”, etc.) and there were some chapters that were way too similar to the previous chapter. The story didn’t pick up until the last third. I don’t mind if the main event is towards the middle, but it just felt too late here.

While this wasn’t a favorite for me, I would’ve give this series another try because I do think the author has a good idea.

[Mrs K.Bryant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Death by Grilled Cheese is an Excellent story of Sage Whitman and her clever sleuthing cat Cheddar.

They go to the Millbrook Harvest Festival as a Food Truck Trader. But while there some of the vendor were being targeted and their equipment was being damaged. Sage and Cheddar started to investigate and work with some of the other courageous vendor to find the truth.They give the information they find to Detective Santos. But the solution is very complicated. Will they be able to find all the answers?
Superb book and start to a series that I recommend you read.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Kelley · Rating 5 out of 5]

if you love cozy food mystery this book is for you. Sage leaves the legal life for a food truck called melted bliss. with her business partner cat. she joins the food truck festivities, she learns along the way she will not be bullied by the bbq pit master buck. her fellow food vendors help her bring him down. unfortunately secrets come out in the process will it keep them togther or break them apart. I love this book form start to finish with a few laughs as well. I cant wait to see what adventure sage has next.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Irene · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to love this book. I really did. I start out with 5 stars. Don’t screw it up and you get them all. The first mistake was cramming so many crimes into one festival that only spanned a few days. No sooner did one get solved that another was discovered. It wasn’t believable.
Then there was so much repetition. Each confrontation with a bad guy followed the same script. Even the cat had a script. Then when the police showed up, they had their script. Sometimes it was paraphrased but often it was word for word.
I might still give book 2 a try because I did read another book by this author I liked. Just not this one.
I received this book as a free ARC and am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Gail · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is part of a series. It can be read as a stand alone, however the story is richer with the background information on the food truck and Cheddar the cat. The food truck festival circuit attracts regulars and some new vendors. Health and safety inspectors play a key role in keeping everyone safe. Until corruption is discovered, and the vendors and Cheddar work together. There were so many instances of corruption that it became almost unbelievable, which is why I didn’t give it 5 stars. I will read more in the series as they are published.

[Delphia Von Heeder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Death by Grilled Cheese is Book 1 in the Melted Bliss Mystery by Blake Rivers. I thought that the author wrote an excellent first book introducing the characters (I am in love with Cheddar the clever cat). The solving of the festival crimes and creating the sleuthing team was clever and interesting. I found this cozy was fun to read and left me excited for Book 2. I received an arc for free and am leaving my review voluntarily.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

I want to thank the author for gifting me the ebook. The cover is very cute, it is what drew me to the book originally.
I love cozy murder mysteries. This is more of a mystery novel. I enjoyed it for the most part. I do think it was a bit cheesy in parts (no pun intended)..I always love animals in the story but this was a bit far-fetched and unrealistic. But all in all if you are looking for a fast clean mystery you will like this book.