Cheddar Luck Next Time is a cozy mystery novel, written by Beth Cato, published by Datura Books. A really enjoyable book following Bird Nichols, a neurodivergent character having to navigate life after lost and in a new town when a corpse appears in her property, a perfect story if you love a cleverly crafted mystery, and cheese, so much cheese that you will end smelling it out of the text.

After her beloved grandmother's death, Bird Nichols inherits her grandma's home in a small village, where she hopes to continue with her cheese board business and live quietly meanwhile; however, a few days after moving, a local tough is found death, just after she and Grizz, an old friend of the family, had an altercation with him, putting Grizz in the eye of the hurricane as the main suspect. As Bird has a well-earned distrust of police, she will take the investigation herself, all while juggling with her own cheese business, adaptation to a new place, and a new obligation as the cat delivery system works its mysteries to give her Bowser.

There are multiple brilliant aspects in this novel, but especially I would like to put the spotlight on how well Cato has captured Bird's voice; not only portraying her neurodivergence and the conflict to adapt to a new place, but also creating a really relatable character, including details such as over-analyzing the conversations, preparing for a thousand scenarios or how important certain sensations are for her. She's quite a cute character, but also we see her inquisitive side that brings her into the middle of the mystery; and particularly, you can't avoid blushing seeing how she gets along Daryl.
The rest of the cast is less developed, but still giving us enough to get an idea of why they are acting as they are (even if some like Grizz are a bit mysterious); all playing along with those small village stereotypes that fit so well into this novel.

The small coastal town is a marvelous setting for this kind of mystery, especially with that closed community feeling that makes you think everybody knows the rest of them. As you could have imagined reading the title, cheese is an important part of this cozy mystery, and Cato manages to make you almost taste and smell each one through her writing, transmitting the passion felt by Bird for her job. It is a bit slow in the pacing, but it also helps with the cozy part of the book, making it a really enjoyable read; and there are enough hints to kinda guess the twists of the plot, but are not too easy to find, in a good balance.

Cheddar Luck Next Time is an excellent cheese scented cozy mystery, a read with a great autism representation, which I recommend if you are looking for a funny but still engaging book. Come for the crime, stay for the cheese and cat(s).