At Death’s Dough by Mindy Quigley

 

Tommy, a local Butterball lookalike, with a copy of the book. 

Reviewed by Jeanne

Valentine’s Day approaches and while love is in the air, so is cold and snow.  The small town of Geneva Bay, Wisconsin brings in plenty of tourists in summer but winter—not so much.  Pizza chef Delilah is trying to brainstorm some ideas to drum up business so she can afford to keep the lights on and her staff paid.  Valentine’s Day is coming up, but so far her idea of a romantic dinner hasn’t brought in many reservations.

Delilah isn’t the only one struggling. Other business owners are as well, which is why the Chamber of Commerce hits on an idea:  why not lean into the town’s gangster history to draw in tourists?  It sounds like a great idea, but there’s one problem.  Delilah’s budding romance with a detective named Capone may not survive a promotion that uses his infamous relative as a draw.

As if that isn’t enough, Delilah’s ice fishing trip with Aunt Biz catches something other than fish:  a dead body.

The Deep Dish Mystery series follows the rules of many cozies, with a small town cast of characters, a plucky heroine, detective boyfriend, and a cat.  Just as with any recipe, the magic is how the ingredients complement each other. Delilah is stubborn and critical but at least she recognizes these traits in herself and is working on being less pig-headed.  She comes by it honestly, as her Aunt Biz could teach a mule a thing or two.  Quigley does keep the plot moving, and offers some good comic relief.  Of course, my favorite character is fat cat Butterball who did have a part to play in a successful conclusion. 

I also enjoyed the bits of Chicago gangland lore woven into the narrative, including about the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre.

For those who cook, there are recipes.   

For me, this is an enjoyable series, one I’m always going to buy when a see a new title offered.  The titles in the series are:

Six Feet Deep Dish

Ashes to Ashes, Crust to Crust

Public Anchovy #1

Sleep in Heavenly Pizza

At Death’s Dough

Murder in the Upper Crust (October 2026)

"So, when do I get pizza?" ~ Tommy

Six Feet Deep Dish by Mindy Quigley

 

Reviewed by Jeanne

Chef Delilah O’Leary is seeing her dream come true.  She’s opening her own specialty pizzeria in Geneva Bay, Wisconsin with the help of her fiancé, Sam, who invented an app that made him a fortune: a very, very large fortune.  Far from being the driven type A executive type, Sam is a laid back guy who doesn’t get upset about, well, anything.  Delilah, on the other hand, is driven, with a tendency to micromanage and organize up one side and down the other. Sometimes it’s hard to see how they make it as a couple, but she likes to think they complement each other: she tries to speed him up, and he slows her down.

This time, however, Sam has let his laissez-faire style go too far:  the custom-made sign for the new pizzeria proclaims it is Sam and Delilah’s Deep Dutch Pizza. 

Now all Delilah has to do is figure out what the heck “Deep Dutch” pizza is before the place opens in, oh, an hour.  Unhappy words are exchanged, and Sam does what he usually does—flees.

He leaves behind his cat, chubby orange Butterball, though Delilah has begun to think of the tubby tabby as her own.  Still, she has a business to run and people to feed, so Delilah sets out serving pizza and greeting guests, including her elderly Aunt Biz and the aunt’s caregiver. Things seem to be going well, despite a server who keeps going missing, and Delilah is just beginning to breathe when she hears a voice call her name.

It's Aunt Biz, and her caregiver is now very dead from a bullet fired from Aunt Biz’s gun.

I had heard good things about this one and it mostly met expectations.  I, of course, was very interested in Butterball, and he is an important character in the book, and not just cover eye-candy.  I liked the setting; Geneva Bay is described as a resort town with ties to famous gangsters, such as Al Capone, John Dillinger, and Baby Face Nelson. Who knew Wisconsin was such a hotbed of criminal activity? Not me, obviously.

As for the characters, I wasn’t sold at first on Delilah because she is such a control freak. I am a fan of character growth, though, and she gradually begins to realize that she needs to loosen up a little.  It’s going to be hard, but self-awareness is a start, and I like watching characters learn and change so I have hopes for this one.

The supporting characters are good and reasonably well developed, and the plot was interesting. It was topical and plausible. Delilah’s determination to prove her aunt’s innocence is classic cozy, and the touch of romance was nice. Also there’s Butterball—even though he’s being put on a diet (as he should be).

I’ll definitely be on the lookout for the next in the series which should be Ashes to Ashes, Crust to Crust, due out April 25, 2023.