Sleep in Heavenly Pizza by Mindy Quigley

 

Reviewed by Jeanne

Delilah “Dee” O’Leary and her crew are catering an upscale Christmas/ Hanukkah party at a swanky residence when Rabbit, one of her servers decides abruptly to leave the party after an incident with one of the guests.  Perfectionist Dee tries not to be annoyed—Rabbit is a recovering alcoholic and he sometimes needs to head straight to a meeting in order not to relapse—but it does leave her very short-handed.

When Rabbit sends a text saying he needs to take time off, Dee is alternately irritated and worried.  Delilah & Son pizzeria is going to be very busy in the days leading up to Christmas, but also Dee is preparing to host her brother-in-law and her niece for the holidays.  Dee’s sister Sage has kept herself and her family at arm’s length for years, so this is a rare opportunity for Dee to connect to at least some of them. Curmudgeonly Aunt Biz is uncharacteristically aglow with holiday spirit which, albeit very weird, is a pleasant change.

Then the frozen body of one of the party-goers is discovered in a mound of snow and the list of suspects hits very close to home for Dee. It doesn’t help that her almost boyfriend Detective Calvin Capone (yes, as in Al) is on the case and is not going to cut anyone any slack—not even Dee.

This is the fourth in the Deep Dish Mystery series.  I confess that I wasn’t too sure I was going to continue with the series after the first book. Dee is a very strong Type-A personality who has little patience with those around her, including her then-boyfriend whom I liked.  Butterball the cat was a big draw (no pun intended, even though he is a pudgy orange tabby) so I decided to continue.

I’m very glad I did.  The books have gotten better and better.  Dee is still driven but she has enough self-awareness to realize how her attitudes affect those around her and to decide if she can bring herself to moderate some of actions. She’s a work in progress as are we all.  She is sympathetic to the problems of those around her, but she’s no pushover which can lead her to barrel her way in at times—but at least now she thinks about it first. The plot in this one revolved a lot around family but it did advance the main story.  The solution was a very interesting one, and I’m glad that author Quigley didn’t take the easy way out. That, and Dee's growing self-awareness, made this a winner for me.

The supporting characters are getting better and better as well. Sonya, the sous chef and “Son” of Delilah & Son, is a delight.  Butterball is adorable as always.  Jarka the stoic Bulgarian was absent for a good part of the book but shows up to offer some stone-faced observations, aid, and comic relief.

I had a great time reading this cozy, which for me is definitely a cut above the usual mass market paperback cozy.  I read a lot of these so finding a series that I enjoy as much as I do this one is a real treat.  I’m already looking forward to the next in the series!

The series in order:

Six Feet Deep Dish

Ashes to Ashes, Crust to Crust

Public Anchcovy #1

Sleep in Heavenly Pizza

At Death’s Dough (2025)