I'm really enjoying this series and am excited to see where things will go for Delilah in the next book. Butterball was amazing too, such an adorable cat!

My suspicion about who the killer was bounced around throughout the book but the author stumped me again. I was surprised at the reveal!

I'm looking forward to reading the next book in this series.

The story is a pretty basic cozy mystery, but Quigley's excellent handling of her characters and a couple of fun little twists make it stand out.
Delilah O’Leary is happy with her restaurant but worried that they won't survive after tourist season ends, there's also the stress of crafting a winning entry for the town’s annual “Taste of Wisconsin” culinary contest, and her aunt Biz is acting strange. If that weren't enough, her best friend's archenemy is going to judge the contest and someone just died in her ex's new girlfriend's restaurant. Geneva Bay might be a picturesque resort town, but there's always something happening for full-time chef, part-time detective Delilah to get in trouble.
It's a fun story with lots of things going on to keep it moving at a great pace. Quigley throws one thing after another into the plot but it somehow never feels rushed or like things got dropped, every single thread gets tied up at the end in very satisfactory ways.

Happy thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Paperbacks for the entertaining read!

I love this series! :) It's so fun!!!
I am rooting for Delilah and Son all the way! But my favorite character is Butterball. :)
Absolutely can't wait to read more from Mindy Quigley!

In the picturesque resort town of Geneva Bay, Wisconsin newly single pizza Erica owner Delilah O’Leary is determined to keep her restaurant in business. As she sets her sights on winning the hefty cash prize in the town’s annual “ Taste of Wisconsin” culinary contest. While Delilah and her team focus on pumping out the best pizza pies her ex-fiancé has cozied up to a new squeeze juice bar owner Jordan Watts Delilah’s contest rival. When a juice bar customer is poisoned by a tainted smoothie Delilah lands deep in the sauce. Accusations fly, suspects mount up and a menacing stranger turns up with a beef over some missing dough. Delilah must act quickly before another one bites the crust. Fun story at the fair characters are great. Recommend to all.

“ashes to ashes, crust to crust” is the second novel in the “deep dish mystery” series. i read its prequel, “six feet deep dish” when it was first published and one thing i remember was the characters. delilah and sonya make the best partners and their creativity makes pizzas that sound mouthwatering but rabbit is my favorite of the crew! even though he’s a side character, he’s always looking out for his team and his appreciation from getting a second chance from delilah shows in his work! not only was rabbit part of this novel, we also are introduced to new employees, like jarka. on the flip side, even though i know delilah’s ex, sam, plays a role in her life, i still don’t care for him as much … and his new girlfriend for that matter! i also think delilah and sam’s shared custody of butterball took over some of the chapters.

the premise behind this installment was very enticing! people were going down left and right; when you think things couldn’t get any worse, sonya’s ex appears followed shortly after by his fiancee (who had a fling with sonya!). i thought each of these obstacles played a part in allowing delilah to investigate and narrow down her suspects and i was happy how everything turned out in the end. i was initially drawn toward reading this book because the back advertised it as the “taste of wisconsin” contest gone-wrong. to me, the contest took the back seat while delilah was investigating the townspeople and it was really only mentioned in the first and last chapters.

I love the title and the cover of this book!!

I don't typically read cozy mysteries but I really enjoyed this one. The writing is great and so are the characters.

This is the second book in the series (didn't realize that) but I didn't feel lost in the story.

This was a fun, quick read. Love the characters and the cat!

Thank you St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the eARC of Ashes to Ashes, Crust to Crust! All opinions in this review are my own.

This is the second book in the Deep Dish Mystery series. Despite not reading the first one, Six Feet Deep Dish, I did not feel lost at the beginning of the sequel and it was easy to get to know all of the characters. I always enjoy a good cozy mystery with a cat as a prominent character and Butterball did not disappoint!

The mystery itself was more complex than I would have originally thought. It was a great twist at the end to realize that things may not come together as neatly as you would assume!

My only complaint about this book was that I was craving pizza the entire time I was reading it!

Thank you to Sara H. from St Martin's Paperbacks for inviting me to pick up this sequel on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review!

I gave this second book in the Deep Dish Mysteries series a higher rating than the first one, mostly because the characters grew on me and because I was originally confused about the cozy mystery genre, but have since learned that the nosy busy-body helping solve the case alongside the cops is pretty typical for the genre.

Delilah is having a time trying to figure out how to keep her restaurant going after her breakup with her ex-fiancé, tech app mogul, yoga loving hipster, Sam. He was the one funding her dream of the restaurant and she doesn't want to continue to ask for his help since he's no longer obligated to.

There's a contest for the "Taste of Wisconsin" that is coming up soon that will help her have a nice little reprieve over worrying about expenses, but Delilah is stuck on what would make her pizza stand out. She comes up to a large hurdle in the form of a famous chef as the judge of the contest--whom she and her bestie, Sonya, have a history with. A... not very good history.

While visiting Sam's new girlfriend's juice bar, Delilah witnesses a customer choking and then turning up dead. How terrifying! Then, Delilah finds an ominous note on the counter that points to the death being a murder... Who would do such a thing? Was the customer the hit or was the smoothie of death for someone else?

I will say again that wasn't solid on who the murderer was until close to the very end, which was fun. Butterball still holds my heart captive, but other characters did start to become more enjoyable. I do wish that Delilah spent a little less time making comments on her body. I don't remember the self-deprecation being as prevalent in the first book, but she's also going through more personal stuff, so maybe that was to help emphasize it.

I also enjoyed the sort of found family that Delilah folds into the restaurant's goings-on. The characters that were introduced in the first book start to flourish in their personalities without overcrowding other characters.

I may have to look into the future of this series and keep up!

I enjoyed this cozy mystery so much! A small town setting with some unexpected murders and not to mention PIZZA!!!

When Delilah witnesses a death at the new local juice bar owned by her ex Sam’s new girlfriend, Delilah knows something isn’t quite right. Then when the head celebrity judge of the Taste of Wisconsin competition is found dead Delilah is determined to get to the bottom of things, especially perfecting her new bratwurst pizza recipe.

This is such a fun new series, perfect to transport the reader for the day!

I am enjoying the Deep Dish mystery series. "Ashes to Ashes, Crust to Crust," was a good follow up to the first in the series, "Six Feet Deep Dish." Fans of the cozy mystery genre will enjoy Delilah O'Leary and her small-town Wisconsin pizzeria crew.

Once again Delilah, her friends, and her restaurant find themselves in the middle of crimes being committed in town. This time there is a poisoning in a new juice bar in town. Delilah just happens to be there dropping off her cat, Butterball, to her ex Sam. She sees the whole thing and gets involved a little over her head. When the murders and crimes start adding up, it seems like no one is safe. Delilah just wants to perfect her recipe for the Taste of Wisconsin festival happening at the end of the summer. If she can win, her restaurant can stay open throughout the winter without her having to let anyone go. When everything comes to a head during the festival, Delilah tries to help stop the bad guy. These are fun, mysteries that are quick to read. With likable characters, a cat, and food involved, you can’t go wrong!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy. All opinions are my own.

Ashes to Ashes, Crust to Crust was a great follow-up in Mindy Quigley’s Deep Dish Mysteries series. Who doesn’t love a good cozy mystery and this one does not disappoint. Love the small town vibe, especially being from Wisconsin myself. The mystery had me intrigued and I didn’t guess all the pieces until the reveal. The characters have me hooked and I look forward to the next book in the series!

This was a great whodunit and it really made me hungry for pizzaI I love the characters, especially Aunt Biz, and i enjoyed the new ones introduced to the series.
Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

This is the second book in the deep-dish series. Delilah O Leary owns a pizzeria in Geneva Bay and enters a contest in the town's annual festival. One of her rivals' customers is poisoned and Delilah is accused of the crime. So she starts investigating to prove her innocence.

Ashes To Ashes, Crust To Crush
Deep Dish Mysteries, Book #2
Mindy Quigley
5 Stars

Synopsis:

Ashes to Ashes, Crust to Crust is the second book in Mindy Quigley's delectable Deep Dish Mystery series, set in a Wisconsin pizzeria.

Newly single pizzeria owner Delilah O’Leary is determined to keep her restaurant afloat in the picturesque resort town of Geneva Bay, Wisconsin. To boost her bottom line, she sets her sights on winning the hefty cash prize in the town’s annual “Taste of Wisconsin” culinary contest. In her corner, she’s got her strong-willed, “big-boned” cat Butterball, her wisecracking BFF, her cantankerous great-aunt, and a nearly-flawless recipe for Pretzel Crust Deep-Dish Bratwurst Pizza. But while Delilah and her team have been focused on pumping out perfect pizza pies, her ex-fiancé has cozied up to a new squeeze, juice bar owner Jordan Watts—Delilah’s contest rival.

When one of Jordan’s juice bar customers is poisoned by a tainted smoothie, Delilah lands deep in the sauce. Accusations fly, suspects abound, and a menacing stranger turns up with a beef over some missing dough. Between kale-juicing hipsters and grudge-bearing celebrity chefs, Delilah must act quickly before another one bites the crust.

Review:

The characters are well rounded and well developed. Delilah is trying to make sure her pizzeria stays in the black. She has decided to enter the “Taste of Wisconsin” competition to earn the prize money. Her ex-fiance has a new girlfriend, Jordan, who owns the new juice bar in town. When someone is poisoned at the juice bar, and Jordan is also poisoned, Delilah must get involved in finding out who is behind the poisonings. She will have help from her best friend, Sonya, and her cat, Butterball.


The writing style flows smoothly and the book is an easy read. The author is very talented in her descriptive writing and it kept me engaged in the story from page one. I needed to know what was going to happen from one page to the next. There were a lot of red herrings that you will need to figure out. The mystery was well plotted and there were enough clues to sift through and suspects to consider.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a well crafted cozy mystery. This book was very good and I really liked it.

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book provided by the publisher, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley, which I greatly appreciate.

Dear Fellow Reader,

I do love a good cozy mystery. I don’t worry about trying to solve them while I read them, I just go along for the ride with the author.

This week’s book, Ashes to Ashes, Crust to Crust is the second in a series, I reviewed the first book back in October (https://cecooney.com/2022/10/12/six-feet-deep-dish-by-mindy-quigley/)


Delilah O’Leary is back with the same cast of characters from the first book, Six Feet Deep Dish, Delilah is feeling the pinch and is hoping that winning the prize at the Geneva Lakes’ Annual “Taste of Wisconsin” culinary contest, She has been working endlessly on her entry, the pretzel crust deep-dish bratwurst pizza. Since breaking up with her rich ex-fiancé, she is constantly worried that the restaurant will go under, and winning the prize money in the contest will really go a long way to help her. Then she hears who the celebrity judge for the contest will be and is even more worried. It seems he and her best friend and chef have a poor relationship.

In the contest is the new juice bar owner, Jordan Watts, When Delilah goes to the juice bar, one of the customers in the juice bar is poisoned, Of course, the policeman assigned to the case is Calvin Capone, the policeman from the previous case, She felt there was some romantic draw there, but he had not followed up the way she expected, Is there an attraction or not? And does the scary guy who shows up at her restaurant figure into the murder?

As Delilah tries to figure out what is going on, she is warned by Detective Capone to stay out of the way, She, of course, doesn’t listen,

I think that I liked the second book more than the first, They are both good – especially as beach reads and I do think it will help to read them in order, But I am “one of those people” who think that series should be read in order,

Enjoy!

Thanks for reading!

I was given a copy of this book so that I could provide an unbiased review,

In the first book of this series I didn’t really like Delilah, and in this book I still didn’t. For a restaurant owner she seems to spend more time trying to solves a murder rather than working in her restaurant. The other characters and cat I thoroughly enjoyed, including the town setting. The commentaries with the recipes at the back of the book were a hoot.

Delilah, pizzeria owner wants to keep her restaurant in Geneva Bay, Wisconsin but needs money. She decides to enter the “Taste of Wisconsin” to win the cash prize. Delilah realizes that she is late in returning her cat Butterball to her ex. Her ex has been falling in love with the owner of a juice bar. While she awaits for her ex at the juice bar, a customer after drinking his juice beverage dies. What caused the death of the customer? While Delilah thinks about it, she finds that her aunt is cranky. Why? Delilah knows that Butterball is in a bad mood when he stays with her which she doesn’t understand. She doesn’t give up solving these problems while she tries to find out who the killer is. The original judge for the contest has died. Why? Will the contest still happen or not?

This is book 2 in the Deep Dish Mystery series. You do not have to read the first book of the series. It is written in a fast-paced, detailed and descriptive style. Delilah is a wonderful main character. She is busy with helping her friends and family even when they don’t want her help. The ending was excellent. The included recipes look too good not to make them. I will give them to my friend who is a great cook since I’ve never could make pie crust!

This was my first foray into the “cozy mystery” genre and it’s just not for me. I either need more romance in my rom com or more danger and intrigue in my mystery. That said, I did enjoy this story set in the fictional town of Geneva Bay, WI. Living in MN myself and having visited the actual town of Lake Geneva, WI, I appreciated the Midwest vibe and could absolutely picture the story unfolding there. I enjoyed all of the quirky characters even if some were pretty unbelievable. This was a quick read and, although it’s the second book in a series, it could stand alone as well.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

In the 2nd book of the Deep Dish mystery series, Delilah finds herself caught up in another murder investigation when she watches a man die after drinking a smoothie at the new local juice bar.

I'm really loving this cozy mystery series a lot! Last year I read and enjoyed the first book so I jumped at the chance to read this one. This series is just so good. For one, I really like all of the characters and especially Delilah and her cat Butterball. I enjoy the small town atmosphere, reading about Delilah's deep dish pizza shop (the dishes she makes all sound so delicious) and then the mystery is just an added bonus. I breezed through the pages of this one completely hooked. This was an enjoyable ride and I'm left excited to continue on with this series in the future (it looks like the 3rd book releases late this year so I will be all over that). Both books in this series have just been fun reads!

Readers who enjoy cozy mysteries and those who just want a fun mystery to fly through should pick this series up. I don't think you necessarily have to read the books in order, but as there are currently only two in this series - it's definitely worth it to start with the first book. Also, this book would be the perfect read for this time of the year by the pool when you just need a book to lose yourself in during the dog days of summer.

Disclosure - I received a copy of this book thanks to the publisher.