In this new series it’s cute and I love the idea of a seaside town. Delilah and her band of Ragtag characters, bring a delightful spontaneity to this series. The idea of bringing a remake of deep dish pizza to the seaside town of Geneva. Bay is a quirky thought process, but it works. One of my favorite characters is auntie biz and she doesn’t disappoint in this book. The terms that this book takes to find the killer again are off the wall and somehow she makes them work. I wish that she’d give Detective Capone more thought and somehow connect him and Delilah in the future but in the end, I was wrong the killer was not who I thought it was and I was floored.

Delilah is still struggling with the pizzeria after her boyfriend and she have broken up and her money supply has gotten low. She is one determined woman, however.

To help with the bottom line, she has set her sights on the cash prize in the “TASTE OF WISCONSIN” culinary contest. She is sure her pretzel crust bratwurst pizza will be a winner. Also in the contest is her ex. And his new squeeze, Jordan, a juice bar owner.

When a customer dies from a poisoned smoothie, things get a bit hot for Delilah. And as if that wasn’t bad enough, some weird guy shows up yelling about missing dough!

There are some really clever characters in this one. There are also some seriously irritating ones. I loved it.

NetGalley/ April 25, 2023, St. Martin’s Press

Ashes to Ashes, Crust to Crust: A Deep Dish Mystery
By Mindy Quigley
St. Martin’s Paperbacks
April 25, 2023

Review by Cynthia Chow

It hasn’t been long since Delilah O’Leary opened her deep-dish pizza restaurant in Geneva Bay, Wisconsin, so she’s doing everything she can to keep her pizzeria afloat and profitable. On the top of her list is winning the tourist town’s Taste of Wisconsin Cook-Off, as its $10,000 prize and resulting glut of publicity would definitely boost sales and help her to make the much needed repairs. While the pizzeria staff is getting their fill of pizza tastings and sausages, Delilah and her best friend and fellow chef Sonya Perlman-Doktor (the “Son” of Delilah & Son Pizzeria) are determined to perfect a prize-winning deep-dish pizza recipe. The last thing Sonya needs is the news that the guest celebrity judge will be Graham Ulrich, who detests Sonya for having an affair with his wife. Delilah has her own distractions in town, as not only is her ex-fiancé Sam Van Meter is back in Geneva Bay, his new girlfriend is the Juice Revolution smoothie shop owner and rival contestant Joran Watts. Before Delilah has a chance to wrap her head around this discovery, a smoothie-drinking customer Ronald Wong collapses and falls over dead, possibly jeopardizing the entire cook-off.

As alarmed as Delilah is over this latest calamity hitting Geneva Bay since her return, she has her hands full with repeated cases of vandalism inside her pizzeria despite the doors being locked and no one found inside. Her impossible-to-please Great-Aunt Biz O’Leary is being particularly cantankerous as well, meaning that Delilah knows that they are overdue for what is sure to be an uncomfortable but long-overdue conversation. As if that wasn’t enough to have on her plate, Delilah must continue to work 15-hour days, 6-days a week, keep her staff employed, and figure out a way to prevent her aptly-named cat Butterball from getting in further fights or expanding his waistline.

This second in the series quickly introduces a number of quirky characters who are all easily distinguishable and feel right at home in this town. While Delilah’s relationship with Detective Calvin Capone seems to be going promisingly well, it’s easy to see why she initially fell for Sam’s charms. The detective’s fellow officers are just as entertaining, and while they might not be the brightest they are willing to take advice for an amateur. Which is something that Detective Capone is going to have to learn to do, as Delilah isn’t about to stop doing everything she can to protect her business and her family. An inability to ask for help or admit to being less than perfect is something of an O’Leary genetic trait, so it will be a challenge for both Delilah and her aunt to give up any of their responsibilities or control. Watching them grow as individuals is as compelling as the seductive descriptions of the pizzeria’s creations, and readers will be entranced by the recipes that include one for an Eggplant Ndjuda Deep-Dish. This is a welcome addition to the vast foodie mystery genre sure to please fans looking for reads featuring overly-indulged felines, small-town drama, and a flawed but very relatable heroine.

In this second book of the series, Delilah O’Leary, gourmet pizza shop owner, is working on a new recipe for the town’s annual Taste of Wisconsin contest. She’s sidetracked with two murders, Aunt Bizzy acting strangely, Sam’s new girlfriend and poor Butterball who isn’t adjusting to spending time at both her and Sam’s house.

This book may be even better than the first and the first one was amazing. The cast of characters are written so well. The mystery is never cut and dry and makes you keep guessing. I’m really enjoying this series and can’t wait for the next book.

This is a fun, fast paced cozy mystery. When there is a suspicious death what is a chef, AKA amateur sleuth, to do but investigate!
The characters are fun and full of personality, the plot flows easily, and there was even a little twist in there. Overall a great book!
I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

A humorous cozy that's set in a tourist town in Wisconsin featuring lots of food, fun, and quirky characters. Your cozy readers, especially the ones that like eccentric characters and a culinary theme, will really enjoy this.

Ashes to Ashes, Crust to Crust by Mindy Quigley is book #2 in the Deep Dish Mysteries series. Geneva Bay, Wisconsin - home of Al Capone. A town with gangster history. This storyline, in part, involves a different gangster from the town and lots of money. Then there's a murder. Amateur detective Delilah O'Leary, owner of Delilah and Son deep dish pizza shop, works her skills to solve a couple crimes. It was fun following along as Delilah figured things out. I really like the characters in this book and how they interact with each other. So far this series has been quite entertaining and I look forward to the next book in the series.

This is a very good cozy mystery series. In this one, there is a death by poison and did the
right person get the drink that killed him. Delilah, the chef is also the amateur sleuth Someone .and a darn good she is. Another victim ends up stuffed in a box dead. There is stollen money and more people end up arrested and then let go. Of course, Delilah always finds herself in a dangerous situations.. A GOOD COZY MYSTERY READ.

Ashes to Ashes, Crust to Crust is a sequel to Six Feet Deep Dish, which I thoroughly enjoyed. This book follows the vibrant cast of characters with judicious servings of pizza, Butterball (the cat), Sam (the ex-fiance), Biz (the cantankerous ant), and of yes, murder. Ms. Quigley even manages to wrap in Chicago mob references. The plot takes twists and turns through ad infinitum prep for the annual Labor Day Taste of Wisconsin festival along with the occasional murder. Once again, you won't want to put this book down. And when you do, you'll be anxiously awaiting the next installment in the Deep Dish Mystery series.

This is the second book in this series, but the first one that I’ve read. Like any cozy series, it’s helpful to read from the beginning, but the author does a wonderful job of giving enough of a backstory that I didn’t have a problem jumping in on the sequel. I loved the delightful world that the author built and the fun, quirky characters. I would definitely read more!

Ashes to Ashes, Crust to Crust is the second book in the series. I loved the first and this one didn’t disappoint! Taste of Wisconsin has come to Geneva bay and there’s been a suspicious death. What’s our amateur sleuth and chef to do but investigate? I was genuinely surprised by twists in this book and loved how to built on the history of the first book (definitely read it first).

Delilah and Butterball are back in Ashes to Ashes, Crust to Crust by Mindy Quigley. Struggling to keep up without Sam's financial support, Delilah is hopeful she will master her bratwurst pizza recipe to submit as entry in the Taste of Wisconsin contest that is coming up. The judge of the contest turns out to be from Sonya's past and ends up dead, with her ex-lover and his ex-wife the likely suspect.

I enjoyed this second book in the series and look forward to the next.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.

3.5 stars

This is second in the series, and while it could stand alone, there are a number of characters, so it does help to read them in order.

This is a fun cozy mystery with numerous twists and turns, yummy recipes, a fun cast of characters, a bit of romance, and a fuzzy feline. I've been to a few town in Wisconsin over the years, so I was able to visualize the setting, and you can't go wrong with pizza! It's fun to sleuth along with the characters, and I look forward to the next book in the series.


This book also includes recipes for readers to try.

Mindy Quigley, who has won several awards for her short stories, including the 2013 Bloody Scotland award and the 2018 Lightbringer award. "Ashes to Ashes, Crust to Crust" is her newest release. Delilah O'Leary, the owner of a pizza place in the beautiful Wisconsin resort town of Geneva Bay, is now single and determined to keep her business going through the off-season. Unfortunately, due to Delilah's well-intended but naive decision to turn down her ex-husband's offer of financial support to see the restaurant through its first year, there needs to be more money. She plans to successfully navigate the first year of her new business with hard work and a top-notch staff. She set her sights on taking home the $10,000 cash prize in the community's yearly "Taste of Wisconsin" cooking competition to increase her bottom line. She opened the oven door to remove a test pizza, releasing a delicious aroma, including an unexpected burst of bold and smoky scent emanating from the custom sausage mix she was testing for her planned entrance in the village contest. Her cooking brought out all the many flavors. But she still hadn’t found exactly the right balance of flavors.
However, money isn't her biggest problem. Now, adversity steps in and increases Delilah's challenges. Until recently, it had been three years since there’d been a murder in Geneva Bay. There were plenty of lesser crimes. But Geneva Bay hadn't had a murder in three years. Ronnie Wong, the owner of the neighborhood smoothie shop, was poisoned to death in front of Delilah, and a well-known Chicago chef was killed. Something’s going on with that.
Delilah's not alone in her struggle. Some of her friends and family were pulled into the investigation through no fault of their own. She had met the dashing police detective Calvin Capone a few months earlier. Capone, the great-grandson of the infamous Chicago gangster, helped her at first but gradually began to tire of her interference in his investigation, even suggesting she was not off the suspect list.
Her independent, gravitationally challenged cat, Butterball, is in her corner. Butterball was a supporting character because he helped investigate the most critical case in the area at the time.
Her great-aunt, the cantankerous octogenarian Elizabeth "Biz" O'Leary, was known to most residents from her years spent teaching accounting and personal finance at the high school. Biz is my favorite character. Full of old-time wisdom and loyalty, she took care of her own problems.
This novel has what I value in an easy-reading book. The setting was detailed, the characters were fleshed out, and there were twists and red herrings. The author met my expectations with humor and wit. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.
I highly recommend "Ashes to Ashes, Crust to Crust" to fans of cozy cuisine murder mysteries who will especially value the full recipes for the popular items sold at Delilah's pizzeria. This novel is an excellent place to start if you have yet to try a cozy mystery.

Ashes to Ashes, Crust to Crust is the second book in Mindy Quigley’s series, Deep Dish Mysteries. It can be read as a standalone. The first book was amazing; this one is even better. Detailed descriptions bring the setting of Geneva Bay to life. Characters have unique personalities and are very well developed, with their own story lines. Plenty of laugh-out-loud moments, mostly coming from the protagonist, Delilah. Delilah’s sarcastic personality makes her my favorite character, with her Aunt Biz being a very close second. The murder mystery is expertly crafted, and kept me guessing almost to the end. But the murder isn’t the only mystery, a few of the characters have some secrets of their own. Butterball, Delilah’s cat, is a clever little guy, his antics are hilarious. Lots of action made this a very fast paced read that I couldn’t put down. There’s a bit of a surprise at the end that has me anxious to see how it plays out in book 3.
Thanks to Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press, and the author for an advance digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

Ashes to Ashes, Crust to Crust is the 2ndonderful book in the Deep Dish mystery series. The characters are likable and the mystery kept me guessing especially because there were a few things going on. Delilah owns a deep dish pizza restaurant and lives in the apartment upstairs. Her Aunt Biz helps out along with her BFF Sonya, Melody and Daniel. They are competing in a local food tasting event. .A celebrity is going to be the Taste Tester for the event which is bad news because he has a history with Delilah and Sonya. Delilah's ex-fiancee Sam is now dating Jordan who is a competitor in the contest. Delilah likes Detective Capone but he is usually busy with his cases and she is usually involved which makes it awkward. Someone dies at Jordan's Juice Bar. A visitor is seen around town and he seems like he knows something about the murder. People are getting sick, suddenly coming into money, and there are break ins. Delilah and Sam's cat Butterball isn't happy and Aunt Biz is keeping a secret. It all keeps Delilah very busy! I like Delilah, Sam and Capone but the other characters are not as interesting or relatable. This book has a good pace and enough going on to keep it interesting. This is a very enjoyable cozy mystery. #AshesToAshesCrustToCrust #NetGalley

If you aren't craving pizza when you begin this book, you will while you are reading it! I need to track down the first book in the series and am looking forward to the third installment in the series.

3.25 stars. The second book in this new cozy series. Well done character development, a lovely small town lakeside setting and several mysteries for the sleuth/ head chef to solve in addition to a food contest to win. All the elements of a cozy are there: love interest police detective, an adorable cat and a well intentioned, heart of gold amateur who gets involved to help her loved ones. The story moves smoothly ahead but with a few jarring notes: a steady mention of the heroines body shape culminating with “Finally my size and shape could be of some use”. Also frequently mentioned are the weight struggles of the cat. And finally, while the financial angle was key to the plot, it suspended belief. Eye rolls for expecting us to believe that a smart but very young graduate could embezzle from an established business that no doubt had outside accounting auditors. And it seems ill conceived that her aunt, a brilliant financial educator and mentor, could not find a way to supplement her income to afford her cottage as she was aware of this problem years ago. A few thoughts: Part time income - in a financial setting, not kitchen prep- cottage rental income, particularly during the lucrative summer months- in addition to the reverse mortgage, a secret arrangement with the neighbors to purchase the property now on condition that she continue to live there until her death. The final resolution- living in ex’s house together and finding a windfall in the tunnel- was an odd way to conclude the story as the mysteries should have taken precedent. Perhaps a nice setup for book 3. Looking forward to it.
Thank you Netgalley for an advance copy in exchange for my review.

Second book in a new series but you don’t need to have read the first one to enjoy this.
I liked the first book, but I feel this one is better. Delilah is becoming a more understanding person, less self-centered. A person that starts to realize that the ways she acted in the past haven’t been helpful in maintaining an relationship with her former partner. This is light and fast reading, but the descriptions of emotions and attitudes of the various characters makes this a bit more than just another cozy mystery.
On top of it you get a real mystery to unravel. Lots of twist and turns. A surprise ending with lots of possibilities for the next book which I’m already looking forward to reading.

Thank you @netgalley and @stmartinspress for this #arc

Fun fact: I’ve been to Geneva Bay! Only once and over the Fourth of July. I don’t remember much about it, other than when the first float in the parade ran into the back of the police car because the driver was having so much fun waving to the crowd 😆

Synopsis:
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.

My thoughts:
Another great #cozymystery in this new series! I like all of the characters and really enjoy the relationship Delilah has with both Son (her BFF) and with Sam (her ex). I had an idea of who the murderer was, but still really enjoyed all the subplots and the way everything came together at the end. This is a great series for all you #cozymysteryreaders out there! Out on April 25th 👍🏻