Excellent mystery elements to make a compelling story. Dee is definiely a no nonsense protagonist. I like the budding romance with Det. Capone and who doesn't love a food thieving cat named Butterball!?!

"Ashes to Ashes, Crust to Crust” is the nicely done second book in Mindy Quigley's Deep Dish cozy mystery series, set in a Wisconsin pizzeria. I enjoyed the first book, but I liked this book much better than the first now that the characters and setting have been established. I thought Sam, Delilah’s ex-fiancé, was the weakest part of the first book and I was apprehensive at first when I saw he was to play a prominent role in this book, but I was pleasantly surprised at the way Quigley toned down his always willing to please character in this book and he ended up playing an important part in the mystery. And the mystery is quite good – there is a murder mystery and some other seemingly small mysteries that end up not being as small as they appear. The way the murderer was caught was quite satisfying and I loved the very ending of the book (there are recipes in the back of the book – even if you skim through them, make sure you read Biz’s recipe, it made me LOL).

“Ashes to Ashes, Crust to Crust” is a nicely done cozy mystery.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley.

This book picks up shortly after the end of the previous book. Delilah and crew are getting ready to hopefully impress a food critic and win the Labor Day contest for local businesses. She needs the win in order to bring in additional business during the slower fall and winter months. Delilah and Sam are working on shared "parenting" of their cat Butterball, and he is not adjusting well. While dropping off Butterball with Sam at his new girlfriend's juice shop, Delilah sees a patron die under somewhat suspicious circumstances. Aunt Biz is going through an issue of her own, and isn't sharing details with anyone. We see Delilah spending additional time with Capone, as they work through details of the new case.

It was an enjoyable second book in the series, and I'm glad to see that it was as good as the first. I'm looking forward to more in this series!

When we last visited Geneva Bay, Delilah was experiencing a breakup with her fiancé, the opening of her new pizza restaurant, and a murder on the soft opening night. In this second book she has high hopes that the summer season will make for a successful re-start. It would really help to be chosen winner of the Taste of Wisconsin contest, the annual town culinary event. But the news of the celebrity judge for the contest brings her hopes to a screeching stop. Delilah and her assistant cook have a history with the judge and know winning is probably not going to happen. Add a mysterious death at a local juice shop when Delilah was there and the drama starts to amp up. Enter Detective Cal Capone as well as other characters introduced in the first book. They all combined for a cozy that kept me guessing as they worked on solving the mystery.

I'm glad to have read book one but you really don't have to because Quigley did a good job of catching new readers up. Recommended to fans of foodie cozies and the author.

Delilah is preparing to enter a new pizza in a local contest that offers a hefty grand prize. While the notoriety of a win would give her great bragging rights, what she really needs is the prize money. With a rainy summer behind them and a long, frigid winter ahead, Delilah knows if she doesn't bring in some money her pizza won't be the only thing in a deep dish. Unfortunately recipe difficulties quickly get overshadowed by a much bigger problem: murder.

There was so much happening in this book! A tourist drops dead in the new juice bar, Delilah and her ex Sam are trying (relatively unsuccessfully) to share custody of Butterball, Sonya's ex's husband shows up in town looking for trouble, there's a recently-released ex-con nosing around, and it all goes downhill from there. One of the mysteries was a no-brainer, one was quickly solved with a fairly predictable outcome, but the last mystery, that was a doozy. This book was very easy to get sucked into and kept me up more than one night, reading past my bedtime!

This series is a must-read for any fan of cozies!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.

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.
Warning this will make you crave pizza! I really enjoy Delilah and her restaurant. The mystery, characters and setting is all wonderful.
#AshestoAshesCrusttoCrust#Netgalley

I loved the first book in the new Deep Dish mystery series so I read this one almost as soon as I got my hands on it. Delilah is hoping that one of her delicious creations will win the town's annual "Taste of Wisconsin" event, giving her restaurant a needed boost and better chance of making it through the lean winter months. Unfortunately, the celebrity judge is a huge problem. Another of the competitors just had a customer drop dead from a poisoned smoothie. This book is fast paced and full of entertaining characters, including a new one I can't wait to see more of. I still can't decide how I feel about Delilah herself, but the writing is fantastic and I'll definitely be looking forward to the next books in the series. Make sure you read the recipes -- they're written by the characters and not to be missed!

This is the second in the Deep Dish Mysteries series, and after reading and loving the first one, I was excited to get the second to review. I was not disappointed!

Delilah and her business partner/best friend Sonya are getting ready for a cooking contest in their tourist attraction town. A murder in the smoothie shop nearby is witnessed by Delilah, and she is determined to help town detective Capone solve it. The characters in the book are well depicted, even the cat, Buttercup! There are lots of twists and turns in the mystery, and the murderer was not anyone I suspected though the novel.

I highly recommend this book to cozy mystery lovers and foodies (I craved pizza the whole time I was reading it!) and look forward to more in this series. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Delilah O’Leary is the heroine and it took me awhile to like her. At first her perfectionism was more annoying than interesting, fortunately that wasn't prevalent. Her business partner, Sonya Perlman-Dokter, is the "Son" in the restaurant's name and she likes puns making her more appealing than Delilah at times. Sam Van Meter is the ex-fiance who financed the restaurant and has a charmed life as a wealthy software developer. Delilah's romantic interest is the handsome police detective Calvin Capone which brings the trope of the cop mad over main character sleuthing. I did like this detective. Great-aunt Elizabeth O'Leary is cranky and brings some tension to the story as well. The Delilah & Son staff consists of Melody, Jarka, Robert "Rabbit" and Daniel which are each enjoyable. Of course Butterball the cat is a star-long live Butterball.

There was enough going on and a few twists to keep my interest and I liked the tense moments for the climax. Nicely done. The wrapup made me miss the characters when the story ended. This was an enjoyable mystery with a little bit of a rough start, but worth sticking with it. I liked that the police detective was a descendant of the legendary gangster, Al Capone. The twists involved were well done and the tense reveals were good suspense. One down side, the pizza flavors mentioned in the book didn't appeal to me at all-glad it's fictional.

Rating: Good fun read with nicely done twists-enjoyable

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. Delilah is excited about a cooking contest that she is hoping to win with her pizza recipe. When a customer dies at her nemesis juice bar, she becomes a prime suspects. Thus was an enjoyable read.

This is the perfect follow up to a stellar first book in a new series. It was one of the strongest ones I read last year. Delilah is a hilariously flawed lead character & that makes her very relatable, so is her business partner Sonya. There’s a strong supporting cast, which is always a huge bonus for series.The mystery itself was very intriguing, lots of moving parts & motives, so it definitely keeps you guessing. I like when more than one crime converges. The food descriptions made me so hungry, everything sounds so delicious, so be forewarned!

Total sidebar & not relevant at all, the romantic interest has the same first name as my husband & the pet is an orange cat which I also have! It added a little extra specialness to me. I can’t wait for book three 🤞🏻 I feel this series only has amazing places to go.

I Adore cozy mysteries like this one. It has food, a cat, and a murder mystery. This is the second in the series and I am here for this series. I need more!
I just reviewed Ashes to Ashes, Crust to Crust by Mindy Quigley. #NetGalley
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Ashes to Ashes, Crust to Crust is the second book in the Deep Dish Mystery series about a pizzeria in a picturesque resort town in Wisconsin.

Pizzeria owner and amateur sleuth Delilah O’Leary is hoping to solve her financial problems by winning the town’s annual culinary contest with her recipe for Pretzel Crust Deep-Dish Bratwurst Pizza. Meanwhile, she’s stewing over her ex-fiancé’s irritatingly health-conscious new girlfriend, Jordan, who owns a successful juice bar. When one of Jordan’s customers is poisoned, Delilah has to solve the case before someone else sips a toxic smoothie.

This cozy is chock-full of page-turning ingredients, from quirky suspects to delicious dishes and strong-willed pets. I especially enjoyed the additional twist that Delilah’s cop love-interest is a descendent of Al Capone.

I read a lot of new cozy mystery series, so they all start to blend together in my memory. Because of this, I had a hard time remembering much from the first and would have appreciated a little more recap to get me back there. I did remember the former mob-owned pizzeria but nothing about the crime or what had happened. However, once I was back in the swing, I enjoyed this book. I Delilah's deductions didn’t make sense to me, but the reveals were satisfying and well thought out.

Ashes to Ashes, Crust to Crust is the second book in the Deep Dish Mysteries series, following Delilah, her pizza crew, and the crazy happenings in the town of Geneva Bay.
I enjoyed the first book in this series, and I think this second one tops it! Following Delilah's trials and tribulations of pizza shop ownership with her best friend Sonya, their crew of friends and employees, as well as her interactions with her ex, all while interwoven with a murder mystery was such a fun ride. The cozy mystery vibe of this story made it such a joy to read. Overall, this story really was a delight to read and I already am looking forward to book 3.
Be prepared to crave pizza the whole time you read this!

Thank you to NetGalley, St Martin's Press, and Mindy Quigley for the advance copy in exchange for honest review.

I remember reading thr first book in this series. It was good about a pizza restaurant. This one didn't disappoint I live thr characters and the settings. If upu like a good cozi mystery about food this book won't disappoint you and t has recipes in the back iof the book like the first one . This book was approved by netgalley and the publisher for me to read and review

I received this as an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

4 ⭐️
0🌶

I loved all of it!!! The food, the mystery, the romance! Ugh!! Mindy Quigley might just become one of my "automatic buy" authors.

We got to know several characters a bit better this time, including Melody, and I think Delilah & Sonya both had some insight that will show some excellent character growth in future novels.

There are several story lines happening, which I loved, and damn if I don't want beer, sausage, pretzels, & cheese now!

In the second book of the series Ashes to Ashes, Crust to Crust finds us back in Geneva Bay with the gang at Delilah & Son. Murders and mystery abound as we go day to day with restaurant owner Delilah - nothing new there for those who have read the first in the series. This is such an enjoyable cozy mystery series! I have to admit, I am definitely looking forward to a third book. This series is very well written and had characters that we all can relate to. A wonderful way to relax and enjoy an afternoon.
#AshesToAshesCrustToCrust#NetGalley#StMartinsPress

I was so excited to read the second of this series as I really enjoyed the first one. It can also easily be read as a standalone. The setting on a lake in Wisconsin, not far from Chicago, is mouth wateringly described. The author has upped the suspense in this story with layers of criminal activity in this small resort area.
Delilah is the busy owner of a fairly new deep dish restaurant, not in a relationship, has shared custody of a delightful cat and looks after her elderly great-aunt, “Biz”. Whew! With it’s stunning views of the lake, a popular vacation spot, her new establishment and diverse staff has Delilah at warp speed. If that’s not enough she’s busy compiling an entry into the town’s annual tasting event.
In the midst of this a local man keels over dead at a new healthy juice bar while Delilah’s in line. Oh and the owner is Delilah’s X's, (Sam) new girlfriend. This is just the beginning of a string of events involving gangsters, crimes, shell corporations, money laundering, cryptic notes, break-ins and murder. There is so much to keep up with Delilah must be exhausted!
She has a tiny crush on the local police detective, Calvin Capone. They have adversarial banter as she foolishly involves herself by investigating on her own. The identity of the culprit evaded me, the humor made me laugh and the cast of characters is full of interesting individuals. An easy to read series which I highly recommend.
A digital advance reader copy of “Ashes to Ashes Crust to Crust”, A Deep Dish Mystery by Mindy Quigley published by St. Martin’s Press was provided to me by NetGalley. Anticipated publication date is April 25, 2023. These are all my own honest personal thoughts and opinions given voluntarily without compensation.

First things first - Butterball is an absolute legend! ⭐️ 🐈 🍕

Delilah and the gang are back in the second installment of the Deep Dish Mysteries series by Mindy Quigley and chaos is afoot in Geneva Bay, Wisconsin. Murder, mayhem and missing bratwurst have Delilah suspicious and back on the case as she tries to solve the mystery, catch the culprit and win the annual “Taste of Wisconsin” culinary contest. Full of laugh out loud moments and tons of suspense Ashes to Ashes, Crust to Crust is a great read!
Absolutely loving this series so far and can’t wait to see what happens next!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.