I actually dislike Christmas because of the unrealistic expectations of family and presents. No Christmas I have ever had looks, sounds, or smells like what Hallmark or Disney portray it as. I did, however, relate to Delilah and her reaction to her own sister. I have two of those, and they both make me feel inadequate. I wish that I could cook like Delilah, or that I could find a pizza place like Delilah’s. I think I might be the only person who had pizza at her wedding reception.

The beginning of the novel had me feeling off about Capone. At first, it felt like he was keeping Delilah at arm’s length, like they weren’t actually dating. As the novel progresses, though, he seems to realize he can’t keep Delilah out of the investigation and capitulates.

Overall, I rate this novel 5 out of 5 stars.

I absolutely love this series! All the food descriptions make me want to cook, not that my kids would eat half of what is in the story! I loved seeing another side of Delilah's family, Shea needed a kick up her butt in my opinion! I had an inkling who committed the murder early on, but I didn't have the motive figured out until it was all revealed. Great winter weekend read by a fire.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. This review is based on an ARC from NetGalley, courtesy of the publisher.

After enjoying the first couple of books in Mindy Quigley’s Deep Dish Mystery series, I just had to pick up Sleep in Heavenly Pizza. And I am so glad I did.

This installment has been my favorite of the series. Sleep in Heavenly Pizza follows Delilah and her restaurant crew as they cater a Chrismukkah party. Everything is going great, and then, as the party starts to wind down, crap hits the fan. Then, the next day, a body turns up during a local festival event, and it appears to be tied to the party. Delilah just has to get involved in solving the mystery since some members of her staff and family seem to be suspects.

Let’s start with the characters. I’m enjoying how Delilah’s relationship with Detective Capone is developing. Earlier in the series, it felt more flirty, but now they’re actually in a relationship with all the ups and downs associated with it. Seeing as he’s the lead investigator in the mystery and Delilah keeps nosing around (not that he’s surprised about it), it just adds more flavor. And getting to know Capone more in this book was just a bonus.

The rest of the cast of characters continues to be varied and interesting. This book delved more into the history of a couple of the recurring characters, and it was nice to learn more about them. Then, new characters were introduced for the sake of the mystery, including some of Delilah’s family.

The actual mystery was well done and came completely out of left field for me. But it worked, and I was hooked, turning the pages to see how it all connected. I enjoyed how it played on some semi-recent news events, and I hadn’t seen this motive in a book before. The uniqueness of the plot was greatly appreciated and enhanced my reading experience.

Sleep in Heavenly Pizza was a great cozy mystery. A unique plot and wonderful character growth just keep me engaged and turning the pages. I highly recommend this book for fans of holiday stories or culinary mysteries.

This is the 4th release in the "Deep Dish Pizza" series by cozy author Minday Quingley. i have read and enjoyed the entire series . This is a charming enjoyable series with the added fun of our protagnist being a pizza chef. Thank you to the publisher, Net Galley and to the author for the opportunity. My review opinions are my own.

In this next in series the author has gifted us a beautiful Christmas theme. The town is preparing for a fun snow sculpting contest and Deliah is looking forward to the festive Christmas fun. When her sister appears trouble is on the horizon for Deliah and friends. A body found in the snow complicates the festival and soon suspects abound and Deliah is on the case. I enjoyed this sleuth and the Christmas theme. Butterball the cat adds charm and the supporting characters are well crafted to the small town friendships everyone experiences. This is a fun next in series that I highly recommend for all who enjoy Christmas theme cozies. Well done to the author. .

This fourth installment of the Deep Dish mystery series is my favorite yet, and likely my favorite culinary cozy of the year so far!

Delilah O’Leary has come a long way since first opening her gourmet pizza restaurant in Geneva Bay, Wisconsin. Once an uptight control freak hanging onto a relationship with a great guy she didn’t actually love, she’s mellowed out considerably over the last few months, in large part due to learning how to truly build community with her local family and friends. Sure she does sometimes flip out at her new boyfriend, police detective Calvin Capone, but that’s usually when he’s (unwisely, in her opinion) investigating someone she loves for murder.

Which, you’d think, wouldn’t happen very often in their small town. But Delilah’s been involved in investigating a surprising number of homicides, even though she just wants to keep her head down and literally mind her own business. Her latest commercial venture actually involves catering a Chrismukkah celebration for some of Geneva Bay’s wealthiest residents. So she’s pretty surprised when her brother-in-law Jonathan shows up at the party with his college-aged daughter Piper in tow. It isn’t just that Jonathan is hardly in the same income bracket as the rest of the guests. Her brother-in-law and niece live in California with Delilah’s sister Shea, who has once again demurred on visiting Delilah for the holidays due to conflicting schedules. To add insult to injury, Jonathan and Piper are just as surprised to see Delilah as she is to see them. Apparently, Shea never even told them that Delilah had recently moved to Geneva Bay from Chicago in order to open her own restaurant.

The Chrismukkah shindig ends earlier than expected when tensions boil over between some of the partygoers and Delilah’s crew gets caught in the middle. Delilah just wants to clean up and get paid, and has no interest in figuring out why one of the guests left their coat behind at the end of the evening. When that guest is found dead in a pile of snow intended for a sculpture contest the next day, Delilah is horrified but still determined to stay out of the investigation, even if one of her employees has been acting with uncharacteristic unreliability since the night of the catering gig.

Things get worse when suspicion for the missing guest’s murder falls on Jonathan, and Delilah’s perfectionist sister is forced to make an appearance in Geneva Bay. Will Delilah be able to navigate the awkward conversations that inevitably ensue without losing her hard-earned cool? Perhaps more importantly, will she be able to find the real killer before one of her loved ones is falsely imprisoned for homicide?

I don’t know whether the extent of Delilah’s growth will feel as meaningful to readers who haven’t followed along since the beginning of the series, but I was certainly moved by what a thoughtful, mature person our heroine has become since we were first introduced to her. It’s been a genuine delight to see her personality develop for the better as this series has progressed. She’s also become a better investigator with experience, as she figures out the solution to the mystery that unfolds in this volume with both suspense and pathos.

There were four delicious Chrismukkah recipes included in the book, and I decided to try out this one, lightly edited here for space:

QUOTE
Tear-and-Share Christmas Tree Pizza Bread

7 mozzarella sticks
1 pound refrigerated pizza dough
Egg wash (1 egg whisked with 1 tbsp water)
¼ cup melted butter
¼ cup grated Parmesan
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 tablespoon fresh basil, cut into a thin chiffonade
Marinara, warmed (for serving)

Preheat oven to 450°. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Cut mozzarella sticks into 1-inch pieces and set aside.

On a floured surface, divide pizza dough into two equal pieces. Stretch and roll each piece of dough into a long rectangle, then cut the dough into 2-inch squares (you'll need 30-35 squares).

Wrap a dough square around each piece of mozzarella, forming a tightly sealed ball. Arrange the balls seam-side down on the baking sheet in the shape of a Christmas tree. You can, of course, make other shapes if you prefer. Brush egg wash on those doughy little balls and bake them until golden, 15 to 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, whisk together the melted butter, Parmesan, garlic butter, and Italian seasoning. Brush your balls again! This time with the butter mixture. Sprinkle the basil on top. It's important to serve this warm so that the cheese will have maximum gooeyness. Add a side of marinara for dipping.
END QUOTE

My kids love pizza rolls and were super thrilled that I chose this recipe! I wasn’t sure how closely to place the balls on the baking pan and could probably have crowded the thirty I rolled closer together (especially since the mozzarella did leak out,) but they came out tasting delicious regardless. I did substitute in Asiago I had left over from last week’s Alfredo recipe for the Parmesan and thought that turned out nicely. Just keep in mind that when the recipe calls for mozzarella sticks, it is referring to string cheese mozzarella and not the breaded kind that you fry.

Next week, we travel to the northeast to whip up a delectable pie while investigating a devious poisoner. Do join me!

Another enjoyable installment in one of my favorite cozy series. The mystery was interesting. I will say I wasn’t a fan of the cussing in the story and could have done without that. I really liked the Christmastime setting of the story and the title is definitely a cute play on words. All in all, I am wanting more books in this series!

Wow Auntie Biz sure went through a nice transformation during the Christmas season. She was actually nice lol and didn't even complain about Butterball the cat. There were so many secrets and little side stories but they all sorta contributed or were related to the main murder case.

In a surprising reveal of some of those secrets, a satisfying showdown followed. Now Delilah and her team could gather in their favorite thing to do: feed people and be with those they loved on Christmas Day which was an awesome gathering of family, friends and of course, great food.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book provided by St. Martin Paperbacks via NetGalley, and my opinions are my own.

The next in the Deep Dish mystery series finds Delilah and crew catering a big event. When a woman from the event ends up murdered, Delilah finds many of her friends and loved ones are under suspicion.

This one started a little slow but then it picked up. We got a LOT of side character development, which was fine (it wasn’t too much, just emphasizing that most characters got some sort of movement). I’m intrigued to see if Shea becomes a recurring character now. I’m looking forward to seeing where Delilah’s mysteries go next!

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley, Minotaur Books, and Mindy Quigley for providing this advance reader copy (ARC) of the book. I'm leaving my honest review below.

Lots of family drama, an unlikeable female lead, and no dead body until chapter 7. I'm not a fan. The 2 stars is for the plot, which had a lot of promise, and having a fat orange cat. Like a good who-dun-it there were red herrings and enough characters to keep you guessing. The family drama was a lot to deal with, it was like the Christmas we all dread. The lead, Delilah, is such a mess I took an instant dislike to her. She's a perfectionist with no self-esteem who takes every comment the wrong way, actually 5 wrong ways. Don't get me started on her sister and boring relationship with the boyfriend. Her inner monologs were torture. The wrap-up took a long time to happen after the crime being discussed over and over. Tying up loose ends was an epilog without a big arrest scene.

#NetGalley #SleepinHeavenlyPizza #DeepDishMysteries #MindyQuigley #MinotaurBooks #mystery #cozymystery #culinarymystery

If you're looking for a holiday mystery, this one fits the bill perfectly. Delilah and her friends are always fun to spend time with and the book opens with her staff catering a Chrismukkah house party that ends with a death (but at least they're not snowed in with a killer the way they were in the previous book!) It's an enjoyable read with an ending that I never would have expected. Be sure not to skip the recipes at the end -- they're written by the characters and full of personality!

When Delilah O’Leary agreed to cater the Chrismukkah house party for the Hoffmans, she thought it would be a fun evening of holiday bites and her signature deep dish pizzas from her restaurant Delilah & Son. She brought her staff as well as the food to make sure everything went smoothly. Sous chef Sonya Perlman-Doktor (the Son in the restaurant’s name) keeps everything running smoothly in the kitchen. Melody and Rabbit worked the room, serving tasty treats hot from the oven and taking away empty plates and glasses. Bartender Daniel was making drinks and keeping the women happy with his good looks and Puerto Rican charm. Everything was going smoothly.

Until it wasn’t.

Rabbit goes missing, and Delilah goes looking for him outside, in case he stepped out for a cigarette. Following his footsteps in the newly fallen snow, she ends up going around the house to the front door. She goes upstairs to see if that’s where he is. Instead, she bumps into a party guest, Natasha La Cotti, who is rude to her. Delilah doesn’t find Rabbit so she heads back downstairs, where she bumps into her brother-in-law Jonathan. Delilah is shocked, as her sister Shea had told her they couldn’t make it to Wisconsin for the holidays. Jonathan explains that he has some business friends there, and that his daughter Piper was there also, with her sorority sister Hadley Hoffman.

Delilah is happy to see him and her niece but upset that no one had told her that they were coming to Geneva Bay. Jonathan is just as surprised to see her there, but when she explains that she was catering, he said he’d remembered something about her moving there to open a restaurant. She invites them to the restaurant the next day for brunch, and then it’s time for her to clean up and get everything back to the restaurant.

It’s not until the next day, when the snow sculptors were getting ready to start on their gigantic snow artworks that the dead woman was found in one of the piles of snow. The woman turned out to be Natasha La Cotti, who Delilah had met briefly the night before. But the discovery of the crime meant that Delilah’s time with her boyfriend, detective Calvin Capone, the great-grandson of legendary gangster Al Capone, is cut short. Capone has to investigate, and all his suspects were at the Hoffman’s party the night before.

Now that Delilah knows that a woman was killed, possibly at the party she catered, and that the suspects include her employees and her brother-in-law, she can’t stop herself from looking into the crimes herself. In between holiday celebrations, busy nights working at the restaurant, and spending time with her Aunt Biz and cat Butterball, Delilah barely has time to question her suspects and try to keep her family and friends out of jail. And when her sister Shea does show up with their youngest, Caleb, Delilah really doesn’t understand what’s going on. She knows Shea is lying to her, but she doesn’t know why. The closer Delilah gets to the answers, the more she wonders just who it is she’s going to find at the end of her investigation.

Sleep in Heavenly Pizza is book four in Mindy Quigley’s Deep Dish Mystery series, and it’s just as appetizing as the others in this series. With smart writing and strong characters, this murder mystery is baked with a tasty crust, tangy marinara sauce, and plenty of melty cheese. The food descriptions are delectable, and the investigation is just as packed with secrets and red herrings as the pizza is with delicious toppings.

Despite my cheesy description (sorry), I had a lot of fun reading Sleep in Heavenly Pizza. The relationships that Delilah has built with her friends are as interesting as the murder investigation, and her burgeoning relationship with Detective Capone adds a nice balance to the story. There are even recipes at the end of the book for the Tear-and-Share Christmas Tree Pizza Bread, Hanukkah Jelly Doughnuts, Imperfectly Perfect Latkes, and Puerto Rican Eggnog, so you can create some of Delilah & Son’s holiday deliciousness in your own kitchen.

Egalleys for Sleep in Heavenly Pizza were provided by Minotaur Books through NetGalley, with many thanks.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. Sleep in Heavenly Pizza is the fourth book in the Deep Dish Mystery series. The mystery takes place during the holidays, with special events such as a snow sculpting championship and a Christmukkah event. Delilah, Sonya and Butterball the cat are great characters that really make the book fun to read. Ms. Quigley really knows how to make sure that readers get wrapped up in a great mystery that they will enjoy and remember. This series keeps getting better with every new book. I absolutely enjoyed reading Sleep in Heavenly Pizza. Perfect holiday themed cozy mystery!

A foodie contemporary cozy, it took a few chapters before the pace of the story balanced out (that could be because this one is not the first in the series but it was the first one I had read). I love the pizza and various cheese recipes sprinkled throughout the story, but I'm not sure I could relate to some of the characters (except the cat). If you enjoyed other books in this series, you'll likely love this one too. I do think I'll go back and read the first novel though.

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Delilah’s invitation to her sister to join her, Biz and Butterball at Christmas is once again summarily declined. Dreams of a close family get-together are only alive in curmudgeon Biz’s manic holiday spirit. So when she runs into her brother in law and niece at a house party she’s catering, surprised does not come close. The party is a smash until the daughter of the hosts has a drunken tantrum that sends the guests for their coats. But this is but the beginning of the strange things that will play out over the next several days. And if that was not bad enough, two of her staff and her relatives are knee deep in the mire. Or perhaps I should say snow because that is where a frozen body is going to show up. And the deceased had lots to do with every single person about whom Delilah cares.

Filled with dysfunctional family drama and intrigues, there were enough twists and unexpected turns to entertain. Four purrs and two paws up.

Title:    Sleep in Heavenly Pizza
Author:  Mindy Quigley        
Genre: Mystery        
Rating:  3.8 out of 5

Pizza chef Delilah O’Leary and her kitty companion, Butterball, get into the holiday spirit as Geneva Bay, Wisconsin hosts the nation’s premier snow sculpting championship. The annual event transforms the charming resort town into a wonderland of snow castles, ice rinks, and cozy cups of cocoa. On the eve of the festival though, a too-good-to-be-true Chrismukkah catering gig brings some frosty tidings and heralds an unexpected visit from Delilah’s high-intensity older sister. Suddenly it seems that the holidays may not be the hap-happiest season of all. And when a missing party guest’s frozen corpse turns up inside one of the town's snowy sculptures, murder threatens to put the celebrations—and Delilah’s crew—on ice for good.

This was a quick cozy mystery read, but I have to admit, Delilah is just too darned nosy for me. I mean, everybody else’s personal life just isn’t your business, so stay out of it. People like that get on my nerves, so it was really hard for me to forget I was annoyed and just enjoy the story. There were a lot of side plots going on here and I figured out who the killer was about halfway through, but it was a decent enough read.

Mindy Quigley lives in Virginia. Sleep in Heavenly Pizza is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.)

Rounding up from 4.5⭐
Catering a swanky Christmukah party would normally be a breeze for Delilah and her crew. But something has some of her crew on edge, and with the surprise attendance of her California brother-in-law and niece, then palpable tension among guests leaves Delilah stressed and at odds. The discovery of a body the next morning throws a wrench into her romantic plans too. Will the suspicion thrown onto her crew members, friends and family destroy her relationship with homicide detective, Capone? What sets this book/series apart for me is that Delilah is not always a likeable character with her Type-A black or white personality, but still has a great heart and ride-or-die friendships. She's not the only nuanced character in the story and that's refreshing in a typical cozy series. Come for the excellent mystery, enjoy the food descriptions, but appreciate the fully fledged characters.

This was a great story for the holidays. Delilah caters a party that ends with a dead body. As she is nearing Christmas many of things begin happening. Her brother-in-law and niece are in town and then her sister arrives. There is a lot of different things from many angles occuring and at times it is hard to keep track of it all. There is a narrow pool of suspects and it wasn't a surprise when the reveal happened. If you like a light holiday read this is for you.

This was the first novel I read in this series and enjoyed it. I was fascinated by the setting as I spend months not far from Geneva Lake and liked the descriptions.
The characters are fleshed out and Delilah grew slowly on me even if I wasn't a fan at the beginning.
The mystery is twisty, surprising, and kept me guessing.
I want to read the of the series as I enjoyed this one.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

SLEEP IN HEAVENLY PIZZA by Mindy Quigley
The Fourth Deep Dish Pizza Mystery

It's almost Christmas and in preparation for the slower business time that winter in Geneva Bay always brings Delilah O'Leary and her crew are catering a fancy Christmas/Hanukkah party. Everything appears to be going amazingly well, the hosts are pleasant and the guests are loving the food, but things go south quickly when the hosts' drunken daughter makes a scene. After the party things get more bizarre. Biz is on a holiday high ramping up the holiday spirit, Rabbit is acting squirrely, Melody is jealous, and Delilah is dealing with family anxiety. Add to that a body is found in the ice sculpting competition. Yes, in. It turns out the victim was at the party and now Delilah's nearest and dearest are suspects. Willing to be a sounding board for Detective Capone, but not afraid to take matters into her own hands, Delilah is determined to have the cold blooded crime solved before the Christmas feast begins and the final Hanukkah candle is lit.

A wonderful cast of unique characters keeps things interesting in SLEEP IN HEAVENLY PIZZA. We get to meet the rest of Delilah's family and discover it's no wonder that the family she created is closer to her than her relations! It was also fascinating to see her behavior change when confronted with her sister. The mystery itself was confounding with so many secrets and the resulting red herrings. Personal issues are fastidiously layered, like the ingredients of Delilah's gourmet deep dish pizzas, within the mystery providing depth with nods to the holiday season artfully drizzled on top. I particularly liked how both Christmas and Hanukkah were represented.

Truth is at the heart of the fourth Deep Dish Pizza Mystery. The accurate way in which restaurant life is portrayed gives verisimilitude to the whole story, from the after work family meal to the camaraderie of the workers, as well as their own personal problems. Almost everyone is keeping secrets and the reveal, the truth, could be their undoing. In the end, truth does out, for better and for worse.

I absolutely love this series! From laugh out loud funny to heartrendingly touching SLEEP IN HEAVENLY PIZZA has it all. Don't forget to read the recipes included at the end for an extra treat.

I LOVE this series so much and it honestly keeps getting better and better. This book starts at a Christmas/Hanukkah party in a flurry of snow and ends up being the last party ever for one of the guests. I ADORE these characters and all of them really shone in this book; even the ones unfortunately under suspicion, which allows us to get to know them and their past more. Not only is the setting perfect, this is on the grittier side of cozy which you all know I LOVE. Some things I read were enraging and heartbreaker and I felt for Delilah and her struggle with her family; the push and pull of wanting to be close, but always feeling like something is keeping her and her sister apart. Families are hard and this was a really great depiction of the mixed emotions around the holidays. I did absolutely tear up at the end when Delilah was surrounded by her found family and I already miss these characters!