Sleep in Heavenly Pizza
Deep Dish Mysteries #4
By Mindy Quigley
ISBN 9781250326287
Author’s website: mindyquigley.com
Brought to you by OBS Reviewer Jeanie
Synopsis:
The fourth book in the delectable Deep Dish Mystery series, set in a Wisconsin pizzeria. 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. (from Goodreads)
Review:
This is one of my favorite series, and I am already looking forward to my next visit with Delilah and her beloved orange, fluffy, feline, Butterball! The author hit a grand slam homer with this mystery, as it was impossible to solve without specialized knowledge. My favorite characters are back, including Deliliah, Butterball, best friend Sonya, and Detective Capone. We also meet Delilah’s sister, Shea, Shea’s husband, Jonathan, and their children. Auntie Biz has a new place in my heart as we see a different side of her.
Delilah and her crew from “Delilah and Son” have quite a following in the Wisconsin tourist town of Geneva Bay. Her restaurant, specializing in deep dish Chicago style pizza and unique, flavorful combinations of pizzas, calzones, and appetizers are a hit! Readers may enjoy this mystery with their favorite pizza or calzone, or even a variety of fried cheeses to keep tummies from noisily interrupting when her tempting foods are described.
“Delilah and Son” catered a Chrismukkah party on the first night of Hanukkah. It is a brittle cold, snowy night. The hosts, Adrian and Daffi Hoffman, own a luxury home at the Grand Bay Resort. After the meal, Rabbit, one of Dee’s staff, began taking some of their things to the catering van. When he didn’t return, Delilah sought him out, and traced footprints to a room upstairs. A young woman is eavesdropping on a room. Displeased with what she heard, she threw a plate against the wall, it smashed, and she left. Delilah began to pick up the mess.
A gorgeous woman, Natasha, left the room to see what the noise was, as did Adrian, the host. Adrian was grumpy when seeing the broken plate and half-eaten food. As Dee walked away, her brother-in-law, Jonathan, was there, as was his daughter, Piper! But her sister had said they weren’t coming to Wisconsin? One of Piper’s sorority sisters invited her there to ski, and Adrian and his wife, Daffi, were Jonathan’s business associates.
The young woman eavesdropping was Adrian and Daffi’s daughter and Piper’s sorority sister, Hadley. Drunk, she was telling the guests strange tales, then argued loudly with her parents. Delilah finally found Rabbit working, and he accidentally dropped a tray of dirty glasses after Hadley bumped into him. Upset with himself, Rabbit slipped away early.
The next day, Delilah was with Capone at the lakeside park. Yes, a great grandson of THAT Capone, but unlike Al, he is a respected police detective. He and Delilah had been dating around their life-consuming jobs. Set up at the park were room sized cubes of snow for the annual snow sculpture contest, and the sculptors were at work. They heard a scream from one of the snow stations. A pair of feet stuck out from about eight feet off the ground, leaving no doubt the person was dead. Capone was immediately back on the job and Delilah left.
The victim was Natasha, from the catered party. The police worked all night. Capone found security footage from the resort, with a somewhat blurred scene of the Hoffmans’ second-floor balcony. Dee recognized the figure as Natasha, due to her height, but nobody could make out the blurry person she talked with. The video showed her being shoved over the balcony. She rolled down into a gully, but her body had been a distance away, where the sculpture snow blocks were taken from. Whoever pushed her had carried her quite a distance. Their suspects had to be limited to party attendees who were fit and large enough to carry the tall woman.
The characters are portrayed with ultimate care, and I learned more of the dynamics, struggles, and coping mechanisms of Delilah’s family. Each quirky personality is very human, including her staff. We see how each person faces crises when at least two of her small staff are nearing the top of the suspect list, and another is devastated at an interesting find in an oversized handbag. Delilah continues to change and grow, and is a different woman than at the start of the series. She still has her moments, and she is still a pretty terrific young woman!
This was a tough crime to solve, yet Capone and his officers gave it their all. Delilah, with Sonya as her sounding board, also gives it every moment possible to keep her staff and family out of orange jumpsuits. The killer was a shock only in the sense that certain assumptions were no longer true, and under the circumstances I hoped for leniency. I also hope we get an invite to the special wedding that Sonya is helping to plan! I highly recommend this cozy mystery, and the rest of the series!
