Cozy Mystery Review: Six Feet Deep Dish | Mindy Quigley

A new pizza-themed cozy mystery series has made its way onto my shelves and into my heart! I was tickled to meet Delilah, a fellow Chicago girl who loves deep dish pizza and has a knack for making it!

Not only do Delilah and I share a love of Chicago, deep dish pizza, mysteries, and cats, but she also seems to have relocated to open a restaurant in a town named Geneva Bay that is definitely a slightly fictional version of Lake Geneva, WI, where my dad’s lake house is! Was the Deep Dish Mystery series written for me? (I’d love to think so but I want us all to enjoy it so definitely not!)

Settle in with creamy fresh mozzarella, tangy tomato sauce, and salty toppings with that perfect deep dish crust as we dive into Six Feet Deep Dish, the first in the Deep Dish Mystery series by Mindy Quigley set in the vacation destination of the wealthy—Geneva Bay!

Delilah O’Leary is preparing to open her new gourmet deep-dish-pizzeria in Geneva Bay, Wisconsin. Relocating from Chicago (and no, she isn’t a known relative of the famous Mrs. O’Leary whose cow started the Chicago fire…allegedly) to this charming resort town with mobster history was a choice to be closer to her elderly aunt. Moving with Delilah is her wealthy fiancé Sam and his robust cat Butterball (who has a soft spot for Delilah).

But just before the grand opening, Delilah is dumped by her fiancé Sam and amidst worries about how she’ll manage expenses on the pizzeria and pay her staff, things get even worse. Delilah stumbles across a dead body and her auntie Biz is holding the murder weapon.

On the case is Geneva Bay’s newest (and most handsome) police detective, Calvin Capone—grandson of the legendary gangster. And while he and Delilah may have a bit of chemistry, that won’t stop him from pursuing every lead to solve this, even if it may end up tanking her ambitions and her restaurant. To save her aunt and get her pizza restaurant launched, Delilah does some sleuthing on the side to track down the real killer.

I loved this and I must admit I ordered myself a deep dish pizza while I was reading it because I just couldn’t stop thinking about it after the delectable pizzas being made throughout this book. Such a fun read and perfect for this Chicagoan who loves a Lake Geneva / Williams Bay weekend and a super cheesy deep dish pizza!

Delilah is an easy character to love. She’s beautiful and has a curvaceous figure that reflects her deep love of pizza and looks dynamite in her flirty wrap dress for the opening. Delilah is very organized and meticulous—the opposite of her fiancé Sam. The break up with Sam was kind of brutal—it felt for the reader and Delilah like it came out of nowhere, and then he leaves town while she’s in the middle of this investigation and struggling to pay her staff! I loved when she sold her ring to make payroll though and then told Sam that. Karma!

The ties to the mafia were hinted at and featured some in the mystery itself, which added a fun edge to the plot I wasn’t expecting. The victim was someone who initially I was sad to lose but as we learned more I wasn’t too broken up over. The characters are very eclectic! I loved her aunt and her best friend Sonya, as well as the staff of her pizzeria! Especially trusting her judgment to hire an ex-convict was a nice touch and I loved that she trusts her gut over stereotypes from society.

Can’t wait to start book 2!

About Book 1 | Six Feet Deep Dish

Delilah O’Leary can’t wait to open her new gourmet deep-dish pizzeria in Geneva Bay, Wisconsin—a charming resort town with a long history as a mobsters’ hideaway, millionaires’ playground, and vacation mecca. Engaged to a hunk with a hefty trust fund, Delilah is poised to begin a life that’s just about as delicious as one of her cheesy creations.

Just before opening night, though, Delilah’s plans for pizza perfection hit the skids when her fiancé dumps her and leaves her with a very large memento from their relationship—Butterball, their spoiled, plus-sized tabby cat.

Delilah’s trouble deepens when she discovers a dead body and finds her elderly aunt holding the murder weapon. Handsome local police detective Calvin Capone, great grandson of the legendary gangster, opens an investigation, threatening to sink Delilah’s pie-in-the-sky ambitions before they can even get off the ground. To save her aunt and get her pizza place generating some dough, Delilah must deliver the real killer.

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About the Author | Mindy Quigley

Mindy Quigley is the author of two cozy mystery series: the Deep Dish Mysteries and the Mount Moriah Mysteries.

Her short stories have won awards, including the 2018 Artemis Journal/Lightbringer Prize. Her non-writing career has been stranger than fiction, taking her from the US to the UK, where she worked as the personal assistant to the scientist who cloned Dolly the sheep, and as project manager for a research clinic founded by the author J.K. Rowling.

She lives in Virginia, with her Civil War history professor husband, their children, and their idiosyncratic miniature Schnauzer.

About Book 2 | Ashes to Ashes, Crust to Crust

Newly single pizzeria owner Delilah O’Leary is struggling to keep her restaurant afloat in the resort town of Geneva Bay, Wisconsin. On the plus side, her strong-willed, “big-boned” cat Butterball is (mostly) sticking to his diet. On the minus side, while Delilah has 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 rival in Geneva Bay’s annual “Taste of Wisconsin” culinary contest.

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.