Ashes to Ashes, Crust to Crust by Mindy Quigley takes us back to Geneva Bay, Wisconsin. Delilah O’Leary is working on coming up with a unique pizza recipe for Geneva Bay’s annual Taste of Wisconsin. Delilah needs the prize money to help keep her restaurant afloat since her ex-fiancé who financed the restaurant withdrew his support. Unfortunately, the head judge for the contest is no fan of Delilah’s best friend and sous chef, Sonya. Delilah’s ex-fiancé, Sam has cozied up to juice bar owner Jordan Watt who happens to be Delilah’s rival in the contest. A juice bar customer becomes ill, and the culprit is a tainted smoothie. Blame is laid at Delilah’s door. When the celebrity judge ends up dead, it does not look good for the pizza ladies. Ashes to Ashes, Crust to Crust is the second book in A Deep Dish Mysteries. It picks up where Six Feet Deep Dish left off. It can be read as a standalone for those new to the series. I found the story easy to read. I enjoyed the vivid depictions of Geneva Bay. It sounds like a cozy lakeside town. I am not a fan of Delilah. I wish the story was not told from her point of view. I did not enjoy the frequent mentions of her figure (body shaming is not appreciated) nor of her cat’s, Butterball (the name suits the cat). The mystery was okay. It is one that can easily be solved. The key to the plot will have you rolling your eyes (I do not want to say too much and spoil it for you). It is something that could never happen in real life. The storyline with Aunt Biz was unnecessary. It was ill conceived and went against the aunt’s knowledge and experience. The resolution is another eye roller. I enjoyed the delectable pizza descriptions. There are recipes at the end of the book. While Ashes to Ashes, Crust to Crust was not for me, I suggest you read a sample to judge for yourself. Ashes to Ashes, Crust to Crust is a tasty tale with a critical contest, a prejudiced judge, pretzel crust pizza, a pecuniary problem, a sullied smoothie, and a chubby cat. ( )

This is the second Deep Dish Mystery by Mindy Quigley. In this installment of the series pizzeria owner Delilah O’Leary is trying 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 $10,000 prize in the town’s annual “Taste of Wisconsin” culinary contest. In her corner, she has her strong-willed, “big-boned” cat Butterball, her wisecracking BFF Sonya, her cantankerous great-aunt Biz, and a new recipe that she calls her Pretzel Crust Deep-Dish Bratwurst Pizza. 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 becomes a suspect. She must act fast to determine who put the poison in the smoothie.

I enjoyed this book. It's a good sequel to the first book in the series Six Feet Deep Dish. Delilah is becoming closer to police investigator Calvin Capone, the great-grandson of the mobster Al Capone. I am sure that they will become a couple soon and I would love to read more about their relationship. Right now, Calvin is irritated over Delilah's interference with his investigation. I wonder, though, how a police investigator and a amateur sleuth can be romantically together given their opposite roles in murder investigations. There is an attraction between them so I definitely see them growing into a couple.

There were a few new characters introduced in the series. Harold Heyer, president of the Geneva Bay Convention and Vistors Bureau. Molly McClintock, affectionately known as Mac, is Melody’s cousin. Jordan Watts, owner of Juice Revolution, and her employee Jarka, who was a doctor in Bulgaria but until her English improves and she can take the necessary tests she can only find work at a smoothie shop. Mac also works at the juice bar. All these characters had a role to play in the plot and they will be important in subsequent novels in the series because they provide for the possibility of more story ideas.

There are recipes in the back of the book for several gourmet doughs and a few pizza toppings. Personally I am not brave enough to make them but they are interesting to look at. ( )

As a native of Wisconsin who eats lots of pizza, cheese, and brats, who also enjoys reading cozies, how could I not love the Deep Dish Cozy Mystery series by Mindy Quigley?!? And I’m thinking you will too….

Ashes to Ashes, Crust to Crust is the second book in the series that takes place in a ritzier part of Wisconsin, Geneva Bay. This food cozy is filled with tantalizing descriptions of pizza and other Wisconsin treats (with recipes at the end) and a wonderful cast of characters.

Most people keep coming back to a cozy series because they enjoy the characters and may even feel as if they are catching up with friends, and Quigly once again proves she is a master at creating realistic characters. It’s a well rounded group; felon, lesbian, dreamboat with an accent, quirky elderly lady who’s also very grumpy in this one, and a cat that steals the page!
And her new characters are just as developed and diverse, which is lovely to read.

The mystery was done very well too. While some long time cozy readers may have it figured out pretty quickly, there was still a fun little surprise at the end when it came to the crimes.

I’m looking forward to the third book and seeing how the new living situation works out, as well as what new mystery the gang has to solve and all the new food descriptions and recipes! ( )

This novel continues the story of the deep dish pizza restaurant owned by Delilah O'Leary, and set in Geneva Bay, Wisconsin. Delilah and her friend Sonya continue to work hard at making the restaurant a success, since Dee and her wealthy boyfriend Sam broke up and withdrew his monetary support. When a rival chef comes to town to judge a foodie contest and if found murdered, Dee and friends end up in the middle of the mess. Scenes of vandalism and the presence of a dangerous criminal add fuel to the mysterious tale.

Readers of the previous novel in this series will enjoy becoming reacquainted with Auntie Biz, Detective Capone, Melody, Daniel, Sonya, and of course the huge cat Butterball. New characters make an appearance to keep the pages turning in this well-written new addition to the Deep Dish Mysteries series. I look forward to reading the next one!

I received this novel from the publisher and from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own. ( )

Wisconsin, relationships, relationship-issues, relatives, poisons, pet-cat, chef, murder, murder-investigation, multigenerational, pizza, situational-humor, verbal-humor, recipes, control-freak, amateur-sleuth, cozy-mystery, law-enforcement, restaurant, friendship,*****

What's not to like about a series set in a part of Wisconsin often referred to as the "gangsters' hangout" and whose police detective bears the last name of Capone (and is a VERY competent cop)? The interpersonal relationships are as twisty as the clues and red herrings and the characters are all so very well done, I swear I'd know them if I met them in that pizza parlor! Another great read in this new series! Loved it!
I requested and received an EARC from St. Martin's Press via NetGalley. Thank you! ( )