Mindy Quigley

Dollycas’s Thoughts

Love is in the air in Geneva Bay, Wisconsin, as Valentine’s Day draws near. Pizza chef Delilah O’Leary is hoping the Delilah & Son reservation book will be full for the holiday. It will also be the first Valentine’s Day she will celebrate with her handsome boyfriend, Detective Calvin Capone.

Delilah has plans to take her Auntie Biz ice fishing, as well. She has been taking her out on the lake the past few seasons, but has been putting it off this year. Sonya feels show more left out and begs to come along. When they have all the equipment set up on the lake, Sonya and Delilah take a walk, leaving Biz some time for peaceful, quiet fishing. But when they return, everyone is jolted by a terrible discovery. Delilah knows it is going to screw up her holiday plans with her Capone, especially when they learn there is a connection to his despicable great-grandfather.

It seems everyone suddenly has something to hide—secrets to keep. A past that is about to be awakened when Delilah, her friends, and Calvin start asking questions and following clues. Can they outsmart the killer? Will they find themselves submerged in the ice-cold waters? Will justice be served?

Five books into these Deep Dish Mysteries, and the characters get stronger and more developed with each installment. While Calvin Capone wishes to leave the family history behind him, Delilah’s pizzeria has a Capone theme. He would like her to stay out of his police cases, but admits she sometimes gets information faster than he does on his own. Despite those things, their relationship continues to bloom. This time, Capone gets booted from the case, and bartender Daniel takes an active role in the investigation with Delilah, even following one clue that almost became his last. Sonya is more than willing to do anything for or with Delilah; she faced a few fears within this story. Another character has a medical emergency as well, keeping another character too far away to help. All the characters are well-crafted, and most feel like friends you would find in any Wisconsin town, although many residents of Geneva Bay are quite wealthy and a little pushy.

The mystery was laid out nicely. Readers were introduced to the victim and got to know him enough to dislike him, even if he was related to Capone, well, all of the Capones. With the many twists and some red herrings, and a suspect who was low on my list near the end, I enjoyed following along as theories came together, then were discarded in favor of another idea, until finally all the clues fell into place for an exciting showdown where Delilah’s cat Butterball was an active participant following his kidnapping or catnapping.

In each book, the author weaves in more Capone, Chicago, and Wisconsin history. She also ripped a topic from current headlines, explaining that the people of Puerto Rico are, in fact, AMERICANS.

I do enjoy hearing/reading familiar Wisconsin dialogue. Rabbit, the dishwasher at Delilah and Son, talks like my aunt did, using the Wisconsinese contraction of “Isn’t it so” – ‘n so? Memories of my childhood summer days spent with her fill my mind as I read those 3 letters and an apostrophe.

At Death’s Dough is a marvelous mystery that cozy mystery lovers will enjoy. I was entertained by the characters and all they went through within the pages of this book. Ms. Quigley places humor with precision and romance in perfect amounts, while blending the main plot and subplots together. While each book can be read on its own, for maximum enjoyment, I recommend reading the series in order. You will then find yourself invested in these characters as much as I am. show less

Geneva Bay, Wisconsin is a small town with a big or, more accurately, infamous history. It was once the home of 1920’s gangster, Dean O’Banion and there have been rumours circulating ever since about the huge haul from a train robbery in 1924 thought to be stashed somewhere in or near his estate.

But that was then and this is now and business has been slow at Delilah & Son pizzeria, owned by Delilah O’Leary. She’s hoping Valentine’s Day will improve her finances but, in the show more meantime, she has agreed to go ice fishing with her aunt.

However, while cutting the holes in the ice, she snags a human finger. When the police arrive, they uncover the body of Dominic Capone, cousin of her boyfriend, police detective Calvin Capone, great grandson of, yes, Al Capone. The police chief thinks it was an accident but Delilah doubts it and her employees start an investigation. But when she receives a threatening note, she realizes the stakes are much higher than she anticipated and, worse, she has put a loved one in extreme danger.

At Death’s Dough is the 5th in the Deep Dish Mysteries series by Mindy Quigley and it is one fun, fast cozy mystery with interesting and well-developed characters and a compelling mystery that kept me guessing. I especially enjoyed the sense of humour and camaraderie shared by the pizzeria’s staff. This is the first book I have read in this series, an oversight I intend to soon rectify as I found it very enjoyable.

I received an e-ARC of this book from Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review show less

A scintillating cozy mystery set in current day Geneva Bay, Wisconsin.

Pizza chef Delilah O’Leary is gearing up for the upcoming Valentine's Day rush. It'll be her Valentine's Day celebrated with her hunk of a man, police detective Calvin Capone. And yes, as much as he detests the connection, he is related to good old Al. As it turns out, Geneva Bay is the old hideout town of mobster Dean O'Banion and his gang. Legend has it, there's a stash of ill-gotten goods which has yet to be found show more somewhere in these parts. On a chilly February day while ice-fishing, it was certainly no lake perch or walleye which Delilah encountered. It wouldn't be long before the local constabulary was hauling a human popsicle out of the lake. Who are they? Why were they scuba diving in such frigid waters? Who did them in? Life in this cozy town won't be settled until Delilah gets to the bottom of this mystery.

Although this was the fifth installment in, "A Deep Dish Mystery" series, one is not left asea starting with it. There's enough background info threaded through the story to get a good feel for the interrelations of the local folk. Mindy Quigley has delivered a solid cozy mystery. The writing is good. The characters are well developed. The background info on winter scuba diving was well researched and engagingly delivered in the story. The action and banter is often amusing. This story has all the red herrings one would hope for, and a most satisfying conclusion.

I am grateful to Minotaur Books for having provided a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. Their generosity, however, has not influenced this review - the words of which are mine alone.

Publisher: Minotaur Books
Publication date: October 28, 2025
Number of Pages: 320
ISBN: 978-1250326300 show less

I received an advance copy via NetGalley.

Six Feet Deep Dish is a strong start for a fun cozy mystery series featuring Delilah O'Leary, a pizza chef opening a brand new restaurant in Geneva Bay, Wisconsin. The gear up to the grand opening is marred by a suspicious death--that of her elderly aunt's caregiver. Suspicion swirls around her aunt--the killing is done by her gun, and she's been weirdly addled of late--to other workers at the restaurant. The mystery has a very modern feel done in a show more cozy way. Current technology has a role, as do modern modes of crime, but everything is explained in easy-going form to make this approachable to mystery readers of all ages.

I wasn't too sure what to make of the first few chapters. Delilah is very much a type-A personality and when stressed, she is not at her nicest, but I soon came to know and appreciate her, and I loved the ensemble cast from her techie hipster fiancé to the hefty resident feline. Plus, it's a very smart mystery with a savvy cast and delightful twists and turns. Having read a few mysteries recently where the leads are more clumsy than clever, it was a joy to live vicariously through an amateur sleuth who was realistically competent. Oh yes, and there's a slight romantic subplot with great chemistry that is bound to bake into something more in future books. show less