A fun, interesting book. I liked the mystery and did not guess the ending!! The characters were fully fleshed out and likable. The plot was amusing and kept me involved the entire time. I could not put this book down. I highly enjoyed this series and looked forward to this book. I recommend this series.

*Thank you @netgalley and @stmartinspress for the copy of this book*

Pizzeria owner Delilah has her eyes set on winning the top prize at the local annual food festival. Alongside her crew, consisting of a spunky cat, her best friend, and crabby aunt, she is hard at work coming up with a new menu item that will impress the judges. Her biggest competition is the new juice bar owner, Jordan Watts, who also happens to be her ex-fiance's new girlfriend. When a customer appears to be poisoned at the juice bar, the whole town is shaken up. Delilah can't stay away from the investigation and discovers some unsettling details. The race is on to discovery the culprit and prevent another causality and any disruption to the town festivities.

Although this is the second book in the series, I was easily able to pick up this book without having read the first one. One of my favorite aspects about cozy mysteries are the characters - and this story had so many interesting characters, including the cute mischievous kitty. The twists were predictable but fun. My only issue was the hint of a romance that never really materialized - that would have put this book over the top for me.

After reading the first book in the Deep Dish series, I was so excited to have a chance to read the second installment. And I was rewarded with a great story! The same characters are back … Delilah and as the book details describe, her cantankerous great aunt, her BFF, and of course, her overweight cat, Butterball. You also meet some new individuals which leads to a rocky start. There are lots of twists and turns and you will stay invested in the story until the end. I enjoy the humor and the slight tension between Delilah and Detective Calvine Capone. This is a great cozy mystery series and I look forward to the next adventure in Geneva Bay, Wisconsin.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for my advanced review copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

For more reviews, please visit my blog at: https://www.msladybugsbookreviews.com/. Over 1000 reviews posted!

Newly single pizzeria owner Delilah O’Leary is determined to keep her restaurant afloat. But living in the picturesque resort town of Geneva Bay, Wisconsin, is expensive. She decides to try and win the hefty cash prize during the town’s annual “Taste of Wisconsin” culinary contest. She can't quite get the recipe right, though. So, she calls on her colleagues for help. But when she witnesses a murder at the local juice bar, she begins to question everyone. No one may be safe. And she might lose her business, too. What will Delilah have to do to survive?
I enjoyed this cozy mystery. The pizzas sound amazing! And the recipes at the end are a nice bonus.
The storyline was a little predictable. But the author included enough red herrings to keep it interesting.
I also really liked the variety of characters. They're not all cookie-cutter but have unique backgrounds, hobbies, interests, talents, and accents.
I would definitely read more books by this author and the rest of the books in this series.

"Ashes to Ashes, Crust to Crust" by Mindy Quigley is a cozy mystery that takes readers on a culinary adventure in the charming resort town of Geneva Bay, Wisconsin. Delilah O'Leary, the newly single pizzeria owner, is a relatable and determined protagonist. With her sassy cat Butterball, wisecracking BFF, and cantankerous great-aunt by her side, Delilah sets her sights on winning a culinary contest to save her struggling restaurant.

Mindy Quigley's storytelling shines when it comes to creating a vivid small-town setting filled with quirky characters. The concept of a culinary contest adds a fun and engaging element to the plot, and the Pretzel Crust Deep-Dish Bratwurst Pizza recipe is a unique and mouthwatering touch.

A great follow up to the first Deep Dish Mystery (though it can be read as a standalone easily!).

Plot

In Ashes to Ashes, Crust to Crust, Delilah is working hard to keep her pizzeria in Geneva Bay afloat after she broke up with her fiancé (and the financier of the restaurant) Sam a few months prior. The end-of-summer Taste of Wisconsin festival is the perfect way to bring in some loyal customers, particularly among locals who will hopefully frequent the restaurant all winter long.

Delilah is working hard to perfect her recipe, which is a play on local Wisconsin culinary delights—bratwurst, cheddar, and pretzel crust. Her best friend and co-owner is getting a bit tired of tasting each new version of the pizza, but both are determined to show up the contest. Winning would get her publicity she needs, but the cash prize wouldn’t hurt when it comes to financing payroll!

Meanwhile her ex, Sam, has found a new love interest Jordan, the owner of a healthy juice bar in town. Jordan is also entering the contest. Meanwhile, Sam and Delilah are still working out how to best share custody of Butterball, the cat they both love. But while Delilah tries to perfect her recipe, she notices her aunt Biz seems more unhappy than usual. Why is she pushing Delilah away?

Delilah barely has time to worry about that because someone gets poisoned at the juice bar by a tainted smoothie, and someone close to Delilah’s crew is the prime suspect. Accusations fly, suspects are everywhere, and Delilah needs to get to the bottom of it all before another person gets murdered!

Reflection

I loved the first book in the series, but I actually thought this one was even better. Delilah is settling into her new life, single, owning a business, caring for her aunt, and trying to work out how to grow from the end of her relationship. The staff of her pizzeria is a bit less prominent in this book, and while I missed them, I was glad to spend more time with Delilah and seeing her grow as a character.

The first book spent a lot of time establishing the fictional town and dynamics among the central characters. This allowed the second book the breathing room to lean more heavily into the mystery. We were introduced to a few new characters, and the setting with the Tase of Wisconsin coming up and the celebrity judge (who happened to have an unpleasant history with Sonya) was a lot of fun.

The juxtaposition between Delilah and her cheesy, meaty, buttery deep dish fare with Jordan’s green smoothie empire was really interesting. Delilah handles the new love interest for Sam like a champ, doing her best to support her business (and try to like kale juice) and also respect their relationship. All of this is reflected in Butterball, who despite Sam’s diet plan (and Delilah attempting to follow it), doesn’t seem to be helping Butterball at all. In fact, he’s still packing on the pounds and is grumpier than usual!

The mystery had lots of twists and turns and stayed light and breezy. Quigley adds her signature humor throughout and I found myself laughing along with the characters multiple times. We definitely had some good red herrings. I’ve been enjoying the small bits of mafia tie-ins throughout the series. It’s a nice callback to Chicago history (and maybe current events…). I wasn’t sure who the culprit would be, and I liked that finding out the motive helped everything snap into place. I also really enjoy the dynamic between Detective Capone and Delilah. It isn’t over the top, or unrealistic. It never overshadows the main mystery, it compliments it.

With a dash of mafia activity, an unhappy cat on a diet, and some interesting storylines around Delilah’s aunt Biz and her evolving post-break-up relationship with Sam—this book had my heart! I also loved seeing how Delilah and her best friend and employee Sonya worked together and came up with their recipe for the festival.

A must-read culinary cozy mystery!

Thanks to St Martin’s Press for my copy. Opinions are my own.

It's time to head to Geneva Bay to visit with Delilah and friends as they getting ready for the "Taste of Wisconsin' competition. Just as Delilah is perfecting her pizza a snooty chef is murdered and Delilah has to find the killer before her restaurant partner, Sonya, is arrested. There is also the issue that Butterball, the cat, is gaining weight which is curious because he's on a special diet. And why is her Great Aunt in such a cranky mood. These characters are almost 'over-the-top' but they are still likable. I look forward to reading the next one in the series.

I'm really enjoying this series and am excited to see where things will go for Delilah in the next book. Butterball was amazing too, such an adorable cat!

My suspicion about who the killer was bounced around throughout the book but the author stumped me again. I was surprised at the reveal!

I'm looking forward to reading the next book in this series.

The story is a pretty basic cozy mystery, but Quigley's excellent handling of her characters and a couple of fun little twists make it stand out.
Delilah O’Leary is happy with her restaurant but worried that they won't survive after tourist season ends, there's also the stress of crafting a winning entry for the town’s annual “Taste of Wisconsin” culinary contest, and her aunt Biz is acting strange. If that weren't enough, her best friend's archenemy is going to judge the contest and someone just died in her ex's new girlfriend's restaurant. Geneva Bay might be a picturesque resort town, but there's always something happening for full-time chef, part-time detective Delilah to get in trouble.
It's a fun story with lots of things going on to keep it moving at a great pace. Quigley throws one thing after another into the plot but it somehow never feels rushed or like things got dropped, every single thread gets tied up at the end in very satisfactory ways.

Happy thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Paperbacks for the entertaining read!

I love this series! :) It's so fun!!!
I am rooting for Delilah and Son all the way! But my favorite character is Butterball. :)
Absolutely can't wait to read more from Mindy Quigley!

In the picturesque resort town of Geneva Bay, Wisconsin newly single pizza Erica owner Delilah O’Leary is determined to keep her restaurant in business. As she sets her sights on winning the hefty cash prize in the town’s annual “ Taste of Wisconsin” culinary contest. While Delilah and her team focus on pumping out the best pizza pies her ex-fiancé has cozied up to a new squeeze juice bar owner Jordan Watts Delilah’s contest rival. When a juice bar customer is poisoned by a tainted smoothie Delilah lands deep in the sauce. Accusations fly, suspects mount up and a menacing stranger turns up with a beef over some missing dough. Delilah must act quickly before another one bites the crust. Fun story at the fair characters are great. Recommend to all.

“ashes to ashes, crust to crust” is the second novel in the “deep dish mystery” series. i read its prequel, “six feet deep dish” when it was first published and one thing i remember was the characters. delilah and sonya make the best partners and their creativity makes pizzas that sound mouthwatering but rabbit is my favorite of the crew! even though he’s a side character, he’s always looking out for his team and his appreciation from getting a second chance from delilah shows in his work! not only was rabbit part of this novel, we also are introduced to new employees, like jarka. on the flip side, even though i know delilah’s ex, sam, plays a role in her life, i still don’t care for him as much … and his new girlfriend for that matter! i also think delilah and sam’s shared custody of butterball took over some of the chapters.

the premise behind this installment was very enticing! people were going down left and right; when you think things couldn’t get any worse, sonya’s ex appears followed shortly after by his fiancee (who had a fling with sonya!). i thought each of these obstacles played a part in allowing delilah to investigate and narrow down her suspects and i was happy how everything turned out in the end. i was initially drawn toward reading this book because the back advertised it as the “taste of wisconsin” contest gone-wrong. to me, the contest took the back seat while delilah was investigating the townspeople and it was really only mentioned in the first and last chapters.

I love the title and the cover of this book!!

I don't typically read cozy mysteries but I really enjoyed this one. The writing is great and so are the characters.

This is the second book in the series (didn't realize that) but I didn't feel lost in the story.

This was a fun, quick read. Love the characters and the cat!

Thank you St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the eARC of Ashes to Ashes, Crust to Crust! All opinions in this review are my own.

This is the second book in the Deep Dish Mystery series. Despite not reading the first one, Six Feet Deep Dish, I did not feel lost at the beginning of the sequel and it was easy to get to know all of the characters. I always enjoy a good cozy mystery with a cat as a prominent character and Butterball did not disappoint!

The mystery itself was more complex than I would have originally thought. It was a great twist at the end to realize that things may not come together as neatly as you would assume!

My only complaint about this book was that I was craving pizza the entire time I was reading it!

Thank you to Sara H. from St Martin's Paperbacks for inviting me to pick up this sequel on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review!

I gave this second book in the Deep Dish Mysteries series a higher rating than the first one, mostly because the characters grew on me and because I was originally confused about the cozy mystery genre, but have since learned that the nosy busy-body helping solve the case alongside the cops is pretty typical for the genre.

Delilah is having a time trying to figure out how to keep her restaurant going after her breakup with her ex-fiancé, tech app mogul, yoga loving hipster, Sam. He was the one funding her dream of the restaurant and she doesn't want to continue to ask for his help since he's no longer obligated to.

There's a contest for the "Taste of Wisconsin" that is coming up soon that will help her have a nice little reprieve over worrying about expenses, but Delilah is stuck on what would make her pizza stand out. She comes up to a large hurdle in the form of a famous chef as the judge of the contest--whom she and her bestie, Sonya, have a history with. A... not very good history.

While visiting Sam's new girlfriend's juice bar, Delilah witnesses a customer choking and then turning up dead. How terrifying! Then, Delilah finds an ominous note on the counter that points to the death being a murder... Who would do such a thing? Was the customer the hit or was the smoothie of death for someone else?

I will say again that wasn't solid on who the murderer was until close to the very end, which was fun. Butterball still holds my heart captive, but other characters did start to become more enjoyable. I do wish that Delilah spent a little less time making comments on her body. I don't remember the self-deprecation being as prevalent in the first book, but she's also going through more personal stuff, so maybe that was to help emphasize it.

I also enjoyed the sort of found family that Delilah folds into the restaurant's goings-on. The characters that were introduced in the first book start to flourish in their personalities without overcrowding other characters.

I may have to look into the future of this series and keep up!

I enjoyed this cozy mystery so much! A small town setting with some unexpected murders and not to mention PIZZA!!!

When Delilah witnesses a death at the new local juice bar owned by her ex Sam’s new girlfriend, Delilah knows something isn’t quite right. Then when the head celebrity judge of the Taste of Wisconsin competition is found dead Delilah is determined to get to the bottom of things, especially perfecting her new bratwurst pizza recipe.

This is such a fun new series, perfect to transport the reader for the day!

I am enjoying the Deep Dish mystery series. "Ashes to Ashes, Crust to Crust," was a good follow up to the first in the series, "Six Feet Deep Dish." Fans of the cozy mystery genre will enjoy Delilah O'Leary and her small-town Wisconsin pizzeria crew.

Once again Delilah, her friends, and her restaurant find themselves in the middle of crimes being committed in town. This time there is a poisoning in a new juice bar in town. Delilah just happens to be there dropping off her cat, Butterball, to her ex Sam. She sees the whole thing and gets involved a little over her head. When the murders and crimes start adding up, it seems like no one is safe. Delilah just wants to perfect her recipe for the Taste of Wisconsin festival happening at the end of the summer. If she can win, her restaurant can stay open throughout the winter without her having to let anyone go. When everything comes to a head during the festival, Delilah tries to help stop the bad guy. These are fun, mysteries that are quick to read. With likable characters, a cat, and food involved, you can’t go wrong!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy. All opinions are my own.

Ashes to Ashes, Crust to Crust was a great follow-up in Mindy Quigley’s Deep Dish Mysteries series. Who doesn’t love a good cozy mystery and this one does not disappoint. Love the small town vibe, especially being from Wisconsin myself. The mystery had me intrigued and I didn’t guess all the pieces until the reveal. The characters have me hooked and I look forward to the next book in the series!

This was a great whodunit and it really made me hungry for pizzaI I love the characters, especially Aunt Biz, and i enjoyed the new ones introduced to the series.
Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.