This book had so many things I love:
✔️ Clue-style trapped in a house whodunnit
✔️ Deep dish pizza
✔️ The Midwest
✔️ Cats
✔️ Hint of romance
✔️ Comedy of errors

Would absolutely recommend if you’re looking for a fun little murder mystery!

Public Anchovy #1 starts off with the cat being the prime suspect in an unexpected death.

This was a fun, cozy, clue type setting to figure who done it. Throw in a small connection to Al Capone and you’ve got your self a great mystery.

Lots of recipes in this one and not just sweets which was a nice surprise.

I enjoyed the third in the Deep Dish Mystery series by Mindy Quigley, Public Anchovy #1, the most so far — because it involved a mixed group of people, some unpleasant, trapped in a mansion overnight. That’s a genre trope that makes it easy to combine drama and mystery and suspense, and the result is a page-turner.

Delilah and crew have been hired to cater a fundraising party for the library at a fancy vacation home. The “fun” starts when she’s asked to come up with a pizza for someone who doesn’t eat gluten, dairy, or tomatoes. I liked this mini-mystery as an appetizer, wondering how do you make pizza without wheat, cheese, or tomato sauce.

A storm locks all the key characters in the mansion with the power out for a nerve-wracking night. Delilah and the local detective, Calvin Capone, try to keep their friends from getting killed while puzzling out why a copy of The Maltese Falcon is a clue and who offed the troublemaker. I couldn’t resist gobbling it all up in one sitting.

Delilah O’Leary, owner of Delilah and Son (which I’m assuming refers to her BBF, Sonya) is catering a Prohibition-themed Friends of the Library fundraiser. This is an important event for her as a lot of wealthy residents will be in attendance who hopefully will use her catering services over the winter during the off-season to provide some much needed income.

She’s heading out to the event when she gets a call from the customer; can she make one more special pie? One free from gluten, diary, and nightshades (aka - tomatoes)? Delilah reluctantly agrees, even though it puts her behind schedule. She’s got to swing by her house, pick up supplies (gluten free flour, her stand mixer, etc). There’s already a lot of tension in the air when she arrives at the site of the event, a restored mansion.

Then things get even worse: as the appetizers are served, one of the Library board members is killed falling down the stairs (possibly at the paw of a cat) and a storm hits. With the party mood destroyed, most of the sixty or so guests are able to leave, but trees downed in the storm trap Delilah and her friends, along with Detective Capone (whom Delilah has a crush on), his mum, and about a half-dozen other people related to the Library board. It quickly becomes evident that the ‘accident’ wasn’t really an accident when there’s another killing and an attempt to kill someone else. With no power (because of the storm) and no way to leave, it becomes a struggle just to survive the night.

This was a fun little book. The Prohibition theme was fun with the ties to Chicago style pizza and the fact the police detective is dependent of Al Capone. I loved the setting, the feeling of being isolated with a killer and no power (and thus no phones as everyone’s battery soon hit zero!) - very Christie-esque. The isolation also gave the detective a good reason to work with Delilah as she is one of the few people there he can trust. It also meant that she could see another side of him as he tried to control his emotions, trying to maintain that professional veneer. Even the last minute change in menu felt well thought out as it meant that there was a stow away hiding in the stand mixer box.

This was the third book in the series, but works well as a standalone. I haven’t read the previous books and was able to follow the plot and characters.

Highly recommended! I plan to pick up earlier books in the series.

I received a copy of this from NetGalley.com that I voluntarily chose to review.

Delilah and her sous chef Sonia managed to get themselves in a tricky situation again.
A promising catering job turns up with a dead body when a guest falls down the stairs.
A storm resulted in guests and Delilah with her team to be stuck in the mansion. Of course, the wealthy guests insist on better sleep arrangements than the hired help. A second murder happens, and everybody becomes a suspect. Hard to trust anybody but yourself. After we find Sonia has been drugged the only choice becomes to keep themselves locked up in one of the bedrooms to keep safe. Of course, Delilah can’t stop herself from trying to snoop around trying to solve the mystery. After all her cat has been accused of tripping the man that fell down the stairs. This is a quick a fun read, perfect for relaxing during this winter season or any other time.

If you like cozy mysteries, you’ll love Mindy Quigley’s Public Anchovy #1. The book is the third in a series featuring Delilah, who owns an upscale pizzeria in Geneva Bay, Wisconsin, and her best friend and sous chef Sonya. While helpful, you don’t need to have read the prior books in the series to enjoy this one. Delilah and Sonya are quirky amateur detectives, who are not only very funny, but who are also outspoken, wise-cracking independent women, which is not always the case in the cozy mystery genre. Public Anchovy #1 is my favorite book in the series, as it is essentially a locked room manor house mystery. Delilah & Son is catering a 1920’s Speakeasy Soirée for rich patrons in a lakeshore mansion in order to raise money for the library. All hell breaks loose during the cocktail hour when the former chair of the library board falls down the stairs and dies. A surprise snowstorm kills the power and keeps the crime scene team from arriving until the next morning, leaving material witnesses like Delilah, Sonya, and Detective Capone trapped in the mansion with the suspects. The mystery is very action-packed and also very solvable. 4.5 out of 5.0 stars. Highly recommended.

Delilah and company are back at it again, hosting a pizza gala fundraiser for the library, and, once again, things go seriously wrong. There are a couple of murders, a host of potential murderers and plenty of potential villains, a cute, roaring twenties party theme, Capone's mom, the lounge singer, the illustrious Detective Capone and the usual restaurant crew from Delilah and Son so there's plenty of familiar characters to keep you entertained and a mystery that really did keep me guessing through until almost the end.
I loved the story, got to like the restaurant characters even better and was completely charmed with the all the 20's gangster atmosphere and references.
If you like murder mysteries that aren't too bloody or violent, this is a great one for you.

While Geneva Bay’s upper crust gets ready to party down at a Prohibition-themed fundraiser, pizza chef Delilah O’Leary is focused on seeing her struggling restaurant through the winter slow season. The temperature outside is plummeting, but Delilah’s love life might finally be heating up, as hunky police detective Calvin Capone seems poised to (finally) make a move. But Delilah’s hopes of perfecting a new “free-from” pizza recipe for a charity bash are dashed when a dead body crashes the party. Soon, Capone, Delilah, and her entire staff are trapped in an isolated mansion and embroiled in a dangerous game of cat and mouse. To catch an increasingly-desperate killer, Delilah will have to top all of her previous crime-solving accomplishments, and a few pizzas, too.

I had high hopes for this book. I enjoy a cozy mystery with a cooking theme, and love reading (and salivating over) the recipes in those sort of books. This was the first book I have ever read by this author, so I don't know if it was the writing style, or the fact that I didn't particularly care for any of the characters, therefore I had a hard time getting invested in their storyline, which took away from my enjoyment of the book. Other people seem to really like this one, so I think this is just a "me" issue, so take it with a grain of salt. If you enjoy cozy cooking mysteries, don't let my review deter you from checking it out.

When pizza chef Delilah enters the winter season in Wisconsin, she's looking to rely on catering gids for extra income as the tourist rate plummets. She hopes a gig catering a high-society prohibition-themed library fundraiser at a tech billionaire's remote mansion will get her foot in the door. But when one guests drops dead and a small group of guests and staff are trapped in the mansion due to a storm, it doesn't look like any publicity from the event will be good.

I really, really enjoyed this novel! Locked room mysteries are some of my favorite kind, and they can be challenging to do in cozy mystery series that are typically set in a small town business. This book solved that problem perfectly, placing all of our favorite characters in a new but plausible setting and unleashing a murderer. I suspected the killer from very early on, but couldn't quite figure out certain aspects of the crime until the very end. All in all, an excellent cozy in what is becoming one of my favorite cozy series.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press for my eARC and finished copy! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

5 stars - 9/10

We are back in Geneva Bay, Wisconsin with the third book in the Deep Dish Mysteries series. Delilah and her sous chef Sonya are doing a catering event for a fundraiser for the local library. Things are not right from the beginning and one of the problems was a guest would be there that needed a pizza that was gluten free, no shade vegetables to be used and vegan. Delilah normally tested her recipes before serving but no time for this recipe.

As the event started there was a man that fell down the stairs and died. Then another death happens and a storms comes in so several guests were stuck at this mansion. Through out this night Lola who is detective Calvin Capone’s mom and a singer even is a suspect and Butterball who is Delilah’s cat plus several others. Lights go out and so many suspects but can Delilah and detective Capone get to the bottom of these murders.

I received this ARC for free from Netgalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This is my first book in this series and it was really good! I enjoyed the mystery a lot. I was able to easily follow the plot and had tons of fun with the characters. I really like that it is a “locked room” sort of mystery and the author gave clues throughout to help you solve it. I highly recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley, St Martin’s Press, St Martin’s paperbacks, and Mindy Quigley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book. All opinions are my own.

There is no better way than to spend time reading a cozy mystery that hits all the rights things. The mystery is one that kept me guessing and made me ready for the next book in the series!
The location of Geneva Bay Wisconsin and the great characters all fit together perfectly. Delilah and her staff are going to cater a Prohibition- theme fundraiser for the local library. To have the former chair , Edgar Clemmons come tumbling down the stairs to his untimely death brings the group in to solve this death- is it a murder or an accident.
You will enjoy this mystery book that is well written by Mindy Quigley. This is a series you should grab for a way to fill the long winter days ahead.
Thank you NetGalley, Mindy Quigley and St. Martin's Press, for the ARC of
Public Anchovy #1. This is my personal review.

Public Anchovy #1 is a fast-paced cozy mystery that is third in the Deep Dish Mysteries series though it can be read as a standalone.

Delilah and her restaurant crew are catering a party when they and a handful of guests become trapped overnight by a storm, turning the story into a locked room mystery. The series features an engaging set of characters along with Delilah's cat Butterball.

If you like cozy mysteries ,especially ones featuring delicious food, give this one a try. Thank you to the publisher for my e-copy of this book.

Dollycas's Thoughts

Winter in Wisconsin can be very pretty but it's cold so Delilah has to add catering to her repertoire to keep her restaurant in the black. She and her staff have been hired to cater a Prohibition-themed fundraiser for the library at Bluff Point, one of Geneva Bay, Wisconsin's "most opulent private residences". At the last minute, one of the guests has requested a “free-from” pizza without gluten, dairy, or nightshade plants causing Delilah to send her staff ahead to the venue while she went home to gather everything she needed to fulfill the request. She unknowingly brings back a surprise guest.

Before the food is served and after a little entertainment, Edgar Clemmons, former chair of the library board, tumbles down the stairs to his death. Some of the guests leave as the snow continues to fall but before Delilah, her crew, and several other guests can leave they learn that they are trapped until plows can clear up higher-priority roads and highways. It also means EMS can't get there to remove Edgar's body.

Was Edgar's death an accident or was he murdered? Are Delilah, Capone, her staff, and others in the company of a killer? When the apparent murder weapon is found in an unusual place and the head librarian is killed Capone and Delilah get in high gear to isolate the killer before anyone else dies.

_____

I was so happy to return to Geneva Bay and the great characters Ms. Quigley has created. At the start of the story, Delilah was lamenting mostly in her own head about her relationship with Calvin Capone going nowhere because he never called. Well spending time trapped in a mansion with the killer on the loose sure changed that. Capone's mother was introduced and played a larger role than I had expected. Aunt Biz is dealing with a huge change in her life and not handling it well. Sonya finds herself fainting at one point and in danger at another but she is still there for Delilah as she tries to piece all the clues together. Each of Delilah's staff has their own talents and interesting backstories. We continue to learn more about them in this book. Ms. Quigley's characters are multidimensional and continue to grow as the series continues.

The setting at Bluff Point was fantastic. It had so many unique rooms, alcoves, stairways, an observation tower, and a dumb waiter. It was right on the water too with a dock and a good size boat. It was a character all on its own. The author did an excellent job describing everything. I easily visualized all the places and happenings.

The mystery was very well-plotted with a plethora of twists and turns. Edgar Clemmons had a mission when he arrived at the party and that got him killed. The fundraiser was for the library so it was apropos that some books provided some major drama and clues. I enjoyed the way Delilah and Capone worked together, not only to solve the murders but to keep everyone safe. Yes, Delilah went a little rogue a couple of times but I would have been disappointed if she hadn't. Her A-ha moment was priceless. But it was an unexpected person that set the showdown in motion and what a showdown it was!

I love that this series is set in my home state and while Geneva Bay is fictional I have a very good idea of the city it is based on. There is even a mansion there similar to Bluff Point. Ms. Quigley draws from Wisconsin history, especially regarding the Capones, Calvin's relatives. I find myself looking for little references that give me a warm feeling of home. I also love Chicago Deep Dish Pizza and appreciate the recipes included in the book. This time they include an Italian Beef Crostini and Delilah's Free-from-Pizza Deep Dish Pizza recipe for those looking for vegan, or gluten-free or dairy-free pizza but not one I will be trying. I need my meat and cheese, no anchovies, please.

Public Anchovy #1 was A Perfect Escape for me. Engaging characters, a terrific mystery, and a very intriguing setting kept me entertained until the final word. I can't wait until Ms. Quigley serves up another huge slice of the next Deep Dish Mystery.

Public Anchovy #1 is the third Deep Dish mystery set in Geneva Bay, Wisconsin. This town sounds like a fun place to visit. I wonder if there really is a deep dish pizza place in the vicinity of Lake Geneva?
Delilah and Sonya are catering a library board fundraiser at one of the historic mansions in Geneva Bay. Delilah is thrown off by a last minute request for "free-from" pizza for one of the attendees.
Then a man dies and a storm moves in and the situation turns into almost a locked room mystery, because some of the main people are stranded at the mansion due to the storm.
The majority of the story takes place over the course of 24 hours.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading Public Anchovy #1. It is well-written and fun.
Thanks to the publisher St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read this book.

A great 3rd book in the series that I keep coming back to. It's a little more mystery than cozy so is great for the thriller crowd too. All of the pizzas really did make me hungry for more. When is the next book?

What an enjoyable read. The perfect little cozy mystery including an intriguing house, cats, and recipes. Looking forward to the next book in this series.

The third book in this series i really enjoy this series.Food a mystery perfect for me.Can read s a standalone looking forward to more in the series.#netgalley #st.martins.

Public Anchovy #1 is the third book in the Deep Dish Mystery series. I haven't read the first two books in the series, but I didn't have any trouble figuring out the characters. There didn't seem to be any references to previous cases either. If I didn't know it was book 3, I would have thought it was book 1.

If you like dark and stormy-set murder mysteries, then you definitely need to read this book. I wasn't sure if this was going to be a locked room mystery as many of the guests leave after the man falls to his death, but a raging storm traps a few of the characters at the isolated mansion where the library fundraiser is being held.

I really enjoyed the mystery. The budding romance between Delilah and Calvin not so much. If I wanted a romance I would read a romance novel, not a cozy mystery. The characters, though, are likable. They are just quirky enough to make the novel fun.

There is a book mentioned in this story that came up during one of my book club meetings recently. And because I was familiar with the plot, I did figure out portions of the mystery before the characters. But it was still a great read.

If you are looking for a fun mystery, grab a cozy blanket, a warm beverage, and this novel.

My review will be published at Girl Who Reads on Saturday - https://www.girl-who-reads.com/2023/12/public-anchovy-1-by-mindy-quigley-review.html

A twist on the locked room mystery, Delilah and her crew end up stuck in a remote mansion with a bunch of rich party guests, her crush, Detective Capone and his mother, a dead body, and her crazy cat, Butterball. When more attacks happen, everyone becomes a suspect. Adding to the tension is the mistrust and attitudes of the wealthy towards the common folk.

There’s plenty of food and humor and the mystery kept me guessing. I figured out what the motive could be, but not who was the culprit. The setting also added to the mysteriousness, especially after a rainstorm knocks out the power, and everyone is creeping around in the dark and shadows.

What I also like about this series is that the side characters get their own stories instead of being relegated to the background. This time, the reader gets to learn more about the mysterious Jarka and I love her even more.