Deep Dish Mysteries: Book 4
Publication Date: October 22, 2024
Sleep in Heavenly Pizza is the fourth book in Mindy Quigley’s delectable Deep Dish Mystery series, set in a Wisconsin pizzeria.
Pizza chef Delilah O’Leary and her kitty companion, Butterball, get into the holiday spirit as Geneva Bay, Wisconsin hosts the nation’s premier snow sculpting championship. The annual event transforms the charming resort town into a wonderland of snow castles, ice rinks, and cozy cups of cocoa.
On the eve of the festival though, a too-good-to-be-true Chrismukkah catering gig brings some frosty tidings and heralds an unexpected visit from Delilah’s high-intensity older sister. Suddenly it seems that the holidays may not be the hap-happiest season of all. And when one of the town’s snowy sculptures reveals a chilling surprise, murder threatens to put the celebrations—and Delilah’s crew—on ice for good.
After enjoying the first couple of books in Mindy Quigley’s Deep Dish Mystery series, I just had to pick up Sleep in Heavenly Pizza. And I am so glad I did.
This installment has been my favorite of the series. Sleep in Heavenly Pizza follows Delilah and her restaurant crew as they cater a Chrismukkah party. Everything is going great, and then, as the party starts to wind down, crap hits the fan. Then, the next day, a body turns up during a local festival event, and it appears to be tied to the party. Delilah just has to get involved in solving the mystery since some members of her staff and family seem to be suspects.
Let’s start with the characters. I’m enjoying how Delilah’s relationship with Detective Capone is developing. Earlier in the series, it felt more flirty, but now they’re actually in a relationship with all the ups and downs associated with it. Seeing as he’s the lead investigator in the mystery and Delilah keeps nosing around (not that he’s surprised about it), it just adds more flavor. And getting to know Capone more in this book was just a bonus.
The rest of the cast of characters continues to be varied and interesting. This book delved more into the history of a couple of the recurring characters, and it was nice to learn more about them. Then, new characters were introduced for the sake of the mystery, including some of Delilah’s family.
The actual mystery was well done and came completely out of left field for me. But it worked, and I was hooked, turning the pages to see how it all connected. I enjoyed how it played on some semi-recent news events, and I hadn’t seen this motive in a book before. The uniqueness of the plot was greatly appreciated and enhanced my reading experience.
Sleep in Heavenly Pizza was a great cozy mystery. A unique plot and wonderful character growth just keep me engaged and turning the pages. I highly recommend this book for fans of holiday stories or culinary mysteries.
Originally from Chicago, MINDY QUIGLEY possesses a naturally sophisticated pizza palate. Her desert island pizza choice would be Lou Malnati’s “Deep Dish Lou” or an Aurelio’s thin-crust with spinach, tomatoes, and black olives. She is the author of the Deep Dish Mysteries and the Lindsay Harding Mystery series. She lives in Virginia with her history professor husband and their two children.
