Who Made Their Enemy Sleep with the Fishes?
People trapped in a remote location with a killer used to be a trope of the mystery genre, but it’s not something I see as often these days. Author Mindy Quigley used it in Public Anchovy #1, the third in her Deep Dish Mysteries, and she pulled it off well.
It’s October in Geneva Bay, Wisconsin, and Delilah O’Leary is thrilled she’s been hired to cater the library fundraiser. It’s these events that will be important to helping her pizza restaurant survive the slower season. She’s working on making everything perfect, even given the curveball of a last-minute request to create a “free-from” recipe for a guest who has allergies to most traditional pizza ingredients.
The event is being held at a mansion outside of town, and the first winter storm of the year is on its way. Still, Delilah and her staff arrive and begin getting ready to wow everyone. Until the evening ends early with an unfortunate death. When the storm blows right after, some of the guests get trapped in the mansion. As the night goes on, it appears that the death was really a murder. Can Delilah figure out what happened? Or will she even survive the night?
Honestly, I was a little worried that the book would drag given the compressed time frame for the story. That wasn’t the case at all. We get some great setup before the murder happens, and I was honestly a little unsure who the victim might even be given some of what was going on. When the characters were debating on whether the death was a tragic accident or murder, that felt like a plot point that was earned as well, especially since it didn’t drag on too long. We get enough twists, revelations, and complications that the pace never nagged. The climax was completely logical and play out perfectly.
I was also impressed with how the author got the majority of the series regulars to the house in a logical way. Okay, so most of them are Delilah’s staff, but we also have Detective Calvin Capone on hand in a way that felt natural, so the police are on hand in some fashion as the events unfold. About the only one reduced to a cameo is Delilah’s aunt. We still get updates on some of the series storylines, which is nice. And the suspects become strong characters as we go along.
Given the way the story unfolds, we don’t get quite as much talk of food as in the first couple of books in the series. It makes sense given the compressed timeframe of the story. There are still a couple of scenes that will make you crave pizza, however. The recipes at the end focus on the free-from pizza, but we do get a few others you’ll want to check out.
I do also want to mention the atmosphere of the story. As I was reading, I felt like I was stuck in the mansion with a storm raging outside. It truly was well done.
Public Anchovy #1 is my favorite entry in the series so far. It’s a strong book that will especially pull in fans of culinary cozies.
Grab a slice of murder with the rest of the Deep Dish Mysteries.
This was a fun one (though I did have some questions on just how Butterball made his appearance!) and I really liked meeting all the characters. I need to go back and read the first two books in the series.
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