A Frozen Valentine’s Day
I’ve always enjoyed reading series set in resort communities, either real or fictional. I enjoy getting to take virtual vacations when a book is set during popular times, but I also enjoy it when those series set books in the quieter seasons. That’s what we get with At Death’s Dough, the fifth Deep Dish Mystery from Mindy Quigley.
These books are set in Geneva Bay, Wisconsin, and focus on Delilah O’Leary, who owns a deep dish, gourmet pizza restaurant. You’d think that would keep her out of trouble, but she still finds ways to get involved in danger.
It’s the beginning of February, and Delilah is finding the quiet season is quieter than she planned on. She’s hoping for a full restaurant on Valentine’s Day to help carry her through to tourist season again. On one of the restaurant’s days closed, Delilah and her great aunt go out ice fishing, and they make an unexpected discovery - a dead body under the ice. The victim was dressed for scuba diving, but who would dive in the lake in the middle of the winter?
This book certainly has an intriguing premise, and I was quickly hooked. However, the book seemed to take more time than it needed to really get to the meat of the story. Yes, the story was setting up suspects, but it wasn’t obvious how everything was going to tie into the main story early on, and I found myself frustrated by what appeared to be random characters, wishing things would move forward.
Also, we got a bit more details about the discovery of the body than I felt we needed, especially for a cozy. It was pushing the boundaries a bit.
Once the plot really kicked in, I did get caught up in the mystery. The suspects were good, and the plot took some fun twists. There was one aspect that was obvious early on, but I was still wondering how it would play into the overall story. The last quarter really ramped up with some page turning scenes. And the climax brought things to a logical conclusion.
The series has always had strong characters, and this book is no exception. I enjoyed getting to see Delilah’s staff again, and we got to spend a bit of time with a couple of them. What I really enjoyed was seeing her relationship with her boyfriend grow. Delilah herself is not a typical cozy heroine is some ways, and I also appreciated seeing how she is growing over the course of the series.
Of course, it wouldn’t be a culinary cozy without some recipes. There are a total of four here, and only one is a pizza recipe, so there is some variety.
At Death’s Dough will leave you with cravings for pizza and more of the series. If you are a fan of culinary cozies, this is a series not to be missed.
Grab another slice and the rest of the Deep Dish Mysteries.
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