Sleep in Heavenly Pizza - A Review

 Review

SLEEP IN HEAVENLY PIZZA by Mindy Quigley
The Fourth Deep Dish Pizza Mystery

It's almost Christmas and in preparation for the slower business time that winter in Geneva Bay always brings Delilah O'Leary and her crew are catering a fancy Christmas/Hanukkah party. Everything appears to be going amazingly well, the hosts are pleasant and the guests are loving the food, but things go south quickly when the hosts' drunken daughter makes a scene. After the party things get more bizarre. Biz is on a holiday high ramping up the holiday spirit, Rabbit is acting squirrely, Melody is jealous, and Delilah is dealing with family anxiety. Add to that a body is found in the ice sculpting competition. Yes, in. It turns out the victim was at the party and now Delilah's nearest and dearest are suspects. Willing to be a sounding board for Detective Capone, but not afraid to take matters into her own hands, Delilah is determined to have the cold blooded crime solved before the Christmas feast begins and the final Hanukkah candle is lit. 

A wonderful cast of unique characters keeps things interesting in SLEEP IN HEAVENLY PIZZA. We get to meet the rest of Delilah's family and discover it's no wonder that the family she created is closer to her than her relations! It was also fascinating to see her behavior change when confronted with her sister. The mystery itself was confounding with so many secrets and the resulting red herrings. Personal issues are fastidiously layered, like the ingredients of Delilah's gourmet deep dish pizzas, within the mystery providing depth with nods to the holiday season artfully drizzled on top. I particularly liked how both Christmas and Hanukkah were represented.

Truth is at the heart of the fourth Deep Dish Pizza Mystery. The accurate way in which restaurant life is portrayed gives verisimilitude to the whole story, from the after work family meal to the camaraderie of the workers, as well as their own personal problems. Almost everyone is keeping secrets and the reveal, the truth, could be their undoing. In the end, truth does out, for better and for worse.

I absolutely love this series! From laugh out loud funny to heartrendingly touching SLEEP IN HEAVENLY PIZZA has it all. Don't forget to read the recipes included at the end for an extra treat.