Ashes to Ashes, Crust to Crust

Ashes to Ashes, Crust to Crust by Mindy Quigley takes us back to Geneva Bay, Wisconsin. Delilah O'Leary is working on coming up with a unique pizza recipe for Geneva Bay's annual Taste of Wisconsin. Delilah needs the prize money to help keep her restaurant afloat since her ex-fiancé who financed the restaurant withdrew his support. Unfortunately, the head judge for the contest is no fan of Delilah's best friend and sous chef, Sonya. Delilah's ex-fiancé, Sam has cozied up to juice bar owner Jordan Watt who happens to be Delilah's rival in the contest. A juice bar customer becomes ill, and the culprit is a tainted smoothie. Blame is laid at Delilah's door. When the celebrity judge ends up dead, it does not look good for the pizza ladies. Ashes to Ashes, Crust to Crust is the second book in A Deep Dish Mysteries. It picks up where Six Feet Deep Dish left off. It can be read as a standalone for those new to the series. I found the story easy to read. I enjoyed the vivid depictions of Geneva Bay. It sounds like a cozy lakeside town. I am not a fan of Delilah. I wish the story was not told from her point of view. I did not enjoy the frequent mentions of her figure (body shaming is not appreciated) nor of her cat's, Butterball (the name suits the cat). The mystery was okay. It is one that can easily be solved. The key to the plot will have you rolling your eyes (I do not want to say too much and spoil it for you). It is something that could never happen in real life. The storyline with Aunt Biz was unnecessary. It was ill conceived and went against the aunt's knowledge and experience. The resolution is another eye roller. I enjoyed the delectable pizza descriptions. There are recipes at the end of the book. While Ashes to Ashes, Crust to Crust was not for me, I suggest you read a sample to judge for yourself. Ashes to Ashes, Crust to Crust is a tasty tale with a critical contest, a prejudiced judge, pretzel crust pizza, a pecuniary problem, a sullied smoothie, and a chubby cat.