The third Deep Dish Mystery invites us to a party in wintry Wisconsin. The pizzeria in historic Geneva Bay sustains itself through winter by catering classy events, and the proprietor Delilah O’Leary is justly proud of her staff. The title PUBLIC ANCHOVY #1 indicates more importance for anchovies than I spotted, but like Delilah, I was distracted by a last-minute urgent request for a special pizza. The chef has to leave organising to her friend Sonya Dokter, the other half of the Delilah and Son restaurant name, while she figures out a way to serve a deep dish that’s free of gluten, dairy and plants in the nightshade family, meaning tomatoes and peppers.

Among the guests is police detective Calvin Capone, a descendant of Al Capone and trying to live down the ill repute. The location, an isolated mansion at Bluff Point, has a lake dock, spacious grounds and many classy rooms. The catering squad swings into action, but before the fund-raising dinner for the local library is over, someone is dead. 

There’s a lot to like in this quirky tale. No doubt the woes and achievements of the caterers will ring true with many readers. Delilah admits that she spent more time learning her trade than reading, so some people with more reading expertise are on hand, the librarian Isabel Berney for one. Jarka Gagamova, one of the servers, is qualified as a doctor in Bulgaria but has to get her English skills up to scratch before being allowed to practice in the States. The young men servers are practical and from dodgy backgrounds, going straight. Delilah’s large feisty cat, Butterball, at first seems to be left behind at the restaurant, but much to my delight he puts in an unexpected appearance.

With a winter storm barrelling down across the lake, and trees down across the road, the mansion becomes a seriously scary place, as Delilah gradually realises that she and her friends are trapped, with a murder among the guests. The only issue I had was that when Delilah was saying Son, I always thought she was referring to a young man, and it wasn’t clear that she meant her friend Sonya. But this nickname has been established in earlier books so the author won’t be changing it now. 

Mindy Quigley provides recipes at the end of her murder mystery, including the infamous “free from” pizza, which sounds pretty good. PUBLIC ANCHOVY #1 is well worth a try for cosy mystery fans, with all the best ingredients and some spicy sauce.