Murder in the Upper Crust by Mindy Quigley Series: Deep Dish Mysteries #6
Published by Minotaur on October 27, 2026
Source: NetGalley
Genres: Cozy Mystery
Pages: 304
Format: eBook
Add on Goodreads
The sixth book in the delectable Deep Dish Mystery series, set in a Wisconsin pizzeria.
Chef Delilah O’Leary is going where no deep dish pizza chef has gone before: a swanky wellness retreat, where she's agreed to cater for a crowd of the who’s who. Instead of cashing a fat check for an easy gig, though, she encounters a diabolical plot with more layers than one of her signature pies.
The exclusive event, hosted by superstar guru Rhiannon Frost, promises inner transformation—but when a spiteful attendee turns up dead during the guided meditation, Delilah smells more than incense in the air. Every guest has a motive…and access to a sinister walled garden brimming with exotic poisonous plants.
With her restaurant short-staffed, and her boyfriend, Detective Calvin Capone, splitting his time between bartender duties and undercover sleuthing, Delilah’s got her hands full. Can she slice through the lies before the killer strikes again? Or will this luxe getaway turn into a one-way trip to the great beyond?
I love a good foodie cozy mystery and Delilah’s pizzas sound delicious. This time around, she has reluctantly agreed to cater a wellness retreat led by an overly demanding mindfulness influencer. When a guest is found dead in her zen tent, it’s up to Delilah and her usual crew to track down the killer.
There’s a new police chief in town and she was quirky, I guess. I like it when the police and our amateur sleuths can get along and both are competent, but the way the chief brough Delilah into the case and setting up Capone undercover as a bartender in a town where literally everyone knows him, even if the retreat attendees don’t, seemed odd.
The mystery itself was put together well. We had several suspicious people, and a couple of motives floating around. I felt like Delilah could have put together a few pieces quicker than she did. I also don’t love that her ex owns her house. Granted, her restaurant seems to barely makes ends meet and it is a nice house, but I wish she was a little less financially reliant on the ex, who is in town for this shindig, too, with his new girlfriend.
Overall, it’s a fun series. And always make me crave pizza.
About Mindy Quigley
Mindy Quigley is the author of two cozy mystery series: the Deep Dish Mysteries and the Mount Moriah Mysteries.
Her short stories have won awards, including the 2018 Artemis Journal/Lightbringer Prize. Her non-writing career has been stranger than fiction, taking her from the US to the UK, where she worked as the personal assistant to the scientist who cloned Dolly the sheep, and as project manager for a research clinic founded by the author J.K. Rowling.
She lives in Virginia with her Civil War history professor husband and their children.
Reading this book contributed to these challenges: