Public Anchovy #1

Delilah and the crew from her restaurant, the upscale pizzeria Delilah & Son (Son is short for Sonya, Delilah’s best friend and sous chef), are at Bluff Point, an opulent, old mansion on Wisconsin’s Geneva Bay. They’re catering the Friends of the Library’s fundraising gala—an opportunity to show off their skills and bolster the declining winter business—and the menu does look fantastic. Too bad that the guests hardly get to sample anything more than the appetizers when Edgar Clemmons, outgoing board chair—and quite bitter about his departure—falls down the staircase, landing at the bottom like a broken marionette. Murder or accident? It’s hard to say, since Edgar shared a number of vague secrets with several people before he took his tumble. The man’s demise sends many scurrying home, although a powerful storm has moved in—downed trees, exposed power lines—prohibiting law enforcement from reaching Bluff Point and keeping a dozen or so attendees, including Delilah and her staff, in the mansion for the night. Here the mystery morphs into a closed circle, with an assemblage that includes Delilah’s crush, police detective Calvin Capone; and Butterball, her cat, who takes on quite the active role in this title. As with the other books in the series, Quigley balances wonderful character development and plenty of low-key humor with the search for a killer. It’s hard to imagine a cozy fan who wouldn’t find this book to be a total delight.