At Death's Dough

At Death's Dough is the 5th Deep Dish Mystery by Mindy Quigley. I love this series. It takes place in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin which is a resort town that I have visited and am familiar with. The pizzeria scenes make me hungry as pizza is my favorite food group. What's not to like? The book was published in October 2025.

The publisher's summary:  

It’s February in the ritzy lakeside resort town of Geneva Bay, Wisconsin, and love is in the air. Pizza chef Delilah O’Leary is gearing up to celebrate her first Valentine’s Day with hunky police detective Calvin Capone, great-grandson of the infamous Chicago mobster. But their romance is put on ice when a shocking discovery plunges them into a century-old crime with ties to Capone’s notorious forefather.

As old secrets surface, Delilah realizes that nearly everyone in town―from Capone’s cagey cousin to her own quirky customers―has something to hide. With the pressure mounting and the past closing in, Delilah must help Capone follow a trail of clues that could lead them to a priceless treasure... or into a deadly trap. Can Delilah serve up justice before history repeats itself? Or will she and Capone end up sleeping with the anchovies?

I enjoyed getting reacquainted with my favorite characters. Delilah is the main character and she is dating a police officer who is Al Capone’s grandson; Calvin Capone. Her sous chef and best friend Sonya is rather quirky. Sonya is always doing something new and exciting and the something usually ends up being related somehow to the murder. In this installment of the series, the death did not occur until the one third point in the story and we don't know whether it's a murder just yet. Normally I get prickly when the death/murder doesn't happen in the first couple of chapters. That did not happen because I was enjoying the setting and the characters. Another fun character is Delilah’s Aunt Biz. Biz is an octogenarian with a sassy mouth and zest for life. It seems that Delilah is the only character with common sense. She navigates all of these fun folks with aplomb.

The death investigation didn't actually happen. No witnesses were interviewed. I found this unbelievable but remembered that cozies require a suspension of belief. It seems that Capone’s shady cousin Dominic was secretly in town for an unknown reason. Delilah believes that he was searching for a treasure that disappeared after a train robbery 100 years ago because who, in their right mind, would scuba dive under a frozen lake in the winter. When Delilah and company realized that the treasure might be stashed in Geneva, she and friend Daniel dived under the ice to see if it was buried there. The results of the dive could determine whether Dominic was murdered or accidentally drowned under the ice.

I loved this cozy mystery and am rating it 5 out of 5 stars.

The Fourth Daughter

The Fourth Daughter is a family saga that takes place in Taiwan. It's an enjoyable book. As you can tell from the summary, life was not easy for women, even in the 1960s when the main story takes place.

The publisher's summary:

In Taiwan, the bond between grandmother and granddaughter opens up a healing world for them both in an inspiring family saga about the comfort of food, untold histories, and indomitable mother love.

Chef Liv Kuo’s star is on the rise…until a traumatic incident leaves her emotionally unable to venture outside her Manhattan apartment. But an unexpected reason to break free comes from Ah-Ma, Liv’s6 beloved grandmother in Taiwan. Ah-Ma needs Liv’s help in finding her fourth daughter, taken from her when the girl was an infant. After all these years, it seems impossible. It’s also a mystery: Ah-Ma’s fourth daughter is an aunt Liv never even knew existed.

After landing in Taiwan, Liv hears the heartbreaking story of her grandmother’s plight in a country once under martial law, of choices made for her, and of the hopeful search for a lost girl that has endured for more than sixty years. Like the enriching food and traditions that bind Liv and Ah-Ma, their journey for answers brings them together.

And it’s a quest that turns up both a precious old cookbook and a tale of fatal betrayal that shakes everything Liv believed about her family—revelations that could also give her the courage to face the trauma she left behind.

This heartwarming story is told in a dual timeline. The chapters alternate from 1960s Taiwan to New York in the current time period. The earlier timeline details how grandmother Yi-ping's fourth daughter, Yili, was stolen, while the present day timeline covers the search for the girl who is now in her 60s. I love dual timelines because they make the pace faster and I like how these storres unfold.

I loved the Taiwan setting. I learned alot about Taiwanese history, which was exciting for me as I am traveling there next year. The descriptions of all of the food Liv ate while in Taiwan were mouthwatering. The spices in each dish were described as the food entered her mouth as well as the aftertaste. If there was anything negative about the setting it was the number of people wandering in the streets. Liv has panic attacks when in crowds. I felt her vertigo as well. The author did a great job describing the setting, which is appropriate since she was born in Taiwan.

The politics of the country was well-described. Liv's family were associated with the KMT who had control of the government during the time period of the story. Liv's grandfather, Wang Po-Wei, was connected with them. The KMT were known to be brutal, killing people or making people disappear on a whim from officials. This association made it difficult to get information about Yili as people refused to help because of anger over relatives who had disappeared. 

SPOILER ALERT!  The story has a happy ending. Everyone lives happily ever after. It's nice to read something that ends well. It's even nicer when all of the characters get along. I don't see this often but I love it when it happens.

5 out of 5 stars.

Death on a Scottish Train

I have anxiously been awaiting the publication of this book. Death in a Scottish Train is the 4th book in Lucy Connelly's Scottish Isles Mystery series. It is a cozy mystery featuring Dr. Emilia McRoy, an American who moved to Scotland for a new start in life. She acts as both a physician and the coroner in the village of Sea Isle. The book was published on October 14, 2025.

The publisher's summary:

Dr. Emilia McRoy, an American in Scotland, has a killer in sight in the fourth installment of the Scottish Isle mystery series, perfect for fans of Paige Shelton and Connie Berry.

Summer is coming to a close on beautiful Sea Isle in Scotland, and Dr. Emilia McRoy is celebrating one year since her big move. With a weeklong festival to end the season, the town gathers for a magical ride on the newly refurbished Storyteller’s Train, but the launch’s success is dampened by an unexpected death.

What appears to be a case of deadly allergies is soon revealed as murder. As Emilia, her assistant Abigail, and the local constable Ewan McGregor unravel the mystery, the killer sets their murderous intentions on them.

If they want to survive, they will need the help of all of their friends—before they become the latest victims.

While the story is a mystery, what I immediately feel when I open any book in this series is the coziness of the Sea Isle village. Everyone gets along and they all look out for each other. Everyone also seems to be happy. If I could move there I would. This is the only cozy mystery that gives me that feeling.

The plot was captivating. It revolved around the investigation of the death of accountant Donald Jacks. Jacks was scheduled to be a storyteller for a vintage train ride. While he was seen at the train station, he didn't board the train. He was later found stuffed in a cupboard at the station. Em and Ewen quickly learn that he invested several residents' retirement funds in risky schemes and they lost everything. The pool of suspects is wide but perhaps Jacks just met his karma. Jacks had an allergy to bees that few people knew about. Since he constantly put lip balm on his lips, the killer decided put bee venom in the lip balm. As Jacks used it he was not aware that he was killing himself with it. There were plenty of suspects and red herrings as Emilia and Ewen investigated the death, The big reveal is in the last chapter.

Emilia has now resided in Sea Isle for one year. There is a hint of her having romantic feelings for Ewen who has been always been a  annoyance to her. I think we are going to see these two characters becoming close in future installments of the series.

Death on a Scottish Train was a fun and relaxing read. Cozy lovers who haven't read the series yet should look into it. 5 out of 5 stars.

Circle of Days

This 670 page novel was published on September 23, 2025. Ken Follett's Circle of Days is similar to his Knightsbridge series but instead it is a saga regarding the building of Stonehenge.

The publisher's summary:

Seft, a talented flint miner, walks the Great Plain in the high summer heat, to witness the rituals that signal the start of a new year. He is there to trade his stone at the Midsummer Fair, and to find Neen, the girl he loves. Her family lives in prosperity and offer Seft an escape from his brutish father and brothers within their herder community.

Joia, Neen’s sister, is a priestess with a vision and an unmatched ability to lead. As a child, she watches the Midsummer ceremony, enthralled, and dreams of a miraculous new monument, raised from the biggest stones in the world. But trouble is brewing among the hills and woodlands of the Great Plain.

Joia’s vision of a great stone circle, assembled by the divided tribes of the Plain, will inspire Seft and become their life’s work. But as drought ravages the earth, mistrust grows between the herders, farmers and woodlanders—and an act of savage violence leads to open warfare . . .

My first impression of this novel is WOW! It’s an incredibly captivating story with intriguing characters. Joia is a born diplomate. This trait helps her to gain consensus from her fellow priestesses and villagers when coming up with new practices for both groups of people. She is a strong female character and she is my favorite. Seft is also a strong character. Because his father and brothers were abusive, Seft left the family and everything he knew about flintmaking to join a herder group. Seft also decided to go against his father in order to marry his love, Neen. He was successful as a herder. Seft's ability to think and find solutions to common problems that the herders faced helped him gain the approval of his new tribe when he wanted to build a new Monument. 

The writing is superb. I have been thinking about how Follett made the chapters exciting enough to force readers to keep reading until the early hours of the day. There was not the suspense that I am used to seeing in my mysteries. I really don't know how Follett did it but I couldn’t stop reading the book. I read it in 2 days with 500 pages read on the first day. This morning I finished the remaining 200 pages of the book. I can't say enough good things about the book. It is fantastic.

The original Stonehenge, or Monument as it's described in the story, was made out of wood. The priestesses were able to tell time by their method of dance around the structures. When the wood monument fell down the need for a permanent structure was discussed between Joia, Seft and a few other villagers. Eventually they decided on a stone monument. Seft then had to find a way to move those big stones to the place the monument had always been located at. His brilliant analysis of the problems the villagers would face to move the stones aided Seft in devising a strategy. 

I relished this story. Rating the book is easy. It's a 5 out of 5 star story and I recommend that readers pick up the book. You won't be disappointed.

2026 Alphabet Soup Reading Challenge Author Edition

It's time once again to sign up for the Alphabet Soup Reading Challenge Author Edition. The Escape With Dollycas blog is hosting the challenge in 2026. The rules are easy to follow:

1. This challenge will run from January 1, 2026, until December 31, 2026.

2. You can join anytime. You do not have to post a review of the book. Books can come from any genre.

3. Children's Books and Novellas are acceptable, but they need to be over 50 Pages. 

4. You do not need to link up each spoonful.

5. Crossovers to other challenges are allowed and encouraged! 

6. The challenge is to read one book with an author surname that starts with every letter of the alphabet. 

7. There are two different ways you can set up your own A-Z Reading Challenge.

A - Make a list from A-Z. Throughout the year, as you go along, add the authors you are reading to the list. Towards the end of the year, you can check and see which letters you are missing and find books to fit.

OR

B - Make a list now of 26 authors, picking one for each letter of the alphabet, and check them off as you read them. 

8. As requested, the 2026 Alphabet Soup Reading Challenge has been added to Storygraph as another way to keep track of your books:  https://app.thestorygraph.com/reading_challenges/2aa6b63b-7c2d-4f14-b5de-9f507cfbd490. 

9. Books can be read in any order and all formats – print – e-book – and audio – are acceptable for this challenge!

10. Bloggers can grab the image above and make a post about the challenge to encourage others to join!

11. Non-bloggers you can join too! Just keep track any way you wish. You can even set up a special shelf on Goodreads to help you keep track! 

12. If you post about your books on Social Media, please use this hashtag #AlphabetSoupChallenge

13. Follow Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book, as there may be special announcements made about the challenge.

14. There is also a very active group on Facebook where you can share your books read and converse with others taking part in the challenge. 

15. To sign up, use Google Forms. Sign Up Here.