State of the Onion by Julie Hyzy

State of the Onion

Author: Julie Hyzy
Copyright: 2008 (Berkley); 325 pgs.
Series: 1st in the White House Chef Mystery series
Sensuality: N/A
Violence: murder

Where & When: Washington, DC
Who: Olivia Paras, White House Assistant Chef

Back Blurb: The highly trained Secret Service agents couldn't do it. The snipers swarming the White House grounds were no help. Only Ollie Paras was able to stop the intruder --- hitting him with a frying pan. She'd like to wash her hands of the whole thing, but after she witnesses a murder, there's no going back. . . Ollie's Secret Service boyfriend warns her that the killer is a world-class assassin. And Ollie's the only person alive who can recognize him.

Comments: I enjoyed this book for it's behind-the-scenes' look at the White House kitchen. I was pretty sure of the identity of the assassin early on. The mystery for me was who the assassin worked for, who his true target was and if there was a traitor on the inside. He was an inept assassin, if you ask me, since he couldn't seem to eliminate one lone assistant chef. ;-)

I liked Ollie, even though she was stubborn to the point of stupidity in the beginning. Her wonderful boyfriend tells her to drop her curiosity regarding the intruder. She doesn't, which results in her alienating her boyfriend, puts her life in danger, and jeopardizes her chances of becoming the executive chef. As if this wasn't enough stress, the White House is preparing for an important dinner; there's a new staffer -- a sensitivity director that's anything but -- who's on a power trip and who can't wait to see Ollie fired; Ollie's primary competition for the executive chef position --- a prima donna with her own cooking show, who treats the rest of the assistant chefs like they're clueless in the kitchen-- is finally coming in for her audition.

Looking forward to seeing more books in this series.

Started: 4 January 2008
Finished: 9 January 2008

Christina
“When a cat loves you, he’ll leave dead mice on your porch, because you’re a lousy hunter and he wants to take care of you.”
- Aunt B to Kate, (Magic Burns by Ilona Andrews)