Carol Ann H. (beadnread) reviewed on 2/29/2008 + 45 more book reviews

Helpful Score: 14

First of all, I'd like to thank Ms. Hyzy for giving us a female protagonist who is intelligent, strong, very likable, and most of all, believable! This heroine doesn't stubbornly throw herself in harm's way over and over again because she refuses to listen to reason again and again, causing the reader to want to shake some sense into her. None of that nonsense for Assistant White House Chef Olivia âOllieâ Paras! What a breath of fresh air!

In State of the Onion, the first in a new series, Ms. Hyzy has married a culinary cozy with a spy/thriller novel - two of my favorite mystery subgenres - and she has done it well. We meet Olivia Paras, an assistant chef at the White House who is auditioning for the position of Executive Chef - a position held by Ollie's mentor and friend, Henry Cooley. As she is returning to the White House after picking up Henry's retirement gift, Ollie finds herself caught up in a foot chase between Secret Service agents and an unknown male intruder on the White House lawn. When it appears that Ollie is the only thing standing between the intruder and freedom, she comes out of hiding and wallops him with Henry's gift, an engraved skillet. After a short debriefing, Ollie is happy to leave the matter in the capable hands of her friends, agents Thomas MacKenzie and Craig Sanderson, and the rest of the Secret Service, that is, until she watches a news clip of the incident that evening.

What follows is a veritable smorgasbord of intrigue and fine dining. Ollie witnesses a murder, and to complicate matters, auditioning against her for the executive chef position is Laurel Anne Braun, a master chef with her own TV show who is well known to the White House Staff - having worked there previously as a sous-chef. To say she is a prima donna is putting it mildly, and her antics add a lot of interest and angst to the story.

Ollie's love interest, Secret Service Agent Thomas MacKenzie, is a very likable character who adds tremendously to the overall story line, and his and Ollie's relationship is fleshed out quite nicely without any resemblance whatsoever to a trashy romance novel, so no skimming necessary - thank you very much for that, Ms. Hyzy!

The book has a very satisfying ending that will sate the reader's appetite for happy endings and fair play, while leaving the reader hoping for more. I'll be anxiously awaiting the next installment of White House Chef Ollie Paras et al. Well done, Ms. Hyzy, well done.

C.A.H. 2/29/2008

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