Hail to the Chef

Hail to the Chef (A White House Chef Mystery) by Julie Hyzy ~~

White House executive chef Ollie Paras has to put her own interests on the back burner when a kindly electrician is electrocuted to death, and the First Lady’s nephew dies in an apparent suicide less than 24 hours after cleaning shrimp with Ollie. Ollie suspects something fishy is going on. She’ll have to watch her back—and find a killer unlikely to be pardoned.

Ollie is back as Executive Chef in this second book in the second White House Chef Mystery series. Not only does Ollie finds herself spending less time in the kitchen and more time with the First Lady, but she's also forced to take classes in threat assessment/security after a bomb is found in the White House. With the death of a beloved electrician the "suicide" of the Presidents nephew, and some business issues the First Lady is dealing with, Ollie is determined to figure out exactly what is going on, all the while trying to get the White House ready for the Christmas Season. Ollie proves that not only is she a fantastic chef, but that she'd also make a great Secret Service agent. I missed the fun of Ollie & Tom that there was in the last book, as he doesn't make as big of an appearance in this one. But the potential for a new love interest kept things funny and light. Ms. Hyzy does a great job of showing us the inner workings of the White House and how the staff works with the First Family. I look forward to seeing what happens to Ollie next. Does she stay with Tom or will the "new guy" come back and make a play for her ~ and what will she do??