White House Chef & Women's Murder Club

I have to admit that I picked this book because of the title. I just love it!

Olivia Paras, White House Assistant Chef has alot on her plate. Her mentor is retiring, she's hoping to be named the executive chef for the White House, she's having a secret romance with a Secret Agent, and she may be the target of a assassin. What's a girl to do?

Here's the blurb:

Never let them see you sweat -- that's White House Assistant Chef Olivia Paras's motto, which is pretty hard to honor in the most important kitchen in the world. She's hell-bent on earning her dream job, Executive Chef. There's just one thing: her nemesis is vying for it, too. Well, that and the fact that an elusive assassin wants to see her fry...

The highly-trained Secret Service agents couldn't do it. 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. Still, guilt propels her to investigate, even if it means putting herself -- and her relationship-in hot water...

I read this book in one sitting. This doesn't happen very often, but when I have the time (snow day, the kids were busy playing XBox) I try to do it...

I enjoyed the setting, and I got a little glimpse on the life of someone that works for a very important person. The stresses of being a chef, the daily work, the set up ,the menus, etc. The characters were very good. It was fast paced and the dialogue was awesome. You really need to have great dialogue in a mystery, they're mostly visual, but you need that extra interaction between characters. Just my opinion... And we have a bonus: Recipes! I'll have to try some.

State of the Onion by Julie Hyzy (4/5) Contemporary Mystery; Published: Berkley Prime Crime (January 2008); New Author; Series: # 1, White House Chef Mystery; Library Book



With the latest book of the Women's Murder Club series out, I just had to read, er, listen to The 6th Target. I'm glad that I did, I first read it when it was published, so I had forgotten a few things that may be important in the next book. Let's just say I have a few questions regarding certain characters.

Here's the blurb - taken from the author's site:

Someone opens fire on unsuspecting pedestrians and one of the Women's Murder Club is caught in the middle. As she struggles for her life, the others must work fast to track down the madman. In another part of the city, somebody is targeting children and their nannies. As the kidnappers await their ransom, Lindsay and company are faced with finding the mastermind before more children are harmed.

I enjoyed the way the author showed the intricacies of dealing with mental illness and crimes in the legal system. Although I didn't agree with what happened in the book (the verdict), I enjoyed the way it was dealt with.

Kidnapping is terrible, but as a parent it brings it too close to home. It's something that you just do not want to think about. But it happens, it's pretty frequent (sad but true), and I don't know how parents deal with it... and the way it was portrayed in the book was very real to me.

The 6th Target by James Patterson & Maxine Paetro (4/5) Contemporary Mystery; Published: Little, Brown and Company (May 2007); Series: # 6, The Women's Murder Club; Library Audio Book