Customer Reviews

Eggsecutive Orders (A White House Chef Mystery)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(5)
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Julie Hyzy adds another strong cozy mystery to her White House chef series which began with State of the Onion(Anthony award winner). A guest (and special agent) has died right after a White House dinner. Was he poisoned? Suspicions point to someone in the White House kitchen. Executive Chef Ollie is forced to defend herself and her staff but Secret Service boyfriend Tom is getting in the way of Ollie's investigation. Can she clear her name, save her staff,keep her boyfriend and make sure that the annual Egg Roll goes on? Hyzy added in Ollie's delightful mother and grandmother to create a souffle that is equal parts mystery and comedy. Don't miss it!

Julie Hyzy won the Anthony and Barry Awards for Best Paperback for her first White House Chef mystery, State of the Onion, but the third book in the series, Eggsecutive Orders, is also the best. That's no "eggsaggeration."

White House Executive Chef Ollie Paras should be on top of the world. It's time for her staff to get ready for the Easter celebration, the dinner and the Easter Egg Roll, and her mother and grandmother are finally coming to visit. She should be anticipating her family's visit to the White House, and the fun of Easter. Instead, on the morning her family is due to arrive, she's escorted to the White House by the Secret Service, and her entire kitchen staff is suspended from their duties. It's only then that she learns a guest died at dinner the night before. Until the cause of death can be determined, the food, and the staff, is suspect.

Her mother and nana came to visit Ollie, and she could look at the suspension as the perfect vacation time. But, she feels responsible for her staff and the kitchen, and she has a hard time sitting on her hands. But, it's not just her job and her staff that is threatened. Her boyfriend's job on the Presidential Protection Detail is also threatened, and Tom has been warned to keep an eye on Ollie, and prevent her from interfering in the investigation. But, when she becomes a target for a newspaper columnist, and her mother shows an interest in a man who is connected to the dead White House guest, it's just too much for Ollie. Somehow, she has to get back into the kitchen, and find a killer.

Although I enjoyed both of the previous books, and Ollie's work in the kitchen, it was refreshing to see her out of her element. By forcing Ollie to stay home, Hyzy added another element to Ollie's life. We met her family, enjoyed a little bit of Washington as she showed them around, and learned more about the personal life of Bucky, the irascible chef. There's also the fascinating "locked White House" mystery. Not too many people would have had access to the dead guest. Top it off with a climax at the annual Easter Egg Roll, and Eggsecutive Orders is another "eggcellent" mystery feast served up by Julie Hyzy.

After reading Ms. Hyzy's first two White House chef mysteries, I could hardly wait for this one, and I wasn't disappointed. Ollie is really coming into her own and taking charge of her kitchen - and her life - is this latest installment. Great characters, solid plotting, and a strong voice make for a fast, enjoyable read!

Ollie Paras is the White House Executive Chef. She and her staff are set to get ready for the Easter celebration (dinner and Easter Egg Roll) and her mother and grandmother are finally coming to visit. Unfortunately, on the morning they are to arrive, the Secret Service shows up to escort her to the White House. She and her entire kitchen staff are suspended from their duties. A guest died after the dinner the night before. Until the cause of death can be determined, the food and staff are suspect.

Ollie spends time with her mother and grandmother but feels responsible for her staff and the kitchen. Sitting on her hands is not her forte. When her boyfriend's job on the Presidential Protection Detail is also threatened, Ollie can't help but investigate. The tension builds between her and her boyfriend as he's made responsible for her actions. Ollie becomes a target for a newspaper columnist and her mother shows too much interest in a man connected to the dead White House guest for Ollie. Can she find a way back into the kitchen and to find the killer?

I love this series. This book gives Ollie more dimension as a person, not just the executive chef, because we see her interacting with her family and being outside the White House more. I liked that but can't wait for her to be back in the White House again! I always enjoy seeing her function there. Even though I know it's fiction, I feel like I'm getting a bird's-eye view of what goes on there when I read these books. Always hate that they're such fast reads because I have to wait so long for the next one. I highly recommend this book and series!

I can't say it enough: Julie Hyzy's books on the Executive Chef of the White House are fabulous, interesting, suspensful, informative, and an all-around pleasure read everyone has to experience. What a fabulous plot about a fabulous subject. You go, Girl!

When a guest dies after eating a meal in the White House, Executive Chef Olivia Paras and her staff are banned from the kitchen. The timing couldn't be worse, as the Easter Egg Roll is just a week away. Did she miss something while preparing the state dinner? Ollie knows she and her fellow employees are thorough about allergies and eating preferences. But the press is having a field day, and no one will tell her when --- or if --- they will be able to come back.

EGGSECUTIVE ORDERS is Julie Hyzy's third mystery featuring Ollie; the previous two installments are STATE OF THE ONION (which won an Anthony Award) and HAIL TO THE CHEF. Humorous titles aside, this smart series combines United States and White House trivia and folklore with food, suspense and even a little romantic tension between Ollie and a Secret Service agent. She and the rest of the cast are realistic, and even the mysteries are not too beyond the reach of the believable in the White House setting.

In EGGSECUTIVE ORDERS, Ollie's mother and grandmother are in from Chicago to visit their Executive Chef and get a special tour of the White House. Ollie is just hoping she won't be arrested. Her boyfriend, Tom, asked her to stay out of this mess and just show her family a good time, and Ollie tries to do just that. Is it her fault that she runs into the widow at Arlington? Then her mother starts dating a friend of the deceased, and soon there is no way she can avoid being involved. A newspaper column takes particular aim at her and her former sleuthing adventures, gleeful that this time she is the suspect. While some mystery series find their heroine or hero becoming self-righteous or tired from continuously outdoing official law enforcement agencies, it's nice that Hyzy shows how Ollie's involvement offers her some embarrassment and disgruntled co-workers.

As the days tick by, Ollie and her ousted staff try to boil eggs at their homes in case they return for the annual event while Ollie does her best to crack the case. It is soon clear that not only Ollie's job but also her reputation and relationships will be affected by the outcome of this perplexing mystery. Each chapter brings a new surprise, including a big one in Ollie's personal life that readers will hope may change in the next installment, which cannot come soon enough.

In this third adventure for White House executive chef Ollie Paras, we find our protagonist preparing for the annual White House Easter Egg Roll, an event everyone enjoys. But almost immediately Paras and her team are told to leave the kitchen -- indefinitely. A dinner guest is dead, and the evidence points to poison. Of course Ollie must plunge in where others cannot tread; even with relationship troubles and visiting relatives, Ollie manages to become embroiled in the investigation. Why doesn't the Secret Service just recruit her?!

If you enjoyed the first two books in the series (State of the Onion, Hail to the Chef), you will like this as well. Ollie's visiting mother and nana liven things up, and we learn a little more about series regulars. My only complaint in this, as in so many cozy mysteries, is the title. Ouch.

Award-winning author Julie Hyzy does not disappoint in this latest installment in her White House Chef series of culinary mysteries.

White House chef Olivia (Ollie) Paras finds herself and her staff in hot water early one morning when she is escorted to the White House by the Secret Service following the death of a prominent guest at the White House. Suspicions that he was poisoned by something served up by the White House kitchen swirl around Ollie and her staff, as a local newspaper columnist stirs the pot with innuendo that could end up costing Ollie her job! Despite efforts to dissuade her from becoming involved in this latest high-profile case, Ollie can't help but investigate in order to clear her kitchen of any wrong-doing. Complicating matters is a visit from her Mom and Nana, as well as the fast-approaching White House "Egg Roll" a Washington tradition, that she hopes won't be canceled.

I highly recommend Julie Hyzy's White House Chef mysteries for anyone who is a fan of the burgeoning culinary mystery genre. Also recommended is Diane Mott Davidson's Goldy Schultz series.

I love these white house chef mysteries. They are quick reads that suck you in right away. I brought 3 of her books on vacation with me. The characters are likeable. While the books aren't heart pumping suspenseful, they are perfect light mysteries.

I'm holding off on the last book in the series: Buffalo West Wing because I want to savor it since I'll have to wait awhile for more to come out.

This is the second in the White House Chef mysteries, a delicious cozy mystery. Ollie Paras is now the executive chef, but when a high-ranking official dies while eating at the White House, her kitchen is under suspicion. Ollie is not able to enjoy her suspension while the investigation occurs, even though her mom and grandmother are in town for the famous White House Easter Egg Roll. Though Ollie has been warned by the Secret Service to stay out of the way, she can't help but try to clear her own name.

I especially love culinary mysteries since I adore food! And I am a big fan of eggs, so I especially appreciate the recipes at the end of the book.

This was a light, fun cozy and Ollie is a take charge type of heroine. And she tossed off her boyfriend Tom, a member of the President' Secret Service detail. Their relationship kind of annoyed me in the first novel so this made me happy. Tom's not a bad guy, just not the guy for Ollie, a rule-breaker. I loved that I got to meet Ollie's mom and grandma as they were fun characters. There were lots of suspects to choose from and keep me in suspense until the end. If you like cozies and food, then give this one a try.

my rating 4/5