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book_concierge's review
3.0
Olivia (“Ollie”) Parras is the first female White House Executive Chef. Married to her job, she is both in the background and at the center of events that affect not only the First Family but the country. The White House kitchen is understandably very busy on Inauguration Day, but a box of “favorite” wings found in the kitchen haven’t been properly logged in through security channels, so Ollie refuses to serve the treats to the first children. This sets up a power struggle between the First Lady, the Chief of Staff, the Secret Service and Ollie. Of course she’ll be proven correct, but not before she finds herself at the center of it all.
This is the 4th in the White House Chef series, and a mildly entertaining “mystery with recipes” that blends cooking and suspense. Except … there’s not all that much focus on food (the recipes are listed as a sort of afterthought at the end), and there isn’t much plot to move the story forward. There is a fair amount of focus placed on old (or potential) romances, but these aren’t fully explored either. I haven’t read any of the other books in the series, and while a prior romance (or two) might have been better explained (and the tension more plausible as a result) if I had read the earlier works, I think this worked reasonably well as a stand-alone. Hyzy kept me turning pages, which, for me, is the number one criterion for this genre.
This is the 4th in the White House Chef series, and a mildly entertaining “mystery with recipes” that blends cooking and suspense. Except … there’s not all that much focus on food (the recipes are listed as a sort of afterthought at the end), and there isn’t much plot to move the story forward. There is a fair amount of focus placed on old (or potential) romances, but these aren’t fully explored either. I haven’t read any of the other books in the series, and while a prior romance (or two) might have been better explained (and the tension more plausible as a result) if I had read the earlier works, I think this worked reasonably well as a stand-alone. Hyzy kept me turning pages, which, for me, is the number one criterion for this genre.
cstaude's review
5.0
I think I enjoyed this installment of Hyzy’s White House Chef mysteries even more than the first one. Ollie is now safely ensconced as chief WH chef and there’s a new First Family in the house. There is a questionable box of chicken delivered to the two kids and the story is off at a gallop. Great character and I was surprised at where it all went. These are really fun reads!!!
jb16772's review
3.0
A fun little book. As with the previous book in the series the mystery takes a backseat to the personal developments of some of the main characters. The bad guy reveal is nicely done and provides a nice twist.
paigewetzel's review
3.0
What a hilarious, quirky book. I picked this up from a tag sale to reading on my camping trip (think beach read but without the tropical vibes, different kind of book/reading need) and it was perfect. Light, quick action points, nothing to make me think too hard. The outcome took me by surprise, I had not pegged the bad guy at all. Some weird hanging threads that maybe get resolved in other books (looks like this is part of a series?) but comes with the territory of this kind of novel. Nothing special but perfect get-lost reading.
paige1947_'s review
5.0
Ok when I read the third book in the White House Chef series I said it was the best in the series so far and it was. But now the best in the series is Buffalo West Wing. A new family has moved into the White House and this brings other changes and new things with it. Ollie has a new challenge -will she get in trouble or not? You will have to read this one to find out.
sarful's review
3.0
3.5.
This is a fun cozy mystery series. Ollie always seems to be in the thick of it, whether by accident or just her keen observational skills.
In this one Executive Chef Ollie finds a package of buffalo wings with the name of the new admin’s kids name on it and has no idea who brought them in. She contacts the secret service then tries to hide them in the fridge. But, not before the kids see them and she’s forced to deny them their present and it gets back to the First Lady. On top of that a new primadonna chef is brought in as a personal chef and makes well known he thought he was in charge not Ollie.
So despite the fact that those wings had been poisoned, and Ollie saved the kids lives, no one in the first family can know. Which means massive tension between the First Lady and Ollie.
Ollie’s pluck and resolve keeps her open to her surroundings and a badass chef. Plus, romantic tensions occur with special agent Gav from last book. Finally, someone who appreciates Ollie’s amateur sleuthing.
This is a fun cozy mystery series. Ollie always seems to be in the thick of it, whether by accident or just her keen observational skills.
In this one Executive Chef Ollie finds a package of buffalo wings with the name of the new admin’s kids name on it and has no idea who brought them in. She contacts the secret service then tries to hide them in the fridge. But, not before the kids see them and she’s forced to deny them their present and it gets back to the First Lady. On top of that a new primadonna chef is brought in as a personal chef and makes well known he thought he was in charge not Ollie.
So despite the fact that those wings had been poisoned, and Ollie saved the kids lives, no one in the first family can know. Which means massive tension between the First Lady and Ollie.
Ollie’s pluck and resolve keeps her open to her surroundings and a badass chef. Plus, romantic tensions occur with special agent Gav from last book. Finally, someone who appreciates Ollie’s amateur sleuthing.
travlnbard's review
1.0
That's it. I am so done with this series. I loved the concept of it. The main plot of the book is great but I cannot get past the fact that so many of the characters are idiots or a-holes. A large order of chicken wings appear in the White House kitchen for the new first children and EVERYONE wants the kids to have them except the head chef who is following protocol and notifying Secret Service about the problem. When the kids stumble upon them matters get even worse.
Long story short, the secret service did a half baked job of investigating, the wings were poisoned, and one of the kitchen staff, knowing her bosses desires, gave the wings to the cleaning staff who ended up in the hospital. THEN the hospital is taken over by terrorists.
So, instead of everyone going "Wow Ollie! Thank you for saving the kids! You were so right!" they go "Why do these things always happen to you!" Really?!
Nope, I am over it. Good bye Julie Hyzy. When you learn to write a story where I don't hate ALL the secondary characters then maybe I will give you another chance. I don't get all the 5 star reviews.
Long story short, the secret service did a half baked job of investigating, the wings were poisoned, and one of the kitchen staff, knowing her bosses desires, gave the wings to the cleaning staff who ended up in the hospital. THEN the hospital is taken over by terrorists.
So, instead of everyone going "Wow Ollie! Thank you for saving the kids! You were so right!" they go "Why do these things always happen to you!" Really?!
Nope, I am over it. Good bye Julie Hyzy. When you learn to write a story where I don't hate ALL the secondary characters then maybe I will give you another chance. I don't get all the 5 star reviews.
llkendrick's review
4.0
I was worried that this was the last book in the series....I'm happy that a new one recently was published! This one had the most suspense for me.
kairosdreaming's review
4.0
I think this has been my favorite book of the series so far. It had the right amount of food, mystery and romance. And compared to the others, it doesn't really matter if you read this as a stand alone, although I always recommend reading a series in order.
A new President is in the white house, and for the White House staff that means they have to adjust and make him and his family feel welcome. Not to mention this President has young children, which is a new experience for them. Its the first day there when some famous chicken wings are dropped off at the kitchen, intended for the President's kids. Because she doesn't know where they came from, Executive Chef Ollie won't serve them, much to the consternation of the first lady and quite possibly puts her job on the line as a result. But when she finds out the wings were poisoned as part of a terrorist plot, Ollie knows she did the right thing. The only problem? She's not allowed to tell the first lady and when another chef is brought in, Ollie knows its only a matter of time until she's replaced.
I love Ollie in this one. She does the whole true to yourself thing and it really works for her and makes me like her as a character more. I also enjoy that she is devoid of the not so great boyfriend Tom in this one, and her new love interest is much better in my opinion. Tom was kind of a jerk and I was always secretly rooting that they would break up. Her side chefs are pretty great in this one too. Bucky continues to be an evolving character and I genuinely liked him in this one. The new chef by contrast is the new jerk in the kitchen and people will just love to hate him. The bad guys are also more menacing this time around too.
The mystery was hard to solve, but not completely impossible this time around. And there was a nice mix of mystery with food too. Food definitely took more of a share and I was glad to see that as I love the descriptions Hyzy uses for the food and some of the ideas for cooking. The recipes at the end didn't hurt either. And in this one I liked the elements of romance too. I like Ollie having a personal life and she doesn't really in the first few books, so it makes her into more of a real person. I do have to say that the ending felt quite abrupt and I wasn't a big fan of that. It seemed like there should have been at least one more chapter to round things out a little more.
I definitely can't wait to read the next book now and will have to go get it soon. A pretty nice foodie mystery in this installment.
Buffalo West Wing
Copyright 2011
305 pages
Review by M. Reynard 2012
More of my reviews can be found at www.ifithaswords.blogspot.com
A new President is in the white house, and for the White House staff that means they have to adjust and make him and his family feel welcome. Not to mention this President has young children, which is a new experience for them. Its the first day there when some famous chicken wings are dropped off at the kitchen, intended for the President's kids. Because she doesn't know where they came from, Executive Chef Ollie won't serve them, much to the consternation of the first lady and quite possibly puts her job on the line as a result. But when she finds out the wings were poisoned as part of a terrorist plot, Ollie knows she did the right thing. The only problem? She's not allowed to tell the first lady and when another chef is brought in, Ollie knows its only a matter of time until she's replaced.
I love Ollie in this one. She does the whole true to yourself thing and it really works for her and makes me like her as a character more. I also enjoy that she is devoid of the not so great boyfriend Tom in this one, and her new love interest is much better in my opinion. Tom was kind of a jerk and I was always secretly rooting that they would break up. Her side chefs are pretty great in this one too. Bucky continues to be an evolving character and I genuinely liked him in this one. The new chef by contrast is the new jerk in the kitchen and people will just love to hate him. The bad guys are also more menacing this time around too.
The mystery was hard to solve, but not completely impossible this time around. And there was a nice mix of mystery with food too. Food definitely took more of a share and I was glad to see that as I love the descriptions Hyzy uses for the food and some of the ideas for cooking. The recipes at the end didn't hurt either. And in this one I liked the elements of romance too. I like Ollie having a personal life and she doesn't really in the first few books, so it makes her into more of a real person. I do have to say that the ending felt quite abrupt and I wasn't a big fan of that. It seemed like there should have been at least one more chapter to round things out a little more.
I definitely can't wait to read the next book now and will have to go get it soon. A pretty nice foodie mystery in this installment.
Buffalo West Wing
Copyright 2011
305 pages
Review by M. Reynard 2012
More of my reviews can be found at www.ifithaswords.blogspot.com