White House Assistant Chef Olivia Paras-you can call her Ollie-faces challenges aplenty: a heated competition for the soon-to-be-vacant top chef's job, the sneering antagonism of the president's newly appointed "sensitivity director" and, of course, the mysterious intruder she unwittingly stops on the White House lawn with a couple of swift blows from a frying pan-an unarmed man with news of a threat to the president. Though the Secret Service disapproves of her interference, Ollie soon takes on the mantel of amateur sleuth, which could endanger not only her life but her cozy relationship with handsome Secret Service Agent Thomas MacKenzie. The tension mounts as the president negotiates a major peace plan for the Middle East, Ollie stumbles on the path of a nearly invisible enemy known as the Chameleon, and obnoxious TV celebrity chef Laurel Anne Braun shows up to threaten Ollie's career. Hyzy (Deadly Interest) launches her White House Chef Mystery series with a compulsively readable whodunit full of juicy behind-the-Oval Office details, flavorful characters and a satisfying side dish of red herrings-not to mention 20 pages of easy-to-cook recipes fit for the leader of the free world. (Jan.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Hyzy wastes no time establishing a mood of tension when Olivia Paras, cook at the White House, foils an intruder on the Executive Mansion's grounds with a swift blow from a frying pan. The chef gets to bask in the glow of her foolhardy heroism for only a brief time because she soon realizes that the man she bashed in the head is clearly not the same man whose picture appears on television's nightly news. Moreover, as the interloper collapses at her feet, he utters a few words warning that the president is in some sort of danger. Despite Secret Service admonitions to say nothing and even the president himself personally advising her silence, she can't help pursuing a solution to the mystery. Meanwhile, Olivia has to prepare meals for the First Family and arrange state dinners. Hyzy's sure grasp of Washington geography offers firm footing for the plot.--Knoblauch, Mark Copyright 2007 Booklist