State
of the Onion
A White House Chef
Mystery with Olivia Paras
Julie Hyzy
Berkley Prime Crime (Mass market
paperback)
ISBN-10: 0-425-21869-4 (0425218694)
ISBN-13: 978-0-425-21869-3 (9780425218693)
Publication Date: January 2008
List Price: $7.99
Synopsis (from the publisher): 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.
Review:
Julie Hyzy provides an inviting behind the scenes look at the life of a
White House chef in State
of the Onion, her debut mystery featuring Olivia "Ollie"
Paras that ultimately proves to be something of a disappointment.
The current Executive Chef in the White House is retiring and Ollie is
a strong contender to be his replacement. There are only two things
standing in her way: a former staff chef who is now a television
personality is also under consideration for the position, and a
potential threat against the President in which Ollie played a key
role: she knocked out an unauthorized intruder with a frying pan. But
as Ollie is drawn deeper into the assassination plot she finds her
dreams of being the first female Executive Chef slipping further away
... and her life increasingly in danger.
State of the Onion
is marketed as a cozy (it's in the "cozy" section on the publisher's
website), has a clever play on words title, and includes recipes for a
complete presidential menu. All this suggests a book that might be fun
and light-hearted with a bit of wry humor. But it's really more of a
"hard-boiled cozy" and at that, rather depressing. The problem is
squarely on the central character, Ollie. She goes on and on about how
critical the job of a White House chef is, how desperately she wants
the job of Executive Chef, and that a meaningful relationship with the
man in her life is important to her happiness. And yet she does
everything in her power to jeopardize all that and more. She constantly
states that she should be doing something (related to one of the many
things that she claims are important to her) and yet she
cannot resist doing something else. Of course that something else is in
direct conflict with everything she wants and believes in but if she
didn't do it, there wouldn't be a story. As a result of all this
irresponsible behavior, Ollie comes across as a not very
likable character. And in something of an ironic twist, the "evil"
characters introduced to play off of Ollie engender a sympathetic
response in return.
Ollie aside, State of
the Onion is a well-written book with a reasonably
credible plot. And the inner workings of the White House kitchen are
absolutely fascinating. It's possible that this is simply a case of an
author attempting to accomplish too much in the first book of a new
series and trying to appeal to too wide an audience. For cozy readers
to enjoy this series the narrative needs to be lighter in tone and
Ollie is advised to take a fresh, more positive, approach towards the important things in
her life.
Special thanks to Breakthrough Promotions for providing an ARC of State of the Onion for this review.
Review Copyright © 2008 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved.
Mysteries in this series ...
State of the Onion
Berkley (Mass market paperback), January 2008
ISBN-10: 0-425-21869-4 (0425218694)
ISBN-13: 978-0-425-21869-3 (9780425218693)
Omnimystery keywords for State of the Onion
...
Location(s) referenced: Washington DC.