Yes, I gave this book a 5.. I KNOW, I NEVER do that! I think it had to do with the main character, the setting- White House Executive Chef?!?! and her style of writing- it just clicked with me.

It was a great Summer read, had the makings of International "Jason Bourne" action with the cozy mystery attached- love this new genre!

And like I said, I like the way Ms. Hyzy writes, clean and effective with a nice vocabulary- I even had to look up a word- I KNOW, I NEVER have to do that! Yay! ( )

What a fun short read. I had both the paperback and an Audible audio copy and went back and forth. I found the dialogue amusing at times and enjoyed the light cozy style and content of the book. I will never think of a chef or a frying pan in quite the same way. I definitely recommend this book for a fast escape beach read. 3 1/2 stars review. ( )

State of the Onion is unlike any cozy I have read before and I enjoyed it very much. The plot is of a political nature and more involved than many cozy mysteries. My only complaint here, and it is a small one, is that there was one particular character who had my vote as number one suspect and was quite fascinating who I would have liked a conclusion for. He just disappeared. I look forward to reading more in the series! ( )

The book started off slow and became difficult for me to get through because I didn't like the main character or her interactions with her boyfriend and a few others.

It picked up at the end to keep me interested so it was worth the wait eventually. ( )

2.5**

The first in the White House Chef mystery series introduces the readers to Ollie (Olivia) Parus, and the rest of the staff in the White House kitchen. On her way back to work after running an errand, Ollie happens upon a serious breach of security; an apparent madman is running across the White House lawn, pursued by Secret Service. But when the man is on the ground right next to her, he pleads for her help. The Secret Service members she’s always been on a first-name basis with are now distantly professional and she can’t get any straight answers, even from her Secret Service boyfriend. In the meantime, Ollie is in competition for a promotion; she’s up against a TV celebrity chef who is from the same home state as the first family. And to add further stress, the kitchen is given only a week’s notice of a major state dinner.

Ollie irritated me no end. Not quite “too stupid to live,” she is annoyingly nosy, especially given her position in the White House kitchen. I had a hard time believing she was a trained professional when she wasn’t behaving professionally most of the time. Her romantic relationship doesn’t ever get off the ground either; they spend all their time mad at one another and not speaking.

Hyzy includes a fair number of red herrings … multiple people are described with particular physical characteristics that might make them the lead suspect. One particularly unlikeable character was a lead candidate, as far as I was concerned; at least until he completely disappeared from the book in the last 30 pages. Hyzy also has a tendency to repeat herself; I got it the first time she told me that additional staff would be brought in for a state dinner, or the first time Ollie opined that she was sure the TV chef would get the job over her.

I had previously read a later book in the series and gave it 3 stars. The plot in that book was also thin, and despite the framework of the White House Kitchen there is very little emphasis on food. Still, I was reasonably entertained, and decided to go back to the first in the series to start at the beginning. Basically we have a reasonably interesting premise/framework for a cozy mystery series, but not the best execution. I’m not sure I’ll read another.
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