Usually, White House Executive Chef Olivia "Ollie" Paras is
going about her business of leading a team of chefs prepping
and cooking official dinners for the White House when she
accidentally gets into trouble investigating various issues
that happen to come into the most famous house in the United
States. FONDUING FATHERS, the latest installment of the
White House Chef Mystery Series, was a bit different, though.
Ollie discovers from her mother that much of what she knew
about her father, particularly his death, was wrong. She
had been told that he was a military hero who died a sudden
death, but Ollie's mother discloses that he was
dishonourably discharged from the military and is believed
to have been murdered after entering civilian life.
Further, he was suspected to have been selling corporate
secrets from the company he worked for after leaving the
military.
With the help of Gav, her Secret Service boyfriend, Ollie
sets out to discover the truth, knowing in her heart that
her father couldn't be a dishonourable person or someone who
sold proprietary information. Ollie is able to make much
headway in a short amount of time due to a combination of
Gav's far-reaching connections, Ollie's vacation time, and a
stroke of serendipity regarding the number of former
colleagues of Ollie's father that are still in the area.
Things take a turn, though, when Ollie's investigation ends
up threatening national security. Will she ever discover
the truth about her father?
Although the plot was a bit of departure for the typical
mystery that Ollie usually solves, it was just as engaging
as the previous mysteries in this series. As always, the
political intrigue was compelling without being overbearing
or confusing, and the same can be said for the culinary
aspects of the book. The plot moved forward in a way that
was interesting, both from a plot perspective and from a
relational perspective as Gav was central to the
investigation, rather than peripheral.
It was also nice to read about how Ollie's relationship with Gav
evolves as the investigation continued. One detail I did
miss, though, was that since Ollie spent most of her time
out in the field investigating, she didn't interact with the
White House staff as much as she does in previous books.
All that being said, I very nearly enjoyed the sub-plot
almost as much as I enjoyed the plot. Should Julie Hyzy
ever decide to write a series about the relationship between
Ollie and her budding mentoring relationship with the First
Son, I would most definitely read that!
White House executive chef Olivia Paras has enough on her plate. But after gaining new information about her father’s death, the First Family isn’t the only family Olivia is concerned about… Olivia has always believed that her father was an honorable man—until a trip to visit her mother reveals that he was dishonorably discharged from the army. Olivia is even more shocked to learn that he was brutally murdered because someone at his company suspected him of selling corporate secrets. Refusing to believe that her father was a scoundrel, Olivia won’t rest until she proves his innocence. Enlisting the help of her boyfriend, Gav, Olivia must reach out to her father’s colleagues to discover the truth behind his murder. What she’s about to discover may not only put her at risk, but threaten national security as well…
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