All the President’s Menus by July Hyzy is the 8th book in the “White House Chef” mystery series. Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime, January 2015

It’s an old adage that too many cooks spoil the broth. But when a tour of the White House kitchen by a group of foreign chefs ends in murder, it’s Olivia Paras who finds herself in the soup. . .

Due to a government sequester, entertaining at the White House has been severely curtailed. So executive chef Olivia Paras is delighted to hear that plans are still on to welcome a presidential candidate from the country of Saardisca—the first woman to run for office—and four of that nation’s top chefs.

But while leading the chefs on a kitchen tour, pastry chef Marcel passes out suddenly—and later claims he was drugged. When one of the visiting chefs collapses and dies, it’s clear someone has infiltrated the White House with ill intent. Could it be an anti-Saardiscan zealot? Is the candidate a target? Are the foreign chefs keeping more than their recipes a secret? Once again, Olivia must make sleuthing the special of the day. . .

In the latest adventures with Ollie and her friends find visiting chefs in her kitchen during a sequester when her own staff was cut short. Not to anyone’s surprise, Ollie finds herself in the middle of conspiracy, intrigue and suspense as her gut feeling tells her something is amiss and as always I love watching it all come together through the author’s narrative, which puts me right there in the middle of the action along with Ollie. The more I read, the more the suspense ratcheted up several notches in this fast-paced drama that had me speeding towards the finale as I had to know how it will all end. A good job, well done that boasted a great cast of characters, engaging dialogue and insights into the workings of a White House kitchen. This was a terrific read and I look forward to new possibilities with Ollie and her friends in their next adventure.