Temporary staff has been carefully vetted, menus have been made, taking into consideration the guests’ likes and dislikes (as well as the First Family’s) and all seems to be under control. Well, until Ollie is hustled down to the underground bunker with the First Lady and her nephew, Sean Baxter, who appears to have his eye on Ollie. 

Dating a Secret Service agent, Tom, doesn’t give Ollie any special access to information, but her help in foiling a plot against the president during the summer has won her a bit of respect from the team. And she quickly when learns a suspicious explosive device (IED: improvised explosive device) is found in the West Wing. The entire White House staff will now receive training, courtesy of Special Agent Gavin, on how to spot things that aren’t where they belong. 

Just what Ollie doesn’t want to hear: she needs all of her staff, and more, in the kitchen for the next four weeks. Spending time with the First Lady making holiday plans, Ollie is privy to a series of discussions involving a company begun by the First Lady’s father as well as the fathers of three other high political figures. Upon the death of the last founder (the First Lady’s father), the children must decide whether to sell the company or wait another ten years before reconsidering the sale. 

The other three players are anxious to sell, but the First Lady remains steadfast in her conviction not to sell. Even with Sean’s apparent suicide, the First Lady remains determined not to destroy her father’s legacy. More IED’s pop-up, the gingerbread rendering of the White House is too large to carry up the stairs, and one of the Senators is insisting his children’s gingerbread creations are front and center in the celebration. 

All along, Ollie knows something is going on with the Secret Service, and when she is attacked in front of her home, she wonders what she knows that might save the President of the United States.  

In this well-plotted mystery, Ollie is given all the tools she needs by Special Agent Gavin (as are readers) to uncover a plot to destroy the President. Clues are cleverly hidden throughout the text to the who-what-where-when and how. The holiday atmosphere that pervades the plot adds a light-hearted touch as readers learn about holiday traditions and decorations, both private and public, in the White House.

Ollie is an worthy addition to the White House staff, and to the ranks of new amateur detectives. She is smart, competent and isn’t afraid to put herself on the line, whether it’s creating a new dish or saving the White House. The White House Chef Mystery Series is a must-read series to add to the ranks of culinary mysteries.                                

--Jennifer Monahan Winberry