Affairs of Steak by Julie Hyzy

White House chef Olivia Paras and her arch nemesis, White House Sensitivity Director Peter Everett Sargeant, must work together to solve the double murder of one of the First Lady's assistants and the Chief of Staff-before they become the next victims of a merciless assassin with a secret agenda.  ( Synopsis from Amazon.com)

Paperback, Berkley, 304 pages

Ollie Paras returns again as White house Chef in a new mystery from Julie Hyzy. At the request of the First Lady, Ollie has to work with prissy Sensitivity Director, Peter Sergeant to arrange a birthday party for the Secretary of State.  On their way to the venue, they are stopped by Peter’s ne’er do well relative, Milton, who is pushing Peter for a White House job. They also have a brush with a rude stranger.  When the duo gets to the Lexington, they discover the bodies of two White House staffers in some kitchen equipment. Thus begins Ollie’s wild ride.

Ollie tries not to get involved but the fates conspire against her.  First the head usher, Ollie’s friend Paul, takes an indefinite leave which puts an inexperienced guy in his place. Then she somehow gets involved in a kidnapping of a family member of the Secretary of State. Finally, if working with Peter isn’t annoying enough, she gets saddled with Wyatt, a protocol aide who is a big blowhard know –it-all. Add to all of this the need to keep most of the situation a secret for security’s sake and the ongoing feud with the First Family’s private chef, the situation just keeps getting worse.

Ollie’s personal life isn’t any calmer. Her romance with Secret Service Agent Tom is a fading memory and her new romance with SAC Gavin is seemingly going nowhere. Poor Ollie, it seems as though she has no peace in her life at work, at home, or in her love life.  Ms. Hyzy does a great job of depicting the ins and outs of DC life and the way the White House hierarchy works.  The situations that Ollie finds herself in aren’t so farfetched as to be unbelievable. The book is suspenseful from beginning to end with plot twists galore.

Buffalo West Wing

With a new First Family, White House executive chef Olivia Paras can't afford to make any mistakes. But when a box of take-out chicken mysteriously shows up for the First Kids, she soon finds herself in a "no-wing" situation. After Olivia refuses to serve the chicken, the First Lady gives her the cold shoulder. But when it turns out to be poisoned poultry, Olivia realizes the kids are true targets. ( description from Barnes & Noble.com)

Ollie Paras returns in another intriguing mystery in the White House Chef series. Her life is topsy turvey-she's broken up with her boyfriend, a White House Secret Service agent, and there is a new  First Family on board. When an unexplained box of fried chicken shows up for the President's children and Ollie refuses to pass it on to them without knowing where it came from, a contentious relationship with the new First Lady (FLOTUS)  begins. The chicken turns out to be laced with arsenic and the Secret Service won't tell the First Lady for security reasons. To top it all off, the FLOTUS brings in a personal chef for the family and he thinks he's in charge of the kitchen.  Add in a terrorist plot, an old relationship rekindled, and a state dinner and you have a fast and frenzied mystery. I especially enjoy all of the information about how things work in the White House. An example-the First Family has to pay for all of their personal food-not the taxpayers.  There is a selection of recipes at the back of the book. I have tried some of them and they are pretty good.
Just a note, if you have not read the earlier books in the series, I would recommend doing so.  They are State of the Onion,Hail to the Chef, and Eggsecutive Orders.