by Sandra Murphy

Details at the end of this post on how to win a copy of Foreign Eclairs, along with a link to purchase the book where a portion goes to help support KRL.

White House Chef Olivia Paras just can’t stay in the kitchen or out of trouble. A while back, she was kidnapped by a violent group of terrorists from Armustan. The plan was to get one of their own released from Cenga Prison. When the attempt failed, the leader of the group lost face and was killed by his countrymen. Now his brother, Kern, must exact revenge or die trying.

A bomb at the prison is the latest attempt to free the terrorist. When that failed, Ollie and her Secret Service husband, Gav, are the next targets. Kern blames Ollie for his brother’s loss of respect and resulting death so he’s coming for her, Gav and the President.

Ollie’s mugged on her way home from work. Is it a run of the mill purse snatching or something more sinister? The FBI takes this more seriously than Ollie first thinks it warrants. She gets an escort to and from work because the apartment was bugged (probably while she was giving her statements about the purse snatching), but the bugs aren’t removed. Why not use the opportunity to mislead the terrorists? It’s weird, trying to have a conversation and knowing someone is listening.

There’s trouble in the President’s family too. Josh, the twelve year old First Son, so to speak, is being bullied at school. He’s reluctant to talk to anyone about it but does confide in Ollie.

Margaret, the prickly thorn in the office, called in with a family emergency on Friday, and no one’s heard from her with updates. She might not have the best personality, but she is efficient. Her absence puts a kink in the smooth running of the office.

Things take a darker turn when Margaret is found dead—murdered. Since she knew so much about the White House, it has to be assumed she passed along information in a failed effort to save herself. That information would include schedules, passwords, regular routines, and plans for events with other heads of state.

To say more would give away too much of the story. It’s so well told, you’ll want to read it yourself. Be prepared for a bit of comedy to lighten the mood, touching scenes between Ollie and Gav, and hold-your-breath suspense. Ollie’s been in jeopardy before but never like this.

This is a book you’ll want to read start to finish in one sitting while hoping it never ends. I’m sad to say, this is the last book in the White House Chef series, at least as written by Julie Hyzy. She gives her reasons in the blog post, “All Good Things…,” she wrote on December 16. It’s important for readers to know how much work goes into a book and how much/little the authors receive for all the hours it takes to plot, plan, research, and bring characters to life.

This has been an enjoyable series. It may go on with another author, but I hope not. No one knows Ollie, Gav, the President’s family, Bucky, and the others like Julie Hyzy does or tells the tale so well that we could know them too.

To enter to win a copy of Foreign Eclairs, simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line “eclairs,” or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen January 30, 2016. U.S. residents only. If entering via email please include your mailing address, and if via comment please include your email address.

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You can use this link to order this book & a portion goes to help support KRL & Mysterious Galaxy:

Foreign Eclairs

Sandra Murphy lives in the shadow of the arch, in the land of blues, booze and shoes—St Louis, Missouri. While writing magazine articles to support her mystery book habit, she secretly polishes two mystery books of her own, hoping, someday, they will see the light of Barnes and Noble. You can also find several of Sandra’s short stories on UnTreed Reads including her newest, “Arthur”, included in the anthology titled, Flash and Bang, available now.