Appetites

Murphy thanks the chef at Le Cirque for the ""many informative hours'' he spent there and this fast-paced novel about the power struggle to control a top Manhattan restaurant shows his attention to detail. When Pierre Villeromain dies suddenly, his daughter Elise and second wife Kate discover they're equal shareholders in the Palais Royal. Elise, a hippie dropout, wants to continue running the restaurant; Kate, a stunning British painter, is not so sure, especially when Dave Hollander, owner of the Billy Burger hamburger chain, tenders an offer. Armand and his lover Yves, the maitre d' and head chef of the Palaise Royal, are also interested, especially when the restaurant seems up for grabs. The maneuverings of these high-powered New Yorkers results in a wonderfully entertaining narrative. Murphy has a real sympathy for his charactersthey're all so nice for goodness sakeand readers will be happily beguiled by the two heroines. (August 17)