President Is Coming to Lunch

At Libby's, Manhattan's hottest restaurant, where the glitterati in publishing, show biz and finance have regular tables, Libby Dennis, redheaded former dancer, juggles seating arrangements and reservations with aplomb, unfazed until she hears that the president wishes to lunch there, too. The Secret Service begins the required prepresidential-visit vetting, checking out the staff from lowest kitchen prepper to Libby's son, the maitre d'. Head investigator Birnbaum wonders what is bothering the unflappable proprietress, even as he falls under her spell. Perceptive readers are alerted to a secret early on, leading them to wonder who else will find out, and what the repercussions might be of a 20-year-old indiscretion. Subplots and current liaisons abound in this chic and racy mystery from the authors of Someone Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe. At Libby's, where deals are made and broken in the dining room as fast as breast of duck is seared in the kitchen, the repartee is as nouvelle as the cuisine, the characters are venal, eccentric and rich, and the action positively dazzles. (March)