How Appealing! Appeal Factors - Week 2

The View From Penthouse B by Elinor Lipman

A quirky relationship story of three lost souls sharing a penthouse in Greenwich village, piecing their lives back together.  Sisters Margot and Gwen-Laura are opposites sides of the coin. Margot, a bitter divorcee has lost her money in the Madoff Ponzi scheme, vents her anger in a little read blog. Meek sister Gwen-Laura, widowed and still grieving after two years, spends her time attending her support group and planning her "Chaste Dates" business for those interested in companionship only. The trio is rounded out by cheerful Anthony, a cupcake baking gay twenty something year old laid off from Lehman Brothers who tries to shake the sisters out of their lethargy.  Enter Margot's ex-husband Charles Pierrpont, released from prison after serving time for inseminating  patients with his own sperm at his fertility clinics and the plot thickens! A touchingly funny story of family dynamics, middle age love, friendship and forgiveness.

The Wrong Man by David Ellis

Jason Kolarich defends a troubled Iraq war veteran suffering from schizophrenia and PTSD in what looks like an air tight case in the shooting death of a paralegal. During his investigation, he discovers many others who could have wanted the paralegal dead.  Armed with information about warring Mafia families, homegrown terrorists, and a rogue hit man named "Gin Rummy," it's a race against time before Jason is targeted himself.  A fast paced legal thriller, featuring a flawed protagonist and a shocking ending.