Closing Costs

"Fans of Tom Wolfe and Jonathan Franzen will revel" in this tale of New York real estate and its outrageous fortunes ( Booklist).   When Peggy Gimmel decides to sell the apartment she bought decades ago for a few thousand dollars, she's thrilled to discover it's worth almost two million. But her sudden windfall triggers a cascade of unexpected events, and plunges her into the orbit of Lucinda Wells—one of Manhattan's most successful, and ruthless, real-estate agents.   Peggy's not the only one at Lucinda's mercy. There's also the technology entrepreneur struggling to salvage his sinking company while gut-renovating his home; the socialite exiled from Park Avenue to the pullout sofa of her parents' West Side apartment; the illegal immigrant amassing a fortune printing money; and the clueless widow trying to unload a world-class collection of fake artwork. These are just some of the characters whose lives intersect in unlikely ways, all of them nearly overwhelmed by the rocketing real-estate market and the hard-charging broker who holds the key to their future.   "A fun-to-read, engaging look at how the other half lives, buys, and sells." — Minneapolis Star-Tribune   "Completely entertaining, wickedly funny and observant . . . Think Bonfire of the Vanities for real estate." — The Tampa Tribune