Town House [Paperback]

An agoraphobe fights to save his house, his son and his sanity in Cohen's comic, big screen–ready debut. Jack Madigan has sequestered himself for most of his adult life in a decaying Boston townhouse along with his so-uncool-he's-cool son, Harlan; a one-eyed, one-eared cat; and, until she left, his wife Penelope. Jack is content to pursue his raison d'être of creating the perfect shade of white interior paint, but the outside world comes crashing in: Jack's income—royalties from dead rock star dad Baz (think: Ozzy Osbourne cut down in his prime by a snapping turtle)—dries up; Penelope wants Harlan to move to L.A. and live with her; the plucky, precocious, ankle-biting (really) girl next door keeps showing up in Jack's house; and Dorrie, a lovable dingbat realtor, swoops in to sell the townhouse (valued at $4.5 mil). Love blossoms, neuroses are zapped and an 11th-hour discovery saves the day. If it sounds formulaic, it is, but it's also terrifically written; Cohen's affinity for her nut-job characters is infectious and will keep readers involved as the plot reaches its peachy end. (May)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The son of a legendary rock musician, Jack Madigan has been living off his father's royalties for years, but things are looking dire as the money runs out. His wife has already left, unable to deal with Jack's refusal to confront his agoraphobia; his teenage son, who avidly embraces 1970s clothing because "uncool is the new cool," may relocate to California with his mom; and Jack's once magnificent Boston townhouse, now crumbling around him, is being repossessed by the bank. Even his work as a color consultant--he has been tinkering for years with a formula for the perfect white--is failing to provide the funds he so desperately needs. His only hope is the charming but hopelessly inept realtor assigned to sell the house. With the help of the little girl next door, whose dream is to become an Olympic skater, Jack suddenly finds himself motivated to face his greatest fear--stepping outside of his house. Rising above its obvious, overly tidy plotting, this highly readable first novel offers plenty of sardonic humor and a cast of endearing eccentrics. Joanne Wilkinson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

“TOWN HOUSE is a poignant, acerbic and charming novel with real heart. Make room on your bookshelf for Tish Cohen.” (Barbara Delinsky, New York Times bestselling author of A WOMAN BETRAYED )

“...sardonically comic and humanly poignant.” (Rex Pickett, New York Times bestselling author of SIDEWAYS )

Jack Madigan is, by many accounts, blessed. He can still effortlessly turn a pretty head. And thanks to his legendary rock star father, he lives an enviable existence in a once-glorious, now-crumbling Boston town house with his teenage son, Harlan. But there is one tiny drawback: Jack is an agoraphobe. As long as his dad's admittedly dwindling royalties keep rolling in, Jack's condition isn't a problem. But then the money runs out . . . and all hell breaks loose.

The bank is foreclosing. Jack's ex is threatening to take Harlan to California. And Lucinda, the little girl next door, won't stay out of his kitchen . . . or his life. To save his sanity, Jack's path is clear, albeit impossible—he must outwit the bank's adorably determined real estate agent, win back his house, keep his son at home, and, finally, with Lucinda's help, find a way back to the world outside his door.

Tish Cohen is the author of the novels Inside Out Girl and Town House and a novel for teens, Little Black Lies. Having grown up in southern California and Montreal, Cohen currently lives in Toronto.