Actuary Penny Sinclair can tell, statistically, when people are most likely to die, or when marriages are most likely to fail, but she can't figure out how her life got so off course. She's divorced from her husband, Chris, who seduced his assistant-in Penny's living room, no less. Her newly married daughter Kelsey is back at Penny's house and doesn't seem like she's adjusting to adulthood too well. Penny's other daughter Jessica, though she isn't talking about it, is deep in debt and has moved back into the nest as well. Add in Penny's aging parents, who also showed up at her doorstep, and a dog Kelsey brought home, and Penny's got a full house. Too bad that she has finally decided it's time to sell the place on Chicago's North Shore. Penny and Chris may have made mistakes in the past, both with each other and with their children, but just like with a math problem that doesn't quite come out right, mistakes can be erased with enough time and patience. VERDICT Lancaster's (The Best of

"The New York Times bestselling author of The Best of Enemies serves up a hilarious new novel of the "sandwich generation." Actuary Penny Sinclair has a head for business, and she always makes rational decisions. Knowing that 60% of spouses cheat and 50% of marriages end in divorce, she wasn't too surprised when her husband had an affair. (That he did so with a woman their daughter's age? Well, that part did sting a bit.) She just made sure she got everything in the divorce, including their lovely old Victorian house. And as soon as her middle daughter has her hipster-fabulous wedding in the backyard, she's trading it in for a condo in downtown Chicago... Well within the average market time in her area, Penny gets an offer on the house. But then life happens. Her children, her parents and her ex come flying back to the nest, all in need of Penny's emotional--and financial--support. Spread thin, Penny becomes the poster child for the "sandwich generation," when all she really wanted to