Where's Ours?

Marcia, 30, is dissatisfied with her job analyzing real-estate loans for a Chicago bank, particularly because her male co-workers often make off with the plum assignments. Marcia's equally disgruntled husband, Hodgekins ""Gin'' Bernthal III, teaches English at a Catholic high school for boys and is eager to step into the vice-principal's job, which he was promised when hired. When Gin inquires about the position, he is sacked, and Marcia must support him. Their marriage suffers, especially when Marcia lands a job with a high-powered real-estate firm. Eventually, Gin's career gets back on track, and he and Marcia learn to balance financial gain with domestic bliss. McKelvy, author of Pension Fund Investments in Real Estate, makes some cute jokes in this first novel, but her liberal use of realty jargon disrupts the story. Her prose is tame (``Oh drat,'' Marcia says), cliched (``Gin's ambition seemed to be dying; he was like a deflated balloon'') and ultimately disappoints. (December)