Purgatory Gardens

Lefcourt (The Deal) deftly plays this twisted tale of romance among senior citizens for laughs. Sammy Dee, a retired Mafia man, and Didier Onyekachukwu, who served as finance minister for one of Burkino Faso's unelected presidents, vie for the affections of 60-something actress Marcy Gray. All of them live in Paradise Gardens, a Palm Springs, Calif., condo better known to residents as Purgatory Gardens. Both men, each of whom is running from his past (Sammy is in the witness protection program; Didier is a wanted man after a coup), are looking to Marcy for comfort and security. Marcy, who's looking for the same thing, is wise enough to hire investigator Evelyn Duboff to check out her mysterious suitors. Things heat up when first Sammy and then Didier decides to hire a killer to remove the competition, especially as they hire from the same outfit%E2%80%94Acme Exterminating and Patio Decks, which "redid your patio while they took out your enemies." Emmy-winner Lefcourt, who has written and produced for both TV and film, delivers a novel ready-made for the movies. (Aug.)