Norb Vonnegut is to Wall Street as John Grisham is to the legal world. I look forward to reading more of his books. “Top Producer” is a timely, fun story that kept me reading past my usual, few chapters a night. The book is full of Wall Street lingo and provides insight as to the way Wall Street functions and how the different players think. Norb hits it dead on in describing how managers, the legal dept. and “top producers” think and what motivates them. I also enjoyed the twists and turns as well as the references to the different parts of NYC. All in all it’s a fun and exciting read!

Norb, stop in Station Plaza Wine & Spirits in town for a Prosecco on the house.

Kevin

Before you start reading TOP PRODUCER, clear your calendar. You’re not going to want to put it down until you finish the last page. This book has everything going for it to become a huge bestseller and, eventually, a hit movie.

The novel is centered on Wall Street at the present moment in time. How much of this story was inspired by recent current events and how much, independently, was the product of a fertile and informed imagination is impossible to discern from the tale.

Yet how the plot came to be hatched is irrelevant in the reading. This is a brilliant work.

Author Norb Vonnegut displays an insider’s knowledge of the trading world, making it come alive for an outsider. At times, the narrative almost approaches a primer on investing.

The mystery opens with one of the most imaginative (and repulsive)murders in the history of fiction. At a quick pace, it moves on to stock manipulation and Securities fraud, complete with partners-in-crime, double-crosses and triple-crosses. A couple of characters are implausible but not impossible … and even the greatest writers sometimes rely on coincidence to advance their stories, as Vonnegut does here.

He has crafted an intricate and compelling plot that achieves the ultimate thriller status, keeping one absorbed way into the wee hours of the morning. And, best of all — and rarely true in popular fiction — Vonnegut displays immense command of language. Taken together, TOP PRODUCER is a winner in every sense.

Don’t miss this one!

If you’ve ever thought about selling securities for a living, this book should make up your mind; that is, if you accept Mr. Vonnegut’s vision of the business. I would have enjoyed “Top Producer” just for that nightmarish vision, but there’s a lot more.

Here’s the set-up: Grove O’Rourke is a top salesman at a big brokerage house. When his best friend dies in a strange incident, he agrees to help the widow, also a long-time friend, and the former roommate of Grove’s dead wife, to wind up the decedent’s business. Stuff happens.

I can’t say a lot more without spoiling the fun, but the story races by, filled with back-stabbing colleagues, evil in-house lawyers, and ordinary thugs, none of whom want Grove to complete his mission. The author’s expertise in the business is apparent in every vivid and miserable detail of Grove’s daily life and, of course, in the unraveling mystery at the heart of things.

I read “Top Producer” cover to cover and enjoyed every minute. My one real criticism is that some of the characters don’t make a lot of sense, and the resolution would be more satisfying if a little more thought had been put into them. (I apologize for the vagueness, but again, I don’t want to give the story away!)