Top Producer Norb Vonnegut St. Martin's, Minotaur Sept. 2009

Looking for a primer on the market, an honest broker, a page turner? You'll find all three in Norb Vonnegut's thriller Top Producer. Grove O Rourke is our investment guide and top producer at his firm, Sachs Kidder and Carnegie. Charlie Kelemen and his wife 'Sam' are Grove's best friends; providing him months of comfort and time to recover from the death of his wife and daughter. When the Wall Street shark, Charlie, is literally eaten by sharks Grove knows he must help out Sam.

The easiest way for Grove to solve Sam's money woes is to liquidate Charlie's holdings. Written from today's economic perspective, the reader is a step ahead of Grove in thinking that Charlie ran a scam but twists and turns over who to trust abound. The reader is pulled along as a result. Grove, by nature a risk taker, finds his life in jeopardy as he continues to dig into Charlie's past financial wheeling and dealing in an effort to find his killer.

When it comes to the market, Mr. Vonnegut knows his stuff. Here's an interesting first novel that shows some promise for a series. Look for Top Producer to pay benefits to the reader.

Dave Biemann