Synopses & Reviews
TOP PRODUCERS think three steps ahead and make snap decisions. Theirs is a blurred version of reality, one that conceals motives or rewards bold moves. All too easily, scams can be disguised as success; plotting can be mistaken for killer instincts. And its all fun and games—until someone gets hurt.
“The gold standard for financial thrillers.”
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Grove ORourke is one such top producer at an elite investment firm. His job is his life. His colleagues are like family. One of them, Charlie, is legend—larger than life both in business and physique, loved by everyone. At least it seems that way, until his spectacular murder is carried out in front of hundreds of horrified party-goers…
“Shockingly accurate.”—Bloomberg on the Economy
Charlie was Groves best friend, and hell do anything to help his widow. But she appears to be hiding a dark secret… Soon, Grove stumbles upon a web of false statements and forged documents, and learns the truth about Charlies dealings—and those clients whose lives drastically changed the instant they signed a dishonest deal. And what he discovers is how money—vast sums of money—can bring out the best and worst in people. And sometimes even drive them to kill…
“An entertaining debut…about the cutthroat world of finance.”
—SmartMoney magazine
Review
“Norb Vonnegut, who has made a career out of wealth management, pulls off a compelling thriller that centers on the murder of hedge-fund schemer Charlie Kelemen: Hes tossed into a public aquarium and munched by sharks…This novel ponders the age-old ramifications of greed, but Vonnegut gives it a fresh, timely twist.” —USA Today
“Vonneguts debut meets the gold standard for financial thrillers as it puts the frenzied, cutthroat world of Wall Streets best stockbrokers (aka the ‘top producers) on brilliant display. Ripples from the bizarre murder of Charlie Kelemen, wealthy hedge fund operator, quickly reach his best friend, Grove ORourke. A top producer at the boutique investment bank Sachs, Kidder and Carnegie, ORourke tries to help Kelemens widow sort out some financial questions. This process leads him deeper and deeper into a labyrinth of deceit. As fallout from Charlies death and dealings start to taint ORourke, the sharks, inside and outside his own firm, smell blood and begin to circle. ORourke wont go down without a fight, and not all the blood in the water will be his. Vonnegut, himself a veteran fund manager, handles the arcane terminology and slang of Wall Street with aplomb, never letting it get in the way of the story.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“An entertaining debut…The story mirrors reality —in ways that may now surprise even its author, who finished the book before the economic meltdown .The two decades Vonnegut spent as a wealth advisor are evident in the venom he brings to descriptions and in his grasp of the cutthroat world of finance.”—SmartMoney magazine (A Smart Book “Best Of” pick)
“Norb Vonnegut makes a sterling debut in Top Producer, a financial thriller extraordinaire that reads like a 2009 version of Tom Wolfe s brilliant Bonfire of the Vanities for a world that has lost its taste for Wall Street excesses….A former wealth manager himself, Vonnegut paints a vivid picture of life lived between million-dollar trades. But he also writes with an aplomb that makes Top Producer a literary reimagining of the film Wall Street where murder, as well as money, never sleeps.” —Providence Journal-Bulletin
“[Vonnegut] knows what he's talking about." --John Searles, book editor at Cosmopolitan, speaking on the Today Show.
Review
Praise for Top Producer
“Norb Vonnegut, who has made a career out of wealth management, pulls off a compelling thriller that centers on the murder of hedge-fund schemer Charlie Kelemen: Hes tossed into a public aquarium and munched by sharks…This novel ponders the age-old ramifications of greed, but Vonnegut gives it a fresh, timely twist.” -USA Today
"Vonneguts debut meets the gold standard for financial thrillers as it puts the frenzied, cutthroat world of Wall Streets best stockbrokers (aka the ‘top producers) on brilliant display. Ripples from the bizarre murder of Charlie Kelemen, wealthy hedge fund operator, quickly reach his best friend, Grove ORourke. A top producer at the boutique investment bank Sachs, Kidder and Carnegie, ORourke tries to help Kelemens widow sort out some financial questions. This process leads him deeper and deeper into a labyrinth of deceit. As fallout from Charlies death and dealings start to taint ORourke, the sharks, inside and outside his own firm, smell blood and begin to circle. ORourke wont go down without a fight, and not all the blood in the water will be his. Vonnegut, himself a veteran fund manager, handles the arcane terminology and slang of Wall Street with aplomb, never letting it get in the way of the story." --Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Though it's hard these days to feel sympathy for investment bankers and stockbrokers, Vonnegut makes his irreverent protagonist someone we can root for as he pursues crooks who use the redemptive language of hedge funds to hide financial malfeasance. A promising debut.”
-Library Journal
"Norb Vonnegut's Top Producer begins where Liars Poker and The Bonfire of the Vanities left off and puts an electrifying spin on the winner-take-all culture of Wall Street. Turn to the first page and plunge into the shark-infested waters of high finance and greed."
--Brent Ghelfi, ITW Award-nominated author of Volks Game and The Venona Cable
“A timely read as Vonnegut opens the kimono exposing the intricate cause and effect of finance and murder. He shares his well-earned insights and literary acumen in a manner that entices the reader to reach out for the next chapter. A must for all investors wishing to avoid the next Bernie Madoff!"
--Joe Grano, Former CEO UBS/PaineWebber
“Norb Vonnegut makes a sterling debut in Top Producer, a financial thriller extraordinaire that reads like a 2009 version of Tom Wolfe s brilliant Bonfire of the Vanities for a world that has lost its taste for Wall Street excesses….A former wealth manager himself, Vonnegut paints a vivid picture of life lived between million-dollar trades. But he also writes with an aplomb that makes Top Producer a literary reimagining of the film Wall Street where murder, as well as money, never sleeps.” --Providence Journal-Bulletin (Rhode Island)
Synopsis
In a world that moves as fast as finance does, top producers have to think three steps ahead and make snap decisions. Theirs is a blurred version of reality, one that conceals moves as much as it rewards the bold ones. All too easily, scams can be disguised as success; plotting can be mistaken for killer instincts. And as Grove ORourke finds out, “Nothing obscures vulnerability like success. Nothing that is, except for friendships.”
But this book isnt about stocks and bonds—its about people. About Grove ORourke, top producer at the investment firm of Sachs, Kidder, and Carnegie, and about his best friend, Charlie Kelemen, whose spectacular murder is carried out in front of hundreds of horrified party-goers at the opening of the novel. Its about Charlies widow, who comes to Grove for help after her husbands death, even though shes hiding a dark secret. And its about how money—vast sums of money—can cover up even the most glaring imper fections in relationships, and fool everyone.
Well, almost everyone. With the ease of someone who has lived in the world of top producers, NorbVonnegut has crafted a sharp, dark thriller that will make you think—and then double-check your investments.
Synopsis
Grove ORourke is one such top producer at an elite investment firm. His job is his life. His colleagues are like family. One of them, Charlie, is legend—larger than life both in business and physique, loved by everyone. At least it seems that way, until his spectacular murder is carried out in front of hundreds of horrified party-goers…
Charlie was Groves best friend, and hell do anything to help his widow. But she appears to be hiding a dark secret… Soon, Grove stumbles upon a web of false statements and forged documents, and learns the truth about Charlies dealings—and those clients whose lives drastically changed the instant they signed a dishonest deal. And what he discovers is how money—vast sums of money—can bring out the best and worst in people. And sometimes even drive them to kill…
Don't miss Norb Vonnegut's latest Grove O'Rourke thriller, The Trust.
About the Author
A NOTE FROM AUTHOR NORB VONNEGUT
A funny thing happened during my 60-hour weeks as a wealth advisor. I discovered the joy of writing. For years my partners and I wrote our clients about investment decisions, why we bought this stock or sold that one. I loved the wordplay and believe our letters woke an inner beast.
They never quite sated my appetite, though. I longed to write stories about Wall Streets people, the crazy things that percolate through trading floors and broker bullpens. My people, characters that is, hail from the trenches of finance. Brokers. Traders. Sales assistants. There is the occasional CEO, or the bigger than life hedgie. But I am not trying to pluck some legend from the business press and fictionalize that person. My characters find themselves thrust into uncomfortable worlds by forces far beyond their control.
Working on Wall Streets front lines prepped me to write this fiction. I was a Managing Director at Silvercrest Asset Management, a money management firm where I had the great fortune to work. I spent the previous 14 years on the “sell-side,” industry jargon for brokerages and investment banks, including stints at Morgan Stanleys Private Wealth Management division, Paine Webber, and Chase Manhattan in Melbourne, Australia. Ten of those years were with a white-shoe brokerage, the place where I began writing Top Producer.