Widowed for 18 months, Grove O'Rourke, a top producer on Wall Street, has counted on the loving support of his best friends, Charlie and Samantha, to get him through the loss of his wife and daughter. Sam was his wife's best friend.

Everyone loves Charlie. His investment business is rolling in the dough. His wife Sam has finally accepted the flashy lifestyle, so Charlie asks Grove for an idea of where to throw Sam a surprise birthday party. Grove recommends the Boston Aquarium. He arrives to an immense crowd. The lights dim and a spotlight centers on Sam up on the stage. A belly dancer seductively moves around Sam, drawing all eyes to the stage until one of the guests screams. Five hundred party guests cannot believe their eyes when they see Charlie sinking to the bottom of a shark tank tied to a food cart, then he's attacked and torn apart before their eyes.

Grove grieves along with Sam. When she comes to him for help, since Charlie took care of all the money and she has no idea where the accounts are or how much he has left her, Grove's friends and co-workers tell him to stay out of it. He can't; he's promised Sam he would help her. He remembers how much Sam and Charlie helped him in the last year and a half. Grove is a sharp guy. He starts checking into some of the accounts and talks to some of Charlie's clients, also friends of his, and finds some puzzling discrepancies. He's intrigued. However, this search takes time away from his work responsibilities and a tough-as-nails female co-worker is looking to snatch away one of Grove's top clients right under his nose.

The police are conducting their murder investigation. Grove has Charlie's laptop, but doesn't tell the police. The more he investigates, the more discrepancies he discovers. Someone doesn't want him investigating. Thugs attack him, but Grove is resilient. His investigation has opened up a can of worms. When Grove discovers that Charlie has cheated a widowed woman with a handicapped child out of her life savings, he is disillusioned; and then sickened when he discovers Charlie forged his name on a letter of support from Grove's company, which convinced people to invest in Charlie's company. His boss learns of the letter and asks Grove to take a leave of absence.

Grove's life unravels in front of him as he struggles to keep his job and his top client from the claws of his competitive co-worker. As he tries to clear his name, he works to protect Sam from Charlie's scam of a business. Grove sadly learns his friends are really his enemies, while some unlikely enemies can turn into allies.

TOP PRODUCER by Norb Vonnegut is an excellent window into the workings of Wall Street. He explains part of the business throughout the story in a compelling voice through Grove O'Rourke. You will want to know from the beginning who dumped Charlie into the shark tank. More importantly, you will move from page to page, anxiously waiting to discover the reason he was murdered. And the thrilling discovery will be worth the wait.