Real estate investment broker Jonah Gray has it all -- partnership in a powerful New York City firm that provides him enough money to afford a Park Avenue penthouse, luxury clothes and vehicles, as well as a lavish social lifestyle. He learned how to be powerful in pursuing his dreams from his equally powerful father. When a Russian friend approaches Jonah with a half-billion dollar deal, Jonah is more than eager to handle the property purchase for him. The fact that it has to be done in a very short amount of time makes the deal more risky, but the payoff will be phenomenal for Jonah and his partners.

It doesn't take long for outside circumstances to start dictating Jonah's situation. Fear and paranoia set in with all the juggling he's doing to keep control of his life. Then a tragic turn of events proves to be not only shocking, but life altering. With so many things happening on so many different fronts in such a short amount of time, Jonah realizes he's been set up from the very beginning of the deal. But how is he going to handle it all now?

In the beginning chapters of THE DEAL, you have to read through some large sections of descriptive narrative, which has a tendency to slow the pacing. Once Adam Gittlin has established the characters and the workings of the real estate business, the plot picks up considerably as the deal unfolds. Jonah Gray is not that easy a central character to like with his many excesses and voracity, but his redeeming qualities show through enough that readers will root for his success in the end. As the first book in a three-part series, THE DEAL ends with a good setup for the next novel, THE DEAL: ABOUT FACE, coming in March 2014.