The story opens with Mara Butler getting fired from her job at Avery Consulting. She has just broken up with her boyfriend and purchased a new condo. When she sees an add for an assistant to a real estate agent, Jacqueline Henderson, she applies and to her surprise is hired. Jacqueline is one of Chicago's top realtors. While Jacqueline dresses the part of a smart agent she has a crooked moral compass. Her quest to win the prestigious Top Producer Award by the Chicago Board of Realtors has led her to think outside the box. Mara begins to earn alot of money under Jacqueline's tutelage. She earns enough to pay the mortgage on her new condo, a new car and pay some of her cancer-stricken sister's medical bills. However, Mara becomes entangled in Jacqueline's unorthodox methods of getting real estate listings from clients. After a competing realtor suddenly dies, Mara is afraid of becoming the next victim.
Top Producer is a fast paced novel that depicts the cut throat world of real estate. I have to wonder, though, if all realtors go to the same extremes as Jacqueline. My gut tells me yes. Each extreme act ratchets up the suspense because the reader does not know how far Jacqueline, or even Mara, will go to be successful. Mara's parents are disappointed in her for losing her first job so quickly and Mara feels the pressure to succeed at something, anything. It's interesting how Mara tells herself that Jacqueline's questionable ethics are probably not illegal but Mara really doesn't know what is legal in the real estate world. She is not a trained realtor.
I loved the Jacqueline character more than Mara. Jacqueline is a perfect villain. She does not care who she hurts in her rise up the ladder at Greystone Realty. Today we would probably label her as a narcissist. Regardless of how confident Jacqueline appears, she is just as insecure as Mara. Her parents are disappointed in her too and she was rejected by her last boyfriend. She just doesn't let people know what her true feelings are.
I loved the Chicago setting. As each address or building was mentioned I knew exactly where they were located. The familiarity added to my enjoyment of the novel. However, readers not familiar with Chicago will understand which buildings are known as high end and which are not. With Chicago being known for being kind to mobsters, organized crime was in the back of my mind as I read about each questionable action by Jacqueline. I didn't know if Jacqueline was affiliated with a mob family or just taking advantage of everyone in town expecting to come across them regularly. Non-Chicagoans will probably not sense this feeling but I don't think it will affect your enjoyment of this novel.
5 out of 5 stars.
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