‘Apartment 3B’ by Patricia Scanlan

Tuesday 23rd April 1991 …. The Estate Agents

‘Where’s the file for Apartment 3B?’ Hilary Purcell muttered to herself, knowing that His Nibs, as she disrespectfully referred to her boss, would be requiring it later. Having located it, she placed it on the desk in front of her and returned to her typing.

The phone rang

‘O’Malley, Costello and Ryan. Can I help you?’ Hilary cursed silently as she made yet another typing error. Down the phone an angry tirade assaulted her ears. ‘Just one moment. I’ll put you through to Mr. O’Malley,’ she said sweetly. She was damned if she was going to deal with the angry client on the other end of the phone. Typical, of course. On their first meeting John O’Malley had told the client that the firm took 2 per cent of the selling price. He omitted to mention that the 2 per cent did not include the price of the boards and photograph of the property and the advertising. Not to mention the 21 per cent VAT. So the poor unfortunate on the other end of the phone had got a much heftier bill than she had budgeted for.

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The first few lines of this book by Irish author, Patricia Scanlan, more than set the scene in my mind for the greed, ambition, rivalry, disappointment and new beginnings, promised in the synopsis of this lengthy saga…..

I know that this is one book I am not going to be able to put down once I start it.

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