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The Professionals (A Stevens and Windermere Novel) [Hardcover]

Owen Laukkanen (Author)

(102 customer reviews)

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Book Description

Release date: March 29, 2012 | Series: A Stevens and Windermere Novel (Book 1)

A Kirkus Reviews Best Fiction Selection for 2012

Four friends, recent college graduates, caught in a terrible job market, joke about turning to kidnapping to survive. And then, suddenly, it's no joke. For two years, the strategy they devise-quick, efficient, low risk-works like a charm. Until they kidnap the wrong man.

Now two groups they've very much wanted to avoid are after them-the law, in the form of veteran state investigator Kirk Stevens and hotshot young FBI agent Carla Windermere, and an organized-crime outfit looking for payback. As they all crisscross the country in deadly pursuit and a series of increasingly explosive confrontations, each of them is ultimately forced to recognize the truth: The true professionals, cop or criminal, are those who are willing to sacrifice . . . everything.

A finger-burning page-turner, filled with twists, surprises, and memorably complex characters, The Professionals marks the arrival of a remarkable new writer.

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A finger-burning page-turner, filled with twists, surprises, and memorably complex characters, The Professionals marks the arrival of a remarkable new writer.

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

John Sandford reviews The Professionals

John Sandford is a Pulitzer Prize winner and the author of twenty-two Prey novels and eleven other works of fiction, most recently the Virgil Flowers novel Shock Wave. He lives in Minnesota.

The list of things that can foul up a perfectly good thriller is a long one. Sometimes they are so prevalent that if you go into a mystery bookstore and ask the owner, “Anything new and good?,” he may have twenty new books around the counter, and maybe he’ll hand you one.

Some of the other writers will learn the trade, eventually, but this one, this one’s worth reading right now.

Owen Laukkanen is a new guy, but you’d never know it. The Professionals is one of those books that you’ll tend to read in one sitting. The basic story involves a crew of professional kidnappers who have refined their technique to an art form--until they stumble, and art turns to blood. Laukkanen writes so well that his prose disappears into the story, and you live it: The Professionals is full of real people, struggling through extreme circumstances, but nothing that you don’t believe.

Both the good and the bad guys come in a variety of flavors, and his cops combine wit and charm--in fact, his pairing of FBI agent Carla Windermere and BCA agent Kirk Stevens is so good and full of possibilities that I can’t wait to see what they do next.

The Professionals is a real, down-and-dirty thriller: the story never, ever slows down.

If I were you, I’d get started now.

Photo of John Sandford © John Earle

Review

“Fasten your seat belts, Owen Laukkanen’s The Professionals is one heck of a wild ride. A first-class thriller by a terrific new voice.”—John Lescroart

“Really terrific – characters that live and breathe, a just-right story, and chills aplenty. Highly recommended." —Lee Child

“Smoothly written, with a slam-bang ending, The Professionals is a brutally beautiful piece of work. Owen Laukkanen takes us straight into the hearts of the bad guys, and what we find there is something very complicated and still very bad. The cops are just as complex as the villains, and Laukkanen nicely captures the personal and sexual tension between Kirk Stevens and Carla Windermere as they track down the gang: this is a pairing that will wear well.” —John Sandford

“A coiling plot, insightful characters, and a tale fraught with danger. What more could any thriller reader want? The Professionals has it all. It’s top-notch entertainment.” —Steve Berry

“A page-turning blend of classic suspense fiction and chillingly postmodern amorality. Ingenious plotting, perfect-pitch characterization and evocative sense of place combine to create an impressive debut.” —Jonathan Kellerman

“A spectacular debut novel written with intelligence, toughness, and heart. Owen Laukkanen is a writer to watch.” —Thomas Perry, author of The Butcher's Boy and The Informant

“The Professionals is a high-octane adrenaline and gunpowder-fueled rocket ride across the country from Seattle to Miami to Detroit and points in-between. What is remarkable about Owen Laukkanen’s debut is how skillfully he makes the reader care for his characters on both sides of the law. An excellent first novel!” —C. J. Box

“The Professionals grips you on page one and doesn’t let go until the last, satisfying page. Laukkanen provides plenty of twists along the way while developing a well-juggled array of complex and evolving characters. Highly recommended.” —Alafair Burke, author of Long Gone

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Product Details

Hardcover: 384 pages
Publisher: Putnam Adult; 1 edition (March 29, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0399157891
ISBN-13: 978-0399157899
Product Dimensions: 6.2 x 1.3 x 9.2 inches
Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (102 customer reviews)
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #660,264 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars

(102)

4.0 out of 5 stars

See all 102 customer reviews

“ Laukkanen does a great job with the novel's plotting, with plenty of surprises to keep readers guessing. ” Susan Tunis | 25 reviewers made a similar statement

“ Reads like a good movie. ” TC68Bird | 12 reviewers made a similar statement

“ The plotting was good but too many characters were just stereotypes rather than feeling like fleshed-out people. ” Michelle Mumaw Gage | 16 reviewers made a similar statement

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 45 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Not Up To The Hype April 2, 2012

By cait VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

OK, this is not a bad book but it is not as good as all the great blurbs from the likes of Lee Child and John Sandford led me to hope. It is well written and action packed, I will give it that. And even though there are a lot of characters and a lot of different locations, who was who and what was going on was always pretty clear. That is the good news.

But...I had a couple of major issues with the book.

My number one problem, and it is a big number one, is the characters. The story is told from several points of view, the kidnapping gang, the FBI and state agent, and even the main mob guy who is after the four. The four college kidnapers are presented as rather sympathetic. The just want money and OK, they scare innocent people but they didn't mean to hurt anyone. Well, until they killed one..and then a bunch more. Poor dears. Poor amoral, lazy, over-educated dears.

Then we have the FBI agent Carla and State Agent Kirk. He is happily married and she has a boyfriend, but they don't seem above some heavy duty flirting. It seems that this is meant to be a series with the two of them and let me say, I for one have NO interest in seeing where that is going. It is totally out of character with the sort of people we are told thy are and is actually rather creepy.

Then there are the many cities the book is set in. We visit a bunch of different places, including one of my favorite book settings, Seattle, and my second favorite, Miami Beach, but for all the flavor we get, it could have been set anywhere. One trip to the beach for a few minutes was as much as we get. If I am going to do that much traveling, I want to get a feel for the difference or we might as well of stayed in Minnesota.

And finally, there is the plot.... Read more ›

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36 of 43 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Crime Debut Novel I Have Ever Read! February 15, 2012

By Tom McGee TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

I review books as a hobby. Amazon.com lets me pick two books from a list twice monthly in exchange for an honest review. It is a great opportunity to read new authors. Some are better writers than others and some write more interesting books than others. Every once in a while one of these authors absolutely knocks my socks off. This was my experience with Owen Laukkanen's debut novel, The Professionals. It was absolutely fantastic!

Four friends were finishing up college at the University of Washington. For Arthur Pender, it was a Master's degree in English Literature. His girl friend, Marie McAllister received a Baccalaureate degree in History. Her friend, Ben "Mouse" Stirzaker was a computer science graduate. With Pender's help, Matt Sawyer barely graduated with a laughable GPA.

With a poor economy the four were pondering what kind of a job any of them could obtain. Only "Mouse" had hope for gainful employment. During a get together at Sawyer's house, Marie jokingly said that they should rob people. They were all pretty smart people and with Pender as their ring leader, they decided they would pull one job to see if they could do it.

One successful mid-west job led to another without a hitch, until they made a mistake.

Without knowing it they kidnapped a Detroit mobster, Donald Beneteau, whose wife, Patricia was a crime boss connected to the Bartholdi crime family from New York. That mistake would alter their plans and lives, forever.

Targeted by the mob, chased and investigated by the police and FBI, they matched wits and battled professions on a rollercoaster ride across the country in an attempt to escape and retire on an island somewhere in the sun.

On the run their lives of crime turned violent and fatal for many.... Read more ›

25 Comments |

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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A review by an ex-FBI agent May 29, 2012

By Russ A.

Format:Hardcover

As a retired FBI agent who has worked real kidnapping cases and written a novel about kidnapping, I just had to read and review this one as soon as I heard about it. Two things you should know: first, there are no spoilers in this review; second, even though there are some criticisms, this is not a negative review. I'm giving it four stars because I liked it, and if you like this genre, I think you will too. But I think my unique experience and perspective may be helpful to some prospective readers.

When I first started reading it, I was quickly disappointed. The author was getting things wrong, little things that could easily have been researched and done right. For example, a VIN cannot be destroyed by burning the vehicle (unless maybe it's melted to pure slag); it's almost impossible for anyone to get $60,000 cash from a bank in less than 24 hours; FBI agents don't fly around the country following leads on cases -- they send the leads to the agents in the other locations to handle. Then there were the cliched characters: the mafioso gunman had greasy, black, slicked back hair; the FBI agent wore a trench coat and mirrored shades. In my 25 years in the FBI I never saw any agent wear a trench coat, and it's Secret Service, not FBI, who wear the mirrored shades (so that the the assassin in the crowd can't tell if they are looking at him). These things irritated me.

Then I told myself to forget about that stuff and just go with the story. It's supposed to be fiction, after all. From there I began to enjoy it. It's full of non-stop action and imaginative twists. The sexual tensions that develop between some of the characters are done well. If you prefer the superbly researched mysteries written with more erudition than action (e.g.... Read more ›

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Let Down

A novel idea idea for a criminal enterprise with social commentary thrown in. I was entertained and enjoying the novel until the very end, unfortunately. Read more

Published 10 days ago by Paul Saffell

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Fast Paced Thriller

I loved it. Fast paced and extremely hard to put down. Laukkanen may not win any awards for his prose, but his writing is well polished and clean and easy to read. Read more

Published 16 days ago by Edward V.

5.0 out of 5 stars Action Packed Page Turner - A Definite Winner!!

I advise you, gentle reader, not to make the mistake that I did. I let Owen Laukkanen's debut The Professionals languish at the bottom of my "to be read" stack, but that was a... Read more

Published 20 days ago by Philip R. Heath

3.0 out of 5 stars Just an OK book

Owen Laukkanen writes well and I think he'll be good as he develops as a writer. The publisher's dust- cover quotes from famous mystery writers are exaggerated!!!! Read more

Published 22 days ago by Maia

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book

Purchased this on friends recommendations and am very happy I did. Was a captivating page turner. Looking forward to the sequel

Published 24 days ago by Lori Miller

4.0 out of 5 stars Good new author to add to my regular read list

Good story; kept my interest throughout; made me want to read another of his books; look forward to his development

Published 25 days ago by Happy in Houston

2.0 out of 5 stars A little ham-handed compared to the pros

"The Professionals" is not a great book, but it's not all bad either. There were moments I eagerly turned the pages ahead with anticipation, but there were just as many periods... Read more

Published 28 days ago by Sal Nudo

1.0 out of 5 stars shallow and corny

The first third of the book is interesting as a suspense procedural. But the characters are one-dimensional and uninteresting, so the book slows to a tedious crawl. Read more

Published 1 month ago by johnbg

5.0 out of 5 stars A really good book!

This was well done and loved the way things came together at the end. It was hard to put down, really held my attention. Read more

Published 1 month ago by Lilly

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Read

Very quick read that entices the reader to not want to put it down. I will say I found the villains much more interesting than the FBI agents.

Published 1 month ago by Tom L

Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Surprise Me!

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