The Professionals, Owen Laukkanen
The Professionals, Owen Laukkanen
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The Professionals

Author: Owen Laukkanen

Narrator: Edoardo Ballerini

Unabridged: 11 hr 43 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Penguin Audio

Published: 03/29/2012

Synopsis

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.

About The Author

Owen Laukkanen is the author of the Stevens and Windermere series, beginning with The Professionals, which was nominated for the Anthony Award, Barry Award, Spinetingler Magazine Best Novel: New Voices Award, and the International Thriller Writers’ Thriller Award for best first novel. His follow-up, Criminal Enterprise, was nominated for the ITW Thriller Award for best novel. A resident of Vancouver, British Columbia, he is now at work on the next book featuring Stevens and Windermere.Edoardo Ballerini has been nominated for several Audie awards and is the recipient of multiple Earphones awards from AudioFile magazine. His screen credits include the feature films Dinner Rush and Romeo Must Die, as well as the television series The Sopranos, Boardwalk Empire, and 24. To learn more, visit edoardoballerini.com.

Reviews

Goodreads review by James

This is an excellent debut thriller with a great cast of characters, a totally plausible and entertaining plot, and a pace that will keep readers turning the pages at a blistering pace. When the economy is in the dumpster, what is a young person supposed to do? Four friends, Marie McAllister, Arthur......more

Goodreads review by Barbara

Four college graduates - Pender, Marie, Sawyer, and Mouse - are unable to secure good-paying jobs and form a kidnapping ring. Their plan is to pull off a slew of abductions, pile up a lot of ransom money, and retire to the Maldives. For each job the kidnappers choose a wealthy family man, ask for $6......more

Goodreads review by J.

'The Professionals' is one of those books that gets you thinking... and then you start thinking about how many other people could be thinking exactly what you're thinking... And what I was thinking was just how much I sympathized with the protagonists and their criminal activities in this book. Kidna......more

Goodreads review by Barbara

This is a entertaining and fast read for those who enjoy crime/thriller genre. “The Professionals” is about a group of four friends who graduate from college and find the job market lackluster. What’s a group to do? They decide to start kidnapping wealthy people, ask for low ransom that’s “pocket mo......more

Goodreads review by Jim

Excellent premise & pretty well done throughout. The book was well titled, too. Some of the reality was lost to TV moments as the train wreck headed for its inevitable conclusion, but it wasn't too awful. The motivations & characters were all great & saved the story. I could really see 4 college kid......more

Quotes

“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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