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The Professionals
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The Professionals
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The Professionals
Audiobook11 hours

The Professionals

Written by Owen Laukkanen

Narrated by Edoardo Ballerini

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

3.5/5

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Currently unavailable

Currently unavailable

About this audiobook

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.

LanguageEnglish
Release dateMar 29, 2012
ISBN9781101538739
Unavailable
The Professionals

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Reviews for The Professionals

Rating: 3.6827568275862066 out of 5 stars
3.5/5

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  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Merely "eh." The premise is clever, and the characters pleasantly drawn, but altogether it's just a little to fantastic.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Excellent first novel by Owen Laukkanen! The Professionals is a very interesting tale of some college kids who just want what we all do - job, money, vacation. These four are having trouble getting their wishes so they, on a whim, decide to go into kidnapping.Not the million dollar ransom type, just 60k here and there until they have built up enough to go away. Of course, dreams don't always work the way you want them to and someone ends up dead. The kidnapping crew is suddenly on the run for their lives and mistakes are made.In the middle of it all come Carla Windemere, FBI, and a state investigator named Kirk Stevens. Carla is a fly-by-the-seat-of-her-pants kind of agent and Kirk is not. Their back and forth conversations add to the draw of this book. These characters are perfectly written and I loved it!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I really liked 'The Professionals'..... it looks like a promising start of a new crime series by Owen Laukkanen. It has an interesting plot, is well-written, the dialogue is crisp and realistic, and it wraps up nicely. It did seem to drag a bit in the final 3rd, but it would have been extremely difficult to continue the fast pace of the beginning all the way to the end.

    The story follows a group of young college grads who were unable to find decent jobs after leaving school as they continue their 2nd year as 'professional' kidnappers. They've developed a unique approach to their chosen profession- they move from city to city, identify rich 'targets' who seem to have available cash, make the grab, then low-ball their ransom request. The victims are released quickly, the police are left out of the equation, they get their money and blow town, and their hidden bank accounts grow. It works like a well-oiled machine, until it doesn't. They have a short period of bad luck in which they tick off the wrong victim which leads to FBI involvement, then they inadvertently kidnap a Mafia princess's husband. The rest of the book is a great cat and mouse search.

    The first half of 'The Professionals' reminded me quite a bit of Elmore Leonard's work in that nothing ever works perfectly in a criminal enterprise and the police end up making the right moves to solve the crimes. However, in many cases Leonard's bad guys are also dumb guys, which leads to their demise. In this case, these are smart guys (and girl) who are pretty meticulous in their work. They just become uncharacteristically sloppy for a short period, and that's what unravels their enterprise. The dialogue is strong but nowhere near the hyper-realistic (and often hilarious) level of Leonard's work, but that's mostly because these criminals are a little better educated.

    I won't go into detail on the plot, but suffice to say that cross country travel is involved and that, as a bad guy, it's usually not a good move to have both the Mafia and the FBI on your tail. Just sayin'.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    Definitely a mixed bag. The book starts out strong, shifting between multiple view points in an Elmore Leonard fashion; however, the book looses serious momentum before the halfway point. It feels like a roller coaster that has made it part way up the major hill and who is now endanger of simply coasting backwards instead of cresting. The plot starts at the edge of believable and ends squarely in the over-the-top. I wanted to like the relationship between Stevens and Windermere, but, there is simply not enough interaction between the two to justify the relationship the author wants us to believe exists. I am rooting for this author and this series, there is something likable about it, although I did not believe the first book to be an overall success. I am hoping that the series grows and becomes stronger over successive books.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The Professionals (Stevens and Windermere)by Owen Laukkanen.Blurb:-

    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.

    Review

    A gritty read of crime and consequence, full of guilt and grime. The author sets an unsympathetic backdrop of hash economic times as impetus to stray from the straight and narrow. Authur, Matt, Marie and Ben devise a seemingly harmless plan--they are not going to hurt anyone, only hold them until their well off families pay to get them back. However, abducting people is never harmless as the 'team' soon find out. The trick the author plays with his characters and his plot, that set this yarn apart, are to make the reader empathize not only with the protagonists predicament, but also with angst. Unwittingly you might find yourself hopeful for their escape, not only from their assailants, but from the nightmare situation they find themselves in. This is the 'Sundance' syndrome, and the author does it very well. His fugitives are nice, normal kids, who have stumbled onto the wrong path, we want to save them.

    On the other hand the cops, are not so likable--well made characters, yes, nice, not at all--Stevens, wants fame and thrills. Windermere, loves the run of adrenaline during a case, more than closure at the end. Both officers are in relationships but find themselves more than a little enamored of each other. Also, they neglect their life partners without much regret. So, although this story pans out in a moralistically predicable way, the characters and the point they are shooting from(no pun intended) make this read unusual and engaging. If you like thrill-a-second, action packed reads, with life like heroes then this is the book for you.

  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    The first half is marvelous. Interesting plot, good use of multiple viewpoints, and endearing 'bad' guys. However, after the first incidence in Florida, the plot became a little too absurd for my taste. The 'real' professionals were too stereotypical to be particularly interesting, and the relationship between Stevens and Windermere left me a little baffled.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Four friends graduate from college during the economic downturn and can't seem to find a job. One of them jokes about kidnapping rich people, asking for a relatively small amount pf ransom for a millionaire, and then releasing the person telling them not to notify the police or they will hurt the family. Then they move to another town in another state and start all over again. It seems to work well for two years until one man decides to inform the police. Kirk Stevens of Minnesota's BCU crime task force can't seem to find any evidence that connects to the crew, until the FBI informs them that a similar situation has happened to a mob related family in New Jersey. Things go downhill for everyone from that point on.

    I couldn't put this book down. It's the debut novel for author Owen Laukkanen and there are currently six books in the series. It’s a page-turner with some predictable scenarios, but it captured my full attention in the first chapter and every chapter after that. The criminals were very sympathetic, which I think is often difficult to pull off. Kirk Stevens has instant chemistry with FBI agent Carla Windermere, and not in a romantic way. They are a great investigative team and I'm excited to read the next book in the series. If you're looking for an action packed thriller that's a little different from all the others, this is a great place to start.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    [The Professionals] by Owen LaukkanenWindermere and Stevens series Book #15&#9733'sFrom The Book:Four friends, 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 works like a charm—until they kidnap the wrong man.Now two groups 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 crisscross the country in a series of increasingly explosive confrontations, each of them is ultimately forced to recognize the truth: The real professionals, cop or criminal, are those who are willing to sacrifice everything.My Thoughts:A really great new author for me that was recommended as my Blind Date With A Book. This whole endeavor started for these four young friends as a game that not one of them took seriously until they just tried it once and found that it worked better than they ever imagined. They were selective...they never asked for huge amounts of ransom...they always released their victim unharmed immediately after the ransom was dropped...they moved from state to state never staying in one place very long...and they didn't even have guns. All went smoothly until it didn't. Luck was always on their side and then it went horribly wrong and from there continued to spin faster and faster out of control taking them on a ride with catastrophic consequences.The strange thing the author makes you like these kids. You find yourself wanting them to come out ahead even though you know everything is headed south. The FBI agent, Windermere and the Minnesota detective, Stevens are both dedicated cops that just won't give up. Owen Laukkanen has produced a 5 star first book in this series. I have already asked the library for the other 3 and I hope he is busy writing number 5.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Four friends have graduated college and find that their degrees are getting them nowhere near the professions and monetary compensation they had envisioned. What to do? Well, the answer is quite obvious. Start a kidnapping ring! Better than working at McDonald’s? They kidnap affluent individuals, demand a surprisingly low ransom, collect it from the spouse and move on to the next target. How easy is that? Until they kidnap someone that has mob connections, and then things go very, very wrong.

    In Mr. Laukkanen’s debut novel he keeps the reader on the edge of their seat. This book is part thriller, part crime drama and part suspense. Mr. Laukkanen not only displays the writing ability to keep the suspense building to the last page, but also to make his characters so interesting that the reader (for about 2/3 of the book) is rooting for both the good guys and the bad guys. Sounds unlikely, but you’ll have to read the book to see for yourself.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Great fresh concept: four college grads with no job prospects who become career criminals doing small time kidnappings off the radar to build up their nest-egg and retire to the beaches of Maldives. Thrilling page-turning fun. You end up liking the cops and the criminals (the Mafia not so much) and don't know who to root for. Fantastic read and I can't wait to read this authors next one.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    The first half is marvelous. Interesting plot, good use of multiple viewpoints, and endearing 'bad' guys. However, after the first incidence in Florida, the plot became a little too absurd for my taste. The 'real' professionals were too stereotypical to be particularly interesting, and the relationship between Stevens and Windermere left me a little baffled.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    A fast paced thriller that has more action than a fast moving train traveling down the tracks without an engineer waiting to crash, the pages keep turning as the plot thickens. One of the best written thrillers that I've read resently, it had me entertained throughout the adventure, not knowing where the next turn would take you, made this a great thriller to read.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    A winner! I could not put this book down, yet I regretted the impending ending.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I really enjoyed this book. As a matter of fact, I "lent it forward" and advised the new reader to read it first among the other 4 books I gave her. The story line was original and even though I liked the "bad guy," I also liked "the good guys." Will look forward to the next Owne Laukkanen.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This is a fun and fast read that left me rooting for the "good" guys and "good" guys. Laukkanen creates ordinary likable characters with ordinary unlikable traits and cleverly parallels the agents Windmere and Stevens with the gang of recent college graduate kidnappers. The kidnappers and the agents find themselves in an unordinary chase that comes to a predicatable but satisfying end. Think of Thelma and Louise stopped in the canyon and then the car accelerates from there--the same inevitable momentum carries this story from page one to the final pages where you are still hoping everything will turn out okay--for everyone. The narrative flows as if made for the movie screen and a cast of attractive young hollywood actors waiting for their break out and I will be there, even if the book is always better than the movie. Windmere and Stevens will be back in Laukkanen's next work, and I will be there, too.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Within the thriller genre, I might give this book 4 stars. Four smart but unemployed college graduates turn to kidnapping for money. They choose targets wisely and ask for small ransoms they know their victims can afford. The plan works for 2 years until they target the wrong man and their carefully built house of cards begins to crumble. Though the four are somewhat stereotypical - the brains, the brawn, the computer geek, and the girl - this group would normally be the good guys so it's a nice twist to make them the criminals. The law enforcement chasing them are portrayed with more depth than one might find in a standalone thriller. Stevens is the local cop who joins up with a hot shot female FBI agent. Both deal with the effect of their jobs on their home lives and they develop the kind of relationship you might expect of a man and woman working together in an intense situation. Laukkanen keeps the plot moving with the cops (and the mob) creeping up ever closer on the kidnappers. The near-misses are not as implausible as in other thrillers and, though some of the plot is predictable, he incorporates enough unexpected elements to keep the reader interested.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    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.I though it started rather believable and, in fact, I thought it was a pretty clever idea. But by the ending it just went off the deep end for me, believability at the breaking point. For a gang that was all nonviolent at first, they went pretty Rambo-like very quickly, with never a moment questioning what they we doing. Where does one learn how to use an automatic weapons on the road? And are we still suppose to be pulling for them? I think not.A pretty entertaining book..the proof is I finished it...but not up to the hype.Not my favorite debut book by a long shot but I will be interested to see what the author produces next.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    In these times with a failing economy this book strikes a chord with readers. Four friends, who are recent graduates, find themselves unable to get jobs. So what do they end up doing? They decide to kidnap rich men for ransom in order to make a living.I liked that we stepped right into the kidnapping action. You didn't have to wait through a long introduction of the characters, you got to know who they were while they were kidnapping a man. One thing that kind of irked me about the book was that after first being introduced to a character, the majority of the characters were then referred to as their last names. That may just be the style that the author thought best fit this book but for some reason it just annoyed me a bit. It was only a minor annoyance and didn't really detract from my interest in the story.During the story I felt my alliegance split between the kidnappers and between the FBI team. In the beginning I really felt for the kidnappers and really rooted for them, but once the investigation started and I began to to get to know Stevens and Windemere, I began to root for them. Towards the middle I started to find the kidnappers annoying and it was hard for me to connect with them. At the end I was completely on the side of Stevens and Windemere.Overall I thought the book was a good book, just not great. I can't quite agree with all the blurbs about this book. While it was a good book I can't quite use the words they used to describe it. It was a promising debut by Owen Laukkanen and I am looking forward to seeing his work grow.[I won this book from a contest on the author's facebook which in no way affects the content of my review.]
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    First Line: Martin Warner checked his watch as the train slowed for Highland Park.Recent University of Washington graduates Arthur Pender, Marie McAllister, Matt Sawyer, and Ben Stirzaker had no luck finding jobs after graduation in the lousy economy, so they decided to start their own business. Traveling back and forth across the country, they carefully target rich men, kidnap them, hold them for a relatively low ransom, get their money, and give the hostage back to his family. They estimate that in two more years, they'll have enough money stashed away to retire in the Maldives. But these best laid plans will go the way of all the rest. The four kidnap the wrong person, and they find themselves fighting for their lives-- caught between mobsters that will stop at nothing to kill them, and two law enforcement agents who will stop at nothing to put them behind bars. As the four fight to survive, they learn whom the true professionals really are.This debut novel reads like a house afire. Laukkanen's sense of action and pacing are first rate, and his story follows close behind (although it has a bug or two).The premise is intriguing, but not entirely believable. For example, two of the kidnappers obtained degrees in English literature and History-- and they expected to find jobs in a horrible economy? The character with a degree in Computer Sciences could easily have found a job, but is a more passive type who's willing to let someone else call the shots. Let's face it: these four are merely using the economy as an excuse; they all wanted to get rich fast so they wouldn't have to work.The two law enforcement characters, Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension investigator Kirk Stevens and FBI agent Carla Windermere, are interesting, and I wanted to know more about them. Having two separate groups of characters on which to focus attention was undoubtedly meant to create tension and to make readers aware of the fact that the people on both sides are deserving of sympathy, but it didn't work in this instance. Many thrillers focus on the story and the action. Characters come further down the list of priorities; however, Laukkanen places equal importance on them, so the characterization has to work. Splitting focus between two sympathetic groups meant that none of the characters were as finely drawn as they could have been and my loyalty was with none of them.With that said, Owen Laukkanen is a writer to watch. He's got a knack for action, pacing, story, and characters. Once he brings them all into finer focus, he'll have it made.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    There's been lots of buzz surrounding Owen Laukkanen's debut novel The Professionals, so I was really eager to read it. Oh boy, seriously - run, don't walk to grab your copy - it releases today. Yes, it's that good. Crime, suspense and thriller fans, you're going to love it. (So did Lee Child, John Sandford and more!) A four person kidnap crew has been touring the country, snatching affluent men and holding them for ransom. Why? Well, it's the economy. Their university degrees are practically worthless. What started out as an offhand comment has mushroomed. Now they're working the Pender Method - nothing too big - sixty grand - enough that the family can easily raise the funds and won't call the cops. In and out clean - very professional. A few more and they can retire to somewhere nice and warm. Next stop - Minnesota. Minnesota - where Kirk Stevens has worked for the BCA (Bureau of Criminal Apprehension) for ten years. "He caught his reflection in the patrol car';s rear window as he waited and he stared at it a moment, a forty-three-year-old career cop with thinning hair and a paunch, his tired eyes betraying a mounting fatigue....Another botched robbery, Stevens thought to himself. Another day in the glamorous life." Just another professional on the job. Until the crew hits the wrong man in Minnesota - a husband with connections to organized crime. And his wife sends in her professionals to track down the crew. Stevens is now on the case and it balloons. Then the FBI sends in Agent Carla Windermere and Stevens is called up to help these professionals. And where things go from there is a non stop, action packed, read 'til your eyeballs hurt ride. (Really, I had the day off, couldn't put it down and finished it by that night) You would never guess that this is a first novel. You'd think that Laukkanen is a professional. The writing is smooth, the dialogue flows so easily and the characters hooked me from the beginning. The plot? Well, the plot is just freakin' fantastic. The kidnappers owned this book, but Laukkanen has plans for another book featuring Stevens and Windermere. I look forward to seeing what he has in store for book two!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A very interesting premise, a group of recent college grads turn to professional kidnapping when they can't secure jobs, in the the hands of a promising writer makes this a must read. Of course things go awry for these three young man and a young women and they find themselves on the run from both the mob and the police. I will say though that I'm a bit suspicious, The cover has a blurb from John Sanford, the intro is written by the publisher who found Sanford, one of the protagonists works for the BCA, the writing seems awful....well read it and you be the judge. It's a good one.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Did find the book,in the beginning,slow...but so glad I did not give up.Would have liked to see a different ending,but guess that it the dark side talking,but really looking forward to more.Would have liked to see the story go international,and maybe turn into a serial....just a throught...
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    What a great first book!!! I anxiously await the 2nd in the Stevens/Windermere series. In this first book, Stevens (a MN state police officer) and Windermere (an FBI agent) are tasked with finding a group of kidnappers. The kidnappers are college graduates who couldn't find good paying jobs when they graduated so they decided to spend a few years kidnapping rich men all over the country. When one of the non-violent kidnappings results in one of their captive's deaths, they are on the run, not just from the FBI but also from the mafia. The book goes all over the country: Minnesota, Detroit, Seattle, Florida, Virginia, and Cincinnati. This book was intriguing in that I found that I was actually rooting for the kidnappers. Very suspenseful up until the end and again, a great first book for Mr. Laukkanen. Hurry up and write the 2nd one!!!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The premise of The Professionals really intrigued me. A group of friends who are graduating from college in an economy where they are unlikely to find high-paying jobs jokes about turning to kidnapping to make a living. The more they think about it, the more they think that they just need to go out and try it to see if they can pull it off. One kidnapping turns into many, each carefully plotted to stay under the radar of law enforcement. The targets are carefully studied, ransoms are kept low and spouses are scared into not reporting the crime for fear of future retaliation. Everything is on track until a kidnapping goes bad. They are forced to scramble for another target and that replacement target changes everything.I thought the book was well written and quite suspenseful. I found it interesting how the author wrote both the kidnappers and law enforcement as sympathetic characters. You could understand both sides. There were some great plot twists and I did not want to put the book down. I wanted to know what was going to happen next to the characters. It is one of those plots that seemed like once things were set in motion, nothing could be done except to see it through to it's conclusion and yet I was surprised along the way by several unforseen twists. I would recommend The Professionals to anyone who likes a nicely paced, suspense-filled thriller. Very good first effort by Owen Laukkanen.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I received this book as an Early Reviewer. To strart off I wanted to relate that the book arrived with a jacket that was covered with glowing, incredible reviews by many of the big names in the Crime Thriller genre. Many of the authors praising the book are authors that I read and enjoy. I really wish those reviews had not been included. They so heightened the expectations for the book that there was no way that Laukkanen's book could ever live up to it. That being said, I the book was very enjoyable and well written. It is the story of four college graduates who can't find jobs, so they decide to try out kidnapping. The idea of kidnapping wealthy people and only asking for small, easily attained ransoms in order to stay under the radar was very original. It had me wondering if that could really work, or if it might be happening and noone knew about it. Anyway, their scheme works until they kidnap the wrong guy (actually, two wrong guys in a row.) This brings them to the attention of the FBI and the Mob. Thats where the story takes off, and I won't spoil any of that.As mentioned, the book was well written and mostly believable. The ending was realistic and satisfying. The reader spends much more time with the bad guys than the good. As a result those characters were better developed and easier to relate to, even though they were the kidnappers. Apparently another book is in the works focusing on the two main cops. I will definitely read it, but hope to learn more about them than I did in this book.Overall, pretty damn good debut novel. Looking forward to more.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I was an early reviewer winner of this title and am delighted to have received the book. I found the book to be an entertaining debut novel, well written, and the ending was as it should have been. The concept of a group of four college graduates in Seattle who are unable to find worthwhile jobs throw out the idea of kidnapping well-off individuals and hold them for relatively small ransoms is a nice twist to the suspense genre. The fact that they were able to stay under the radar by employing this appoach for two years and build up a nice nest egg set up the rest of the book and the problems they encountered that finally imploded on them. Any reader of thrillers should read The Professionals. It is a satisfying read.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    What do you do if you graduate from college, and can't find a job? You invent your own job! These four decide to become kidnappers. No, not just kidnappers, but professional kidnappers. And it works, at least for a while. But then they get caught between the cops, and the mob.If this one doesn't grab you within the first 20 pages, I don't know what will. Owen Laukkanen has come up with a gangbuster first novel. Well paced, a really interesting premise, and characters you can associate with. I found myself rooting for both "the professionals", and the cops. I am looking forward to reading the next Owen Laukkanen book.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A solid, readable thriller. I almost finished it in a day, and what's more, I _wanted_ to - I wanted to know what happened next, I cared about the characters. Which was a neat trick considering we spend most of our time with the bad guys, the professional kidnappers. Laukkanen does an amazing job of humanizing them, helping us understand how they got where they are, and that just because they do bad things doesn't mean they don't care about each other. It was a fun read, and it had a real plot. It didn't get too complex, which is good because I just blazed through it. I didn't always know what would happen next, which is not always a given with a thriller, even a fun one. I'm looking forward to more from Laukkanen, though if it's about these detectives, I hope he spends more time fleshing them out as well as the people they're after. (four stars = good if you like this sort of thing)
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I don't think anybody goes to college thinking I am going to become a professional kidnapper but that is exactly what happens in this book. Four friends graduate from college and are unable to find suitable employment so they team up and become professional kidnappers. Mouse is the computer whiz of the operation. He finds marks and sets the ransom based on financial and employment information on the internet. Pender is the brains of the operation and with the help of his girlfriend Marie he plans the kidnappings being very careful to move around the country so that the kidnappings are not linked to one another. Finally, Sawyer is the muscle of the group. These four friends operate a successful kidnapping scheme for two years staying under the legal radar by selecting marks who will pay the ransom without much question (they keep the ransom demands relatively low) and not report the incident to the police. Then fate intercedes-first one of the marks reports the kidnapping to the police (enter Kirk Stephens an investigator with a division of the Minnesota State Police). Then one there planned marks leaves town so they have to select a new mark without doing the proper research and end up kidnapping a person with mob connections and all heck breaks lose (enter mob assassins and FBI agen Carla Windermere). I found the book to be a quick, easy, and action packed read. The characters are well developed and as the reader I became conflicted because at times I liked the kidnappers better than the police. The plot is well developed and exciting although it is often not very believable. This is an excellent debut novel and well worth the read.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Four college friends joke about kidnapping rich people as a way of making a living in todays bad job market. For 2 years it works. They are not greedy, they don't hurt their victims and none of their victims call the police later because of a warning "We'll come after your family." Until one man decides that they can't do that to him. After he is released he calls the police. Enter Kirk Stephens, an investigator with the BCA who once he starts investigating has a hunch that this was not a one time kidnapping. FBI agent Carla Windermere gets the case and recruiits Stephens temporarily to the FBI to help catch them.I can't say enough how much I loved this book. Laukkanen writes such likable characters. I even liked the kidnappers and the hitman that is tracking them down. The banter between Stephens and Windermere flows naturally. I also like the fact that Stephens is in a loving marriage with an understanding wife, has 2 kids, and he is not a burned out alcoholic. What you get is a fast paced thrill ride of a book. I couldn't wait to get to the end to see what happened and at the same time did not want it to end. Can't wait for the next book to come out. I won this from LibraryThing and I highly recommend this book.