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.

“Really terrific—characters that live and breathe, and chills aplenty.”--Lee Child

“Fasten your seat belts, Owen Laukkanen’s The Professionals is one heck of a wild ride.”--John Lescroart

“Ingenious.”--Jonathan Kellerman

“Smoothly written, with a slam-bang ending.”--John Sandford

“A coiling plot, insightful characters, and a tale fraught with dangers…top-notch.”--Steve Berry


“A high-octane, adrenaline- and gunpowder-fueled rocket ride.”--C. J. Box

© Berni Huber
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. View titles by Owen Laukkanen

About

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.

Reviews

“Really terrific—characters that live and breathe, and chills aplenty.”--Lee Child

“Fasten your seat belts, Owen Laukkanen’s The Professionals is one heck of a wild ride.”--John Lescroart

“Ingenious.”--Jonathan Kellerman

“Smoothly written, with a slam-bang ending.”--John Sandford

“A coiling plot, insightful characters, and a tale fraught with dangers…top-notch.”--Steve Berry


“A high-octane, adrenaline- and gunpowder-fueled rocket ride.”--C. J. Box

Author

© Berni Huber
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. View titles by Owen Laukkanen