The Professionals

The Professionals

by Owen Laukkanen

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.

My thoughts:

The Professionals was a brilliant book by Owen Laukkanen. When the initial incident hits you can't stop reading. The tension is always there; the looming threat of getting arrested or killed while the protagonists are scrambling for escape. This book kept me reading and wondering if they will ever escape. Owen Laukkanen connected you to these criminals by portraying them as victims, forced to turn to illegal methods of making money with no hope of getting a job in the recession. In this book you are rooting for the bad guys, no matter what horrible things that they all did.

My only complaint with this book is the ending.(Do not worry this is spoiler free.) I found it to be anticlimactic compared to the rest of this high tension book. I found myself to be re-reading the ending to see if there was anymore to the ending but to no avail. I do give some credit to Owen, I thought him going with it all happened so quickly feeling with the tide turning so quickly.

I found this book to be one of the best books that I ever read and I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys action and suspense. I would give this book eight stacks of cash out of ten.


reviewed by I. F., Grade 10 Scona student