THE PROFESSIONALS Hardback - 2012

de Laukkanen, Owen

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.

AUTHOR BIO: After graduation, OWEN LAUKKANEN answered a craigslist ad, and for the next three years he was the tournament reporter for a poker website, traveling from the luxurious casinos of Monaco and Macao to the sketchiest cardrooms of Atlantic City. A resident of Toronto, he is now at work on a second book featuring Stevens and Windermere. You can learn more about Owen Laukkanen at www.owenlaukkanen.com.