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 ridiculous, but you’ll have to read the book to see for yourself.

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!