Recensori in anteprimaOwen Laukkanen

The billionaire picked a heck of a day to die. One beautiful sunny Saturday in Minneapolis, he got out of his car and was promptly shot by a sniper. Across the street, two people were sitting on a bench: Minnesota state investigator Kirk Stevens and his occasional colleague FBI special agent Carla Windermere. They not only saw it all, they saw the shooter – an absolutely normal-looking guy. Except for his eyes. There was something very wrong in his eyes. And it was only the beginning. This one killing will lead the two of them across many states, down many blind alleys, and finally to a very flourishing twenty-first century venture – a high-tech, murder-for-hire website. But as to who’s behind it, and what else he’s been up to – that’s where things get complicated.

The new Stevens and Windermere novel from the author of the dazzlingly acclaimed The Professionals—“one of the best debuts of the year” (Mystery Scene). From the outside, Carter Tomlin’s life looked perfect: a big house, pretty wife, two kids—a St. Paul success story. But Tomlin has a secret. He’s lost his job, the bills are mounting, and that perfect life is hanging by a thread. Desperate, he robs a bank. Then he robs another. As the red flags start to go up, FBI Special Agent Carla Windermere homes in on Tomlin from one direction, while Minnesota state investigator Kirk Stevens picks up the trail from another. The two cops haven’t talked since their first case together, but that’s all going to change very quickly. Because Carter Tomlin’s decided he likes robbing banks. And it’s not because of the money, not anymore. Tomlin has guns and a new taste for violence. And he’s not quitting anytime soon.

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.