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Stevens & Windermere #4
The Stolen Ones
The blistering new novel from the author of the multi-award-nominated The Professionals—“Laukkanen is one of the best young thriller writers working today” (Richmond Times-Dispatch).
When you’ve got nothing left, you’ve got nothing left to lose.
Cass County, Minnesota: A sheriff’s deputy steps out of a diner on a rainy summer evening, and a few minutes later, he’s lying dead in the mud. When BCA agent Kirk Stevens arrives on the scene, he discovers local authorities have taken into custody a single suspect: A hysterical young woman found sitting by the body, holding the deputy’s own gun. She has no ID, speaks no English. A mystery woman.
The mystery only deepens from there, as Stevens and Carla Windermere, his partner in the new joint BCA–FBI violent crime task force, find themselves on the trail of a massive international kidnapping and prostitution operation. Before the two agents are done, they will have traveled over half the country, from Montana to New York, and come face-to-face not only with the most vicious man either of them has ever encountered—but two of the most courageous women.
They are sisters, stolen ones. But just because you’re a victim doesn’t mean you have to stay one.
When you’ve got nothing left, you’ve got nothing left to lose.
Cass County, Minnesota: A sheriff’s deputy steps out of a diner on a rainy summer evening, and a few minutes later, he’s lying dead in the mud. When BCA agent Kirk Stevens arrives on the scene, he discovers local authorities have taken into custody a single suspect: A hysterical young woman found sitting by the body, holding the deputy’s own gun. She has no ID, speaks no English. A mystery woman.
The mystery only deepens from there, as Stevens and Carla Windermere, his partner in the new joint BCA–FBI violent crime task force, find themselves on the trail of a massive international kidnapping and prostitution operation. Before the two agents are done, they will have traveled over half the country, from Montana to New York, and come face-to-face not only with the most vicious man either of them has ever encountered—but two of the most courageous women.
They are sisters, stolen ones. But just because you’re a victim doesn’t mean you have to stay one.
358 pages, Hardcover
First published March 17, 2015
55 people are currently reading
1187 people want to read
About the author
Owen Laukkanen
21 books550 followersOwen Laukkanen's debut thriller, THE PROFESSIONALS, was published by G.P. Putnam's Sons in spring 2012. Its sequel, CRIMINAL ENTERPRISE, will hit stores on March 21, 2013.
An alumnus of the University of British Columbia's Creative Writing BFA program, Laukkanen spent three years in the world of professional poker, traveling to high-stakes tournaments across the globe as a writer for www.PokerListings.com.
A commercial fisherman when he’s not writing, Laukkanen divides his time between Vancouver, British Columbia and Prince Edward Island, Canada.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 178 reviews
November 3, 2021
In this 4th book in the 'Stevens and Windermere' series, the cop and FBI agent try to help a victim of sex trafficking. The book can be read as a standalone.
*****
A human trafficking ring is kidnapping girls in Eastern Europe and selling them in the United States. When a deputy sheriff in Minnesota becomes suspicious of a truck carrying a shipment of girls he's killed by one of the drivers, and a Romanian girl named Irina manages to escape.
Irina, found near the deputy's body, is suspected of killing him. Minnesota cop Kirk Stevens and FBI agent Carla Windemere are called in to investigate the crime.
With the aid of a translator Stevens and Windemere learn that Irina is a victim and that her sister, Catalina, is still in the clutches of the traffickers. Law enforcement officials set out to save the enslaved girls and capture the traffickers.
The man running the local trafficking ring is Andrei Volovoi, a mid-level hoodlum operating under the thumb of the Dragon, a ruthless murderer and pervert.
Volovoi has a gang of men working for him, mostly drivers that deliver the girls to buyers around the country. When Volovoi - and then the Dragon - learn that two drivers let Irina escape there's deadly fallout amongst the bad guys and a scramble to punish Irina's family - especially Catalina.
During their pursuit of the criminals Stevens and Windemere learn there's a complex array of foreign holding companies that control the slave trade. The cops do manage to locate and close down a couple of brothels that bought some girls. The accompanying arrests make Volovoi start to panic as he scrambles to cover his tracks, elude the FBI, and keep the Dragon happy.
The story is full of action as Stevens and Windemere rush from one state to another following clues and Volovoi tears around to get his hands on Catalina so he can deliver her to the Dragon. Irina even gets in on the action, being determined to find and rescue her sister (though how she plans to do this with no money, no English, and almost no knowledge about the U.S. is bewildering).
The characters are engaging and sufficiently fleshed out. Stevens has a wife and family, including a 16-year-old daughter in love - very tough on dad.
Windermere is in the midst of an affair with a rookie FBI agent who keeps making frustrating mistakes. And even evil Volovoi has a sister and beloved young nieces, which causes him a twinge of conscience about selling girls.
I found the book exciting and engaging for about the first two-thirds; then the action got repetitive. The same thing seemed to happen again and again. For example, someone almost escapes, gets recaptured, then it happens again, then once more, etc. Still, the climax of the story is exciting and satisfying. I'd recommend the book to fans of thrillers.
You can follow my reviews at http://reviewsbybarbsaffer.blogspot.com/
September 1, 2016
This is another fast-paced thriller from Owen Laukkanen featuring Minnesota B.C.A. agent, Kirk Stevens, and Carla Windermere, the F.B.I. agent with whom Stevens is always partnered in these novels. The story is set in the world of sex trafficking and opens in a dark, steamy, rancid shipping container. A number of young women from eastern Europe are locked in the box, having been shipped to America on a freighter, unloaded on the east coast, and then trucked across the country. At stops along the way, the box is briefly unlocked and a few more women are dragged out and sold to American buyers who will enslave them in strip clubs and low-end brothels.
By the time the container and the truck it is riding on arrive in Minnesota, two of the young women remaining captive in the container are sisters named Irina and Catalina Milosovici. Irina had fallen for the charms of an American hustler named Mike who promised that he would smuggle her into the U.S. where she would find glamorous work as a model or a movie star. Her sister decided to follow in her footsteps, only to discover too late the horror that was to be their real fate.
As the truck stops in Minnesota, Irina and Catalina mange to break free, surprising the two thugs who are transporting them. A deputy sheriff happens upon the scene and one of the thugs shoots him to death. The two bad guys manage to recapture Catalina and pitch her back into the box. Irina grabs the deputy's gun and fruitlessly empties the clip against the back of the truck that is now racing away from the scene, carrying her sister and the other remaining captives.
Enter Stevens and Windermere who embark on a cross-country marathon to find the truck and rescue the women who have fallen victim to these smugglers. It's a race against time and against a ruthless group of traffickers who will stop at nothing to protect the business they have built and the profits they are reaping from it. The two sisters are principal characters and refuse to meekly submit to their fate. They and all of the other characters are very well drawn and emerge vividly from the page.
The relationship between Stevens and Windermere continues to be one of the most interesting among the male/female partnerships in crime fiction, and the developments within Stevens's continue to be of importance, especially as his sixteen-year-old daughter begins to exhibit many of the normal interests of a girl of that age while her father reacts to these interests as most fathers always have through the ages.
This is another page-turner from Owen Laukkanen that also provides an eye-opening look into a pretty awful corner of human commerce. Plan on being awake well into the night.
By the time the container and the truck it is riding on arrive in Minnesota, two of the young women remaining captive in the container are sisters named Irina and Catalina Milosovici. Irina had fallen for the charms of an American hustler named Mike who promised that he would smuggle her into the U.S. where she would find glamorous work as a model or a movie star. Her sister decided to follow in her footsteps, only to discover too late the horror that was to be their real fate.
As the truck stops in Minnesota, Irina and Catalina mange to break free, surprising the two thugs who are transporting them. A deputy sheriff happens upon the scene and one of the thugs shoots him to death. The two bad guys manage to recapture Catalina and pitch her back into the box. Irina grabs the deputy's gun and fruitlessly empties the clip against the back of the truck that is now racing away from the scene, carrying her sister and the other remaining captives.
Enter Stevens and Windermere who embark on a cross-country marathon to find the truck and rescue the women who have fallen victim to these smugglers. It's a race against time and against a ruthless group of traffickers who will stop at nothing to protect the business they have built and the profits they are reaping from it. The two sisters are principal characters and refuse to meekly submit to their fate. They and all of the other characters are very well drawn and emerge vividly from the page.
The relationship between Stevens and Windermere continues to be one of the most interesting among the male/female partnerships in crime fiction, and the developments within Stevens's continue to be of importance, especially as his sixteen-year-old daughter begins to exhibit many of the normal interests of a girl of that age while her father reacts to these interests as most fathers always have through the ages.
This is another page-turner from Owen Laukkanen that also provides an eye-opening look into a pretty awful corner of human commerce. Plan on being awake well into the night.
January 15, 2015
3.5 stars
This was just the right thing to have on hand for a dreary weekend when I was feeling lousy and needed distraction. It has excellent pacing and held my interest throughout. The ending was a little too tidy, with a couple of "Awww, shucks, isn't that sweet?" moments, but I suppose it does help us feel more connected to Stevens and Windermere when we're allowed to see a part of their lives outside of the crime-fighting milieu.
The plot involves a situation that is, sadly, not entirely fiction. It deals with human trafficking, wherein young girls from Eastern Europe are smuggled into the U.S. to be sold as sex slaves. We meet two sisters from Romania, Irina and Catalina, who become separated in the U.S. Both are attempting to escape. Kirk Stevens and Carla Windermere team up once again in a nationwide chase to save the girls and capture the thugs.
I have been with this series since the first Stevens and Windermere novel. Owen Laukkanen comes up with some wonderfully imaginative plots. He especially excels at creating deliciously evil criminals we love to hate. With this fourth book, I can happily say that the author's skill as a novelist is steadily improving, especially with regard to pacing. Although this is a series, I think each of the novels stands alone well enough that it's not strictly necessary to have read all the others.
The one notable flaw in this story is the use of too many obvious coincidences. Of course, all thriller writers have to use them. That's how we move the plot along and keep things exciting. It's just that Laukkanen has perhaps not yet learned how to hide them as well as do some of the more experienced authors.
This was just the right thing to have on hand for a dreary weekend when I was feeling lousy and needed distraction. It has excellent pacing and held my interest throughout. The ending was a little too tidy, with a couple of "Awww, shucks, isn't that sweet?" moments, but I suppose it does help us feel more connected to Stevens and Windermere when we're allowed to see a part of their lives outside of the crime-fighting milieu.
The plot involves a situation that is, sadly, not entirely fiction. It deals with human trafficking, wherein young girls from Eastern Europe are smuggled into the U.S. to be sold as sex slaves. We meet two sisters from Romania, Irina and Catalina, who become separated in the U.S. Both are attempting to escape. Kirk Stevens and Carla Windermere team up once again in a nationwide chase to save the girls and capture the thugs.
I have been with this series since the first Stevens and Windermere novel. Owen Laukkanen comes up with some wonderfully imaginative plots. He especially excels at creating deliciously evil criminals we love to hate. With this fourth book, I can happily say that the author's skill as a novelist is steadily improving, especially with regard to pacing. Although this is a series, I think each of the novels stands alone well enough that it's not strictly necessary to have read all the others.
The one notable flaw in this story is the use of too many obvious coincidences. Of course, all thriller writers have to use them. That's how we move the plot along and keep things exciting. It's just that Laukkanen has perhaps not yet learned how to hide them as well as do some of the more experienced authors.
March 7, 2022
Another great book from an author I'm liking more and more, narrated by the excellent Edoardo Ballerini, who has narrated all the books so far. He does a great job, and I hope he continues to narrate more books. I'll look out for him.
The book was brutal and unputdownable. It was about the trafficking of teenage girls from eastern Europe, some - the premium "product" - were around 16. They were from poor families, wanting a better life. An American man promised them the good life as a model, and made all the arrangements. They were very naive, and spoke little or no English.
The accommodations were not exactly first class. They were hidden in shipping containers, trucked to the docks where the box with them in it was transferred to a ship, sent to America, transferred to a truck, and trucked to a dungeon-like holding cell in a warehouse until they could be sold to rich men as toys. When they got too old, they would be replaced with new ones.
They were not the only victims of this story. Some of the men who handled them were also victims of the boss, who was known as The Dragon. This guy was truly evil. But somehow, the author made some of his underlings seem human for a while, and even sympathetic but that was just temporary. Most of them eventually showed their true colors, if you consider black a color.
Stevens and Windermere work by dedication and hard work, not by being some super heroes, and they both are shown as just normal people with lives like anyone else. We even get a bit of family drama in the Stevens' family, as he has a teenaged daughter with a new boyfriend who is at the age where she is constantly embarrassed by her parents (and vice-versa at one point). But the real hero in this story might just be the young girl who follows her older sister to America, and is selected for special treatment, to end with a horrible death by The Dragon's scary knife.
I plan to read the next two soon, and hope for more. Or, more from the Neah Bay series, which I also liked a lot. I think there are a few odds and ends also, which I will try. If you've never heard of Owen Laukkanen, I'm jealous; you have his whole collection to look forward to.
The book was brutal and unputdownable. It was about the trafficking of teenage girls from eastern Europe, some - the premium "product" - were around 16. They were from poor families, wanting a better life. An American man promised them the good life as a model, and made all the arrangements. They were very naive, and spoke little or no English.
The accommodations were not exactly first class. They were hidden in shipping containers, trucked to the docks where the box with them in it was transferred to a ship, sent to America, transferred to a truck, and trucked to a dungeon-like holding cell in a warehouse until they could be sold to rich men as toys. When they got too old, they would be replaced with new ones.
They were not the only victims of this story. Some of the men who handled them were also victims of the boss, who was known as The Dragon. This guy was truly evil. But somehow, the author made some of his underlings seem human for a while, and even sympathetic but that was just temporary. Most of them eventually showed their true colors, if you consider black a color.
Stevens and Windermere work by dedication and hard work, not by being some super heroes, and they both are shown as just normal people with lives like anyone else. We even get a bit of family drama in the Stevens' family, as he has a teenaged daughter with a new boyfriend who is at the age where she is constantly embarrassed by her parents (and vice-versa at one point). But the real hero in this story might just be the young girl who follows her older sister to America, and is selected for special treatment, to end with a horrible death by The Dragon's scary knife.
I plan to read the next two soon, and hope for more. Or, more from the Neah Bay series, which I also liked a lot. I think there are a few odds and ends also, which I will try. If you've never heard of Owen Laukkanen, I'm jealous; you have his whole collection to look forward to.
May 4, 2015
Owen Laukkanen knows how to write high tempo police procedural mysteries with aspects of thrillers and plenty of action. "The Stolen Ones", Laukkanen's latest Stevens & Windermere story joins together the smart married Minnesota cop Stevens with the beautiful, smart and single FBI agent Windermere in a hunt for a sex trafficking ring. As in all of these books, we are aware of the bad guys from the get go. This is not a mystery, it is instead more of a hunt to put down the criminals. Stevens and Windermere have proven their mettle and ability to pierce together clues that others miss in the prior books in this series. If you have not discovered Laukkanen, this is a perfect book to start.
This novel starts off with a bang with a tractor trailer, a couple of thugs and scared kidnapped women, trapped in their truck. They are being sold to sex clubs and worse in the American Midwest. The truck stops to refuel in rural Minnesota and one of prisoners breaks out of the truck right when a young deputy is walking toward it. In the ensuing gun battle, the cop is killed and the young woman escapes. Later, when the police arrive, they find her holding his gun near the body and immediately suspect that she was the killer.
But Stevens, called in from the Minnesota BCA, quickly comes to a different conclusion. He discovers shall casings indicating a gun battle with multiple guns. Tere is more going on here than a cop gunned down by a young woman.
Irina, the young women, is from Europe and, with her younger sister, fell prey to a suave recruiter promising a modeling job. Stevens and his wife, with a translator, are able to get Irina to talk, and soon hear her harrowing tale of recruitment, kidnapping and imprisonment. Worse, she tells them her sister is still on the unknown truck. Stevens quickly enlists Windermere and they try to track the truck and stop the criminals.
Never content to just show one side of the story, Laukkanen ably switches points of view, from Irina in police custody, to Catalina, her sister still on the truck and subject to the thugs and their bosses, to the thugs driving the truck and back to Andrei Volovoi, the ruthless smuggler who runs the business, but, who in turn is in fear of his partner, the even more evil Dragon. Volovoi is content to sell women to whore houses and sex clubs. The Dragon wants to import younger girls and sell them in New York City to even worse sexual predators. Laukkanen is able to get into the mind of the criminals.
When the Dragon finds out that Irina escaped, he orders Volovoi to turn over Catalina to him so he can punish her personally. So can Volovoi deliver Catalina back to the Dragon before Stevens and Windermere track him, his thugs and their truck down? Volovoi does not want to take chances and is going to have to get Catalina himself.
Stevens and Windermere are not about to give up. They find out about sex clubs in Montana, and are able to rescue other women, but the thugs in their truck are hard to find. Crisscrossing the USA, they have to follow clues to other states and suspect businesses. Will they be in time to rescue Catalina and pull the plug on Volovoi and Dragon's business?
Fast paced action, a criminal enterprise that is ripped from the headlines, diabolical criminals and smart detectives. It’s a quick fast read.
If you like police investigations, you have to start reading Owen Laukkanen.
This novel starts off with a bang with a tractor trailer, a couple of thugs and scared kidnapped women, trapped in their truck. They are being sold to sex clubs and worse in the American Midwest. The truck stops to refuel in rural Minnesota and one of prisoners breaks out of the truck right when a young deputy is walking toward it. In the ensuing gun battle, the cop is killed and the young woman escapes. Later, when the police arrive, they find her holding his gun near the body and immediately suspect that she was the killer.
But Stevens, called in from the Minnesota BCA, quickly comes to a different conclusion. He discovers shall casings indicating a gun battle with multiple guns. Tere is more going on here than a cop gunned down by a young woman.
Irina, the young women, is from Europe and, with her younger sister, fell prey to a suave recruiter promising a modeling job. Stevens and his wife, with a translator, are able to get Irina to talk, and soon hear her harrowing tale of recruitment, kidnapping and imprisonment. Worse, she tells them her sister is still on the unknown truck. Stevens quickly enlists Windermere and they try to track the truck and stop the criminals.
Never content to just show one side of the story, Laukkanen ably switches points of view, from Irina in police custody, to Catalina, her sister still on the truck and subject to the thugs and their bosses, to the thugs driving the truck and back to Andrei Volovoi, the ruthless smuggler who runs the business, but, who in turn is in fear of his partner, the even more evil Dragon. Volovoi is content to sell women to whore houses and sex clubs. The Dragon wants to import younger girls and sell them in New York City to even worse sexual predators. Laukkanen is able to get into the mind of the criminals.
When the Dragon finds out that Irina escaped, he orders Volovoi to turn over Catalina to him so he can punish her personally. So can Volovoi deliver Catalina back to the Dragon before Stevens and Windermere track him, his thugs and their truck down? Volovoi does not want to take chances and is going to have to get Catalina himself.
Stevens and Windermere are not about to give up. They find out about sex clubs in Montana, and are able to rescue other women, but the thugs in their truck are hard to find. Crisscrossing the USA, they have to follow clues to other states and suspect businesses. Will they be in time to rescue Catalina and pull the plug on Volovoi and Dragon's business?
Fast paced action, a criminal enterprise that is ripped from the headlines, diabolical criminals and smart detectives. It’s a quick fast read.
If you like police investigations, you have to start reading Owen Laukkanen.
December 21, 2014
This book is largely a fast-paced police procedural, with some aspects of a thriller. While part of an ongoing series, it can easily be read as a stand-alone.
I found the plot intense and compelling. The author spotlights the real life horrors of human trafficking, which is an issue in desperate need of attention. The chapters are short, the pace quick. We're given a variety of viewpoint characters. Laukkanen handles this well, keeping things clear so it never felt confusing.
As far as characters, my thoughts are mixed. I like Stevens, whose struggles in balancing work and family feel realistic. I dislike Windermere, who is crass, often mean, intolerant, and yet men seem to fall at her feet. Some of the other characters here lacked that special something I can't quite put my finger on. I sympathized with the women's plight, but I didn't connect with them enough to really feel the emotional pain. The bad guys were mostly handled well, though I did have some issues with how things played out with The Dragon. I can't give details without also giving spoilers, so I'll just say that the way his part wrapped up toward the end didn't feel believable.
Despite what I felt were the flaws, this story absolutely held my attention throughout.
I found the plot intense and compelling. The author spotlights the real life horrors of human trafficking, which is an issue in desperate need of attention. The chapters are short, the pace quick. We're given a variety of viewpoint characters. Laukkanen handles this well, keeping things clear so it never felt confusing.
As far as characters, my thoughts are mixed. I like Stevens, whose struggles in balancing work and family feel realistic. I dislike Windermere, who is crass, often mean, intolerant, and yet men seem to fall at her feet. Some of the other characters here lacked that special something I can't quite put my finger on. I sympathized with the women's plight, but I didn't connect with them enough to really feel the emotional pain. The bad guys were mostly handled well, though I did have some issues with how things played out with The Dragon. I can't give details without also giving spoilers, so I'll just say that the way his part wrapped up toward the end didn't feel believable.
Despite what I felt were the flaws, this story absolutely held my attention throughout.
September 22, 2018
I have enjoyed Owen Laukkanen's Stevens and Windermere series since book one. This one has been my favorite so far. Once again, I appreciate the depth of the characters Windermere and Stevens, not just as law enforcement officers, but in their lives outside work. But the part that amazaed me about this story, is, that despite it being about the crime of human trafficking, Laukkanen somehow manages to evoke some sympathy for at least one of the criminals. And he has an absolutely terrifying criminal that I hoped would face consequences for his crimes. Frenetically paced. A story that had me ready to cheer when I finished!
June 7, 2015
Tight focus, fast paced.
Windermere feels false as a too-tough woman (e.g. a woman as outlined by a man), but there is probably backstory I don't know. It is somewhat unbelievable that various villains show up without bodyguards, making them easier to take down.
p. 149 is an editing glitch in which a scene with Lloyd & the Dragon is crosscut in the same paragraph with Bogdan encountering a highway patrol cruiser on the road. There are a couple of sentences in the paragraph that appear to belong elsewhere.
The unexpectedly heroic victim is a fantastic characterization.
The Stolen Ones is well worth reading.
Windermere feels false as a too-tough woman (e.g. a woman as outlined by a man), but there is probably backstory I don't know. It is somewhat unbelievable that various villains show up without bodyguards, making them easier to take down.
p. 149 is an editing glitch in which a scene with Lloyd & the Dragon is crosscut in the same paragraph with Bogdan encountering a highway patrol cruiser on the road. There are a couple of sentences in the paragraph that appear to belong elsewhere.
The unexpectedly heroic victim is a fantastic characterization.
The Stolen Ones is well worth reading.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 30, 2017
This is the fourth book in Owen Laukkanen’s series featuring Special agent Kirk Stevens of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and his FBI partner, Carla Windermere. Two Romanian sisters are among a group of kidnapped women being brought to the USA in a shipping container by a sex trafficking ring. When one of them escapes, Stevens and Windermere try to track down the criminals in time to save the girls.
This has turned out to be one of my favorite series. The author does a great job of making his good guys good and his bad guys bad. There's not a lot of nuance to the characters but when I'm looking for an action movie style book, I can't find too many authors better than this one.
This is a fast paced novel with an intriguing story line. The relationship between Stevens and Windermere continues to be one of the most interesting among the male/female partnerships in crime fiction. Kirk Stevens is a middle-aged and white, with a beautiful wife and two kids. Carla Windermere is a beautiful single black woman from Miami who has been assigned to the Minneapolis office of the FBI. They have an underlying attraction that they are both too honorable to act on.
I listened to the audio book narrated by Eduardo Ballerini. I've only recently discovered this narrator and I'm definitely going to look for other audio books by him. His narration is exceptional and he even does a very believable Romanian accent. This book could easily be read as a standalone novel. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a fast-paced and exciting police procedural thriller.
This has turned out to be one of my favorite series. The author does a great job of making his good guys good and his bad guys bad. There's not a lot of nuance to the characters but when I'm looking for an action movie style book, I can't find too many authors better than this one.
This is a fast paced novel with an intriguing story line. The relationship between Stevens and Windermere continues to be one of the most interesting among the male/female partnerships in crime fiction. Kirk Stevens is a middle-aged and white, with a beautiful wife and two kids. Carla Windermere is a beautiful single black woman from Miami who has been assigned to the Minneapolis office of the FBI. They have an underlying attraction that they are both too honorable to act on.
I listened to the audio book narrated by Eduardo Ballerini. I've only recently discovered this narrator and I'm definitely going to look for other audio books by him. His narration is exceptional and he even does a very believable Romanian accent. This book could easily be read as a standalone novel. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a fast-paced and exciting police procedural thriller.
December 28, 2014
BCA agent Kirk Stevens gets a vacation with his family interrupted when his boss calls for him to oversee an investigation. A deputy has been killed and the apparent shooter is sitting in the mud beside him. She's dirty, skinny, and speaks no English.
When an interpreter is called in, who speaks Romanian, Kirk learns she's not the shooter, which later tests confirm, and she's escaped from a human sex slave trade out of Eastern Europe. Her kid sister is still a prisoner.
Kirk calls in his partner, Carla Windermere, and begins hunting for the container truck and it's human cargo. Which leads to a more vast criminal enterprise headed up by a mysterious figure known only as The Dragon.
The fourth book in a series, it's a well written thriller that kept me turning the pages, all 358 of them, until I finished the book in a day.
Recommended
When an interpreter is called in, who speaks Romanian, Kirk learns she's not the shooter, which later tests confirm, and she's escaped from a human sex slave trade out of Eastern Europe. Her kid sister is still a prisoner.
Kirk calls in his partner, Carla Windermere, and begins hunting for the container truck and it's human cargo. Which leads to a more vast criminal enterprise headed up by a mysterious figure known only as The Dragon.
The fourth book in a series, it's a well written thriller that kept me turning the pages, all 358 of them, until I finished the book in a day.
Recommended
October 17, 2020
Well, no, I really didn't enjoy this book and skipped over a whole lot of passages. I tried it because it involved a female FBI agent and had a Minnesota setting. I wonder why I prefer my crime books to be peopled with intelligent people doing smart things. When that doesn't happen, I feel as though I have stumbled into a room of junior high-level people in maturity with about the same educational level, lacking nominal communication skills.
This story features young foreign women being kidnapped and sold from a truck after being crowded into shipping container and all that kind of highly unpleasant activity. To MINNESOTA?!! Not plausible for me.
Library Loan
This story features young foreign women being kidnapped and sold from a truck after being crowded into shipping container and all that kind of highly unpleasant activity. To MINNESOTA?!! Not plausible for me.
Library Loan
March 24, 2021
Our favorite FBI duo is back...sex trafficking, young women hurting, two sisters, shipping containers-a thriller to find everyone...The author always has a “good plot” to follow with page turning terror...
March 26, 2020
This was another fine entry in the series. However, it lacked the economic hardship that made the bad guys from the first three books so sympathetic. Nope, no recent college grads attempting to pay off their student debt by kidnapping corrupt bankers, politicians, and executives for ransom. Nope, no recently fired middle manager turning to robbing banks to keep his family afloat.
The villains here were just straight up evil men with no mitigating circumstances and I think the book suffers for it. The author has a real talent for crafting believable characters and makes you understand why they are doing what they are doing, both heroes and villains. When the villains lack that motivation that makes them relatable you just feel like they aren’t as fleshed out. And that makes it hard to feel the tension when they’re matched up against flesh and blood heroes like Stevens and Windermere. It’s like watching a main event tag team wrestle a couple of jobbers.
Hopefully the next book gets back to the winning formula of believable good and bad guys.
The villains here were just straight up evil men with no mitigating circumstances and I think the book suffers for it. The author has a real talent for crafting believable characters and makes you understand why they are doing what they are doing, both heroes and villains. When the villains lack that motivation that makes them relatable you just feel like they aren’t as fleshed out. And that makes it hard to feel the tension when they’re matched up against flesh and blood heroes like Stevens and Windermere. It’s like watching a main event tag team wrestle a couple of jobbers.
Hopefully the next book gets back to the winning formula of believable good and bad guys.
March 24, 2019
Another thrilling hit by one of my absolute favorite writers!
November 5, 2017
If you have read nothing on human trafficking this novel really drives home what a nasty business it is. Twisty plot that holds your interest but I would hate to have those law agency travel budgets as the protagonists bounce about the country. Owen delivers another action packed story. A great way to pass the time on the beach or front porch. (Ironic that I read this after a book on the design of shipping containers. Doubt this is the use for which they are intended.)
April 8, 2015
A mysterious container is offloaded from a ship right on to the back of a truck. Miles later when the truck stops the shipping container is opened and a hose used to wash off the unlikely cargo – a group of young (very young) women from Eastern block countries. Among these women are two sisters, one of whom was tempted by stories of achieving fame and fortune and the other simply tagging along because she wanted to be with her older sister. Knowing they were in serious trouble each wanted to save the other. At the next stop the container door is once again rolled up but this time two women jump out and begin to run. One gets away and one doesn’t.
Vacationing in the area, BCA Agent Kirk Steven gets the call to take a few hours out of his vacation to investigate the nearby shooting of a Sheriff’s deputy. Found at the scene was a young woman, Irina, unable to speak English, and for a short time the suspect in the killing. When F.B.I. Agent Carla Windermere is called into the case, which is looking more and more like a human trafficking ring, Kirk knows his vacation has just been cancelled.
I’ve been a fan of this series since “The Professionals” and Mr. Laukkanen has never failed to disappoint me. This book is no exception. Granted, the premise for the story is not unique but Mr. Laukkanen managed to hold my interest throughout the whole book. One thread I notice (and enjoy) in Mr. Laukkanen books is that he always has a “bad guy” that you feel just a little bit sorry for. Someone who has definitely made unwise decisions in life, but whose heart is not totally black. Yes – the reader is cheering for the good guys to save the day. Yes – he may deserve everything that happens to him. But – the reader never gets past the feeling that were the circumstances different this guy would’ve been okay. That’s one of the aspects of this series that keeps me reading. As for the rest of the villains, they are truly villainous; complete with grisly murders, bloody revenge and no conscience what so ever. Just the way you want them in a thriller. The previous books have held a certain amount of attraction/tension between Kirk and Carla that is missing in this book and I cannot say I missed it. Carla is as content as Carla can be in her new relationship and Kirk’s wife (who I always see as understanding yet long suffering) is a little more on board with this case since the women involved are close in age to their own daughter and she seems to be the only person that Irina trusts.
A book with a story line this intense does need a little something to give the reader a breather between killings and sex-slavery. That comes with Kirk’s reaction to his daughter having her first boyfriend. Considering the nature of the case he’s is working this little bit of news could not have come at a worse time.
All in all a good entry for this series.
Vacationing in the area, BCA Agent Kirk Steven gets the call to take a few hours out of his vacation to investigate the nearby shooting of a Sheriff’s deputy. Found at the scene was a young woman, Irina, unable to speak English, and for a short time the suspect in the killing. When F.B.I. Agent Carla Windermere is called into the case, which is looking more and more like a human trafficking ring, Kirk knows his vacation has just been cancelled.
I’ve been a fan of this series since “The Professionals” and Mr. Laukkanen has never failed to disappoint me. This book is no exception. Granted, the premise for the story is not unique but Mr. Laukkanen managed to hold my interest throughout the whole book. One thread I notice (and enjoy) in Mr. Laukkanen books is that he always has a “bad guy” that you feel just a little bit sorry for. Someone who has definitely made unwise decisions in life, but whose heart is not totally black. Yes – the reader is cheering for the good guys to save the day. Yes – he may deserve everything that happens to him. But – the reader never gets past the feeling that were the circumstances different this guy would’ve been okay. That’s one of the aspects of this series that keeps me reading. As for the rest of the villains, they are truly villainous; complete with grisly murders, bloody revenge and no conscience what so ever. Just the way you want them in a thriller. The previous books have held a certain amount of attraction/tension between Kirk and Carla that is missing in this book and I cannot say I missed it. Carla is as content as Carla can be in her new relationship and Kirk’s wife (who I always see as understanding yet long suffering) is a little more on board with this case since the women involved are close in age to their own daughter and she seems to be the only person that Irina trusts.
A book with a story line this intense does need a little something to give the reader a breather between killings and sex-slavery. That comes with Kirk’s reaction to his daughter having her first boyfriend. Considering the nature of the case he’s is working this little bit of news could not have come at a worse time.
All in all a good entry for this series.
October 12, 2016
The Stolen Ones
Mysterious Book Report No. 221
by John Dwaine McKenna
It’s a helluva thing to take on a subject like the one we are about to . . . this being the Christmas season; a time when many of us are thinking about Peace on earth and goodwill to men . . . but the plain truth of the matter is that crime never sleeps and criminals don’t take vacations. They’re vicious and opportunistic—always looking for an edge or a chance to do what they do—without being caught. And so, we’re going to go ahead and review The Stolen Ones, (Putnam/Penguin, $26.95, 358 pages, ISBN 978-0-399-16553-5) by Owen Laukkanen, which is about slavery. In specific, sexual slavery. Young women, held against their wills, and sold by traffickers to others who force them into prostitution.
The novel begins with a vivid description of forty women who’ve been smuggled from eastern Europe to the United States in a shipping container. They’ve been aboard a container ship at sea for weeks, without adequate food, water or sanitary facilities. After the ship lands, they’re shunted into a new container and whisked off in a tractor-trailer driven by two thugs with bad attitudes and worse manners, who periodically stop and pull a few of the girls out. They’re never seen again by the remaining ones. Among the imprisoned girls are two sisters, Irina, sixteen, the older of the pair who’s chasing a dream of riches and fame in America, and her younger sibling Catalina, following after her big sister, hoping to keep Irina safe. At a truck stop in Minnesota however, one of the thugs shoots and kills a deputy sheriff, while the two sisters attempt to escape. Irina disappears in some nearby woods, but Catalina—just thirteen years old—is recaptured. When police arrive on the scene, they find a dead lawman, and a hysterical young woman with no ID and speaking no English, and holding an empty pistol next to the body. Agent Kirk Stevens of the Minnesota BCA (Bureau of Criminal Affairs) who was vacationing nearby, is called in. Soon after he’s inducted into a BCA-FBI joint task force, a coast-to-coast manhunt to break an international ring of kidnappers and sex slavers who’re selling the women into prostitution and slavery. It’s a diabolic race to see who will prevail, and if the young teenage girl can survive her captors long enough to be rescued. A well-done, suspenseful novel featuring a timely and little-known subject.
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Mysterious Book Report No. 221
by John Dwaine McKenna
It’s a helluva thing to take on a subject like the one we are about to . . . this being the Christmas season; a time when many of us are thinking about Peace on earth and goodwill to men . . . but the plain truth of the matter is that crime never sleeps and criminals don’t take vacations. They’re vicious and opportunistic—always looking for an edge or a chance to do what they do—without being caught. And so, we’re going to go ahead and review The Stolen Ones, (Putnam/Penguin, $26.95, 358 pages, ISBN 978-0-399-16553-5) by Owen Laukkanen, which is about slavery. In specific, sexual slavery. Young women, held against their wills, and sold by traffickers to others who force them into prostitution.
The novel begins with a vivid description of forty women who’ve been smuggled from eastern Europe to the United States in a shipping container. They’ve been aboard a container ship at sea for weeks, without adequate food, water or sanitary facilities. After the ship lands, they’re shunted into a new container and whisked off in a tractor-trailer driven by two thugs with bad attitudes and worse manners, who periodically stop and pull a few of the girls out. They’re never seen again by the remaining ones. Among the imprisoned girls are two sisters, Irina, sixteen, the older of the pair who’s chasing a dream of riches and fame in America, and her younger sibling Catalina, following after her big sister, hoping to keep Irina safe. At a truck stop in Minnesota however, one of the thugs shoots and kills a deputy sheriff, while the two sisters attempt to escape. Irina disappears in some nearby woods, but Catalina—just thirteen years old—is recaptured. When police arrive on the scene, they find a dead lawman, and a hysterical young woman with no ID and speaking no English, and holding an empty pistol next to the body. Agent Kirk Stevens of the Minnesota BCA (Bureau of Criminal Affairs) who was vacationing nearby, is called in. Soon after he’s inducted into a BCA-FBI joint task force, a coast-to-coast manhunt to break an international ring of kidnappers and sex slavers who’re selling the women into prostitution and slavery. It’s a diabolic race to see who will prevail, and if the young teenage girl can survive her captors long enough to be rescued. A well-done, suspenseful novel featuring a timely and little-known subject.
Like the review? The greatest compliment you can give is to like us and share it with others on Facebook, and follow us on Goodreads, Pinterest or LinkedIn.
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January 13, 2015
The Stolen Ones
By
Owen Laukkanen
The main and most important characters in this book...
The stars, main characters, key players in this book are Stevens and Windemere. They are partners in the " new joint BCA-FBI violent crime task force". They are trying to save Catarina and Irina from a horrible life.
My very brief story summary that includes bits and bobs from the beginning, middle and end of this book...
This is actually the third book in the Stevens/Windemere series but this book can definitely be read as a stand alone. The author does an excellent job of familiarizing the reader with these characters. I did read Kill Fee...the book just before this one but I liked that the author helped to refresh my thoughts about these two characters again. So...what I write about when I review a thriller/mystery like this one is always bare bones. I don't want to spoil anything in this book for potential readers. Just know that this book is exciting. This book starts off quite traumatically with the abduction of Irina and Catarina and just remains at a nail biting exciting pace throughout the entire book. I found it very difficult to stop reading and read it in great chunks before forcing myself to put it down...for a while...
My actual most favorite part of this book...
Without giving away anything...the undercurrent of danger with the two sisters...one with the bad guys and one with the FBI...was driving me crazy...this book was about trafficking...stealing young girls from other countries...tossing them in overseas shipping containers and selling them to pedophiles and child molesters in NYC. It was so scary and so sad! The bad guys in this book were amoral . The one known as the "Dragon" was so creepy and evil and disgusting...I hated him! This is the kind of book I always love/hate...it is too easy to get pulled into the drama and want to read until the end. I loved Stevens...he was an awesome police person. Windermere was good, too, but not as like-able...she was just a little too tough for me.
My actual true feelings about this book and whether or not other potential readers will enjoy it...
OMG...the action, the writing, the plot, the concept, the characters in this book were awesome. Readers who love a fast paced book filled with people you love to hate...will love this book. It needs to be a movie! Stevens...Channing Tatum? Windermere...Jennifer Lawrence...it's done!
By
Owen Laukkanen
The main and most important characters in this book...
The stars, main characters, key players in this book are Stevens and Windemere. They are partners in the " new joint BCA-FBI violent crime task force". They are trying to save Catarina and Irina from a horrible life.
My very brief story summary that includes bits and bobs from the beginning, middle and end of this book...
This is actually the third book in the Stevens/Windemere series but this book can definitely be read as a stand alone. The author does an excellent job of familiarizing the reader with these characters. I did read Kill Fee...the book just before this one but I liked that the author helped to refresh my thoughts about these two characters again. So...what I write about when I review a thriller/mystery like this one is always bare bones. I don't want to spoil anything in this book for potential readers. Just know that this book is exciting. This book starts off quite traumatically with the abduction of Irina and Catarina and just remains at a nail biting exciting pace throughout the entire book. I found it very difficult to stop reading and read it in great chunks before forcing myself to put it down...for a while...
My actual most favorite part of this book...
Without giving away anything...the undercurrent of danger with the two sisters...one with the bad guys and one with the FBI...was driving me crazy...this book was about trafficking...stealing young girls from other countries...tossing them in overseas shipping containers and selling them to pedophiles and child molesters in NYC. It was so scary and so sad! The bad guys in this book were amoral . The one known as the "Dragon" was so creepy and evil and disgusting...I hated him! This is the kind of book I always love/hate...it is too easy to get pulled into the drama and want to read until the end. I loved Stevens...he was an awesome police person. Windermere was good, too, but not as like-able...she was just a little too tough for me.
My actual true feelings about this book and whether or not other potential readers will enjoy it...
OMG...the action, the writing, the plot, the concept, the characters in this book were awesome. Readers who love a fast paced book filled with people you love to hate...will love this book. It needs to be a movie! Stevens...Channing Tatum? Windermere...Jennifer Lawrence...it's done!
February 10, 2017
The author has raised the bar with this book. Windemere and Stevens are un-conventional partners, which has much to do with the charm of the series, as is the relationship between Stevens and his wife, and with their now-teenage children (the struggles of a family in which both parents have careers, one of them sometimes in danger of being killed).
What is so compelling about TSO (for this reader) is that the crime that brings W&S together again is sex-trafficking, eastern European girls being brought to the US to be sold. The core of the story is heart-wrenching in the author's telling. If the ending may seem a little to pat, in this instance it is also very satisfying.
Highly recommended.
What is so compelling about TSO (for this reader) is that the crime that brings W&S together again is sex-trafficking, eastern European girls being brought to the US to be sold. The core of the story is heart-wrenching in the author's telling. If the ending may seem a little to pat, in this instance it is also very satisfying.
Highly recommended.
January 17, 2018
This is a fun series. Owen Laukkanen has a recipe for getting you right into a case and buckling you in for a quick read. This is the type of book I look to turn to when I'm in need for something I know I'll just dig into and be able to finish in a couple of sittings and not have a single regret of how I spent my time. Throughout the course of a school year, it's difficult to devote myself to long, involved reads, and this series is one of many perfect quick escapes!
This one again reunites Stevens & Windermere - a compelling pairing who often find themselves in the thick of things quickly in a book. This one hit close to home to Stevens, as his oldest daughter is 16, and he shortens a family trip to become involved in a human trafficking ring. He discovers that the ages of the girls involved are very close to his own daughter, the chase becomes even more personal to him. As his own daughter struggles with the "normal" problems of a 16 year old, he becomes more and more irritated and frustrated with her as he's trying to save the lives of others.
The case is fast-paced, and involves some despicable human beings. The humanity of Stevens and Windermere and how they deal with their own flaws while trying to keep from falling behind in the case is handled wonderfully by Laukkanen. I feel this one kept the pages turning more satisfyingly than the previous one in the series. I also really enjoy how he's handled their relaitionship. This is a good installment to the series, and I hope to turn it over to the next very quickly!
This one again reunites Stevens & Windermere - a compelling pairing who often find themselves in the thick of things quickly in a book. This one hit close to home to Stevens, as his oldest daughter is 16, and he shortens a family trip to become involved in a human trafficking ring. He discovers that the ages of the girls involved are very close to his own daughter, the chase becomes even more personal to him. As his own daughter struggles with the "normal" problems of a 16 year old, he becomes more and more irritated and frustrated with her as he's trying to save the lives of others.
The case is fast-paced, and involves some despicable human beings. The humanity of Stevens and Windermere and how they deal with their own flaws while trying to keep from falling behind in the case is handled wonderfully by Laukkanen. I feel this one kept the pages turning more satisfyingly than the previous one in the series. I also really enjoy how he's handled their relaitionship. This is a good installment to the series, and I hope to turn it over to the next very quickly!
December 28, 2014
The Stolen Ones by Owen Laukkanen is the 4th book in Laukkanen’s Stevens & Windermere series, and the first book I have read. I typically do not care to begin series in the middle, much of the character development is missed and I believe, for me, this was the case, since background information would have helped me understand the roles of Stevens and Windermere, the BCA and FBI, and the now joint task force developed. With that stated upfront, it could simply be me nitpicking, I thoroughly enjoyed this energy driven, fast-paced thriller and plan to read the series from book one. The Stolen Ones opens in Cass County, Minnesota, with the death of a sheriff’s deputy and a mysterious women who does not speak, has no identity, sitting beside the deputy sheriff’s dead body and holding his weapon. Stevens and Windermere, partners in the joint BCA-FBI violent task force, find themselves delving deep into an international kidnapping and prostitution operation. If it sounds vague, that is my intention; I am merely trying to avoid spoilers about the Stolen Ones. Laukkanen has crafted an intricate plot, multi-layered characters, especially the sisters (no spoilers), and while Laukkanen has the agents spanning the globe, the book remains atmospheric even in this intense and rapidly evolving suspense thriller. I highly recommend this book to all who have read the previous books in the series and to those who enjoy thrillers and are looking for new series to become wrapped up in.
December 18, 2014
I was disappointed by this book which I initially had high hopes for. The characterizations were shallow, the plot simplistic, and the author repeated himself so many times that I wondered if he thought his readers had some cognitive impairment.
The story is about two sisters who are sold into sex slavery as part of a large sex trafficking ring. The FBI gets involved, with Stevens and Windermere the primary agents out to get to the bottom of things. They have been partnered before in one previous book which I have not read. I don't think it's necessary to read the first book before reading this one as there is no real back story.
One of the sisters, Irina, manages to escape but her younger sister, Catalina, is still in the hands of the traffickers. The major bad guy is called 'The Dragon' and he is the brains and brawn behind the trafficking scheme. The girls are taken in by a man in Rumania who tells them that he will take them to American where he will make them models. Instead, they are put in a cargo box and left in awful conditions as a boat takes them across the ocean.
The book is not very interesting as I wanted more depth of character, less repetition, and a better plot. Some things are left up in the air at the end. For instance, what happens to Mike, the man who leads all these girls to there horrific fate. He is just left out of the ending like a red herring. I found the writing pedestrian and simplistic.
The story is about two sisters who are sold into sex slavery as part of a large sex trafficking ring. The FBI gets involved, with Stevens and Windermere the primary agents out to get to the bottom of things. They have been partnered before in one previous book which I have not read. I don't think it's necessary to read the first book before reading this one as there is no real back story.
One of the sisters, Irina, manages to escape but her younger sister, Catalina, is still in the hands of the traffickers. The major bad guy is called 'The Dragon' and he is the brains and brawn behind the trafficking scheme. The girls are taken in by a man in Rumania who tells them that he will take them to American where he will make them models. Instead, they are put in a cargo box and left in awful conditions as a boat takes them across the ocean.
The book is not very interesting as I wanted more depth of character, less repetition, and a better plot. Some things are left up in the air at the end. For instance, what happens to Mike, the man who leads all these girls to there horrific fate. He is just left out of the ending like a red herring. I found the writing pedestrian and simplistic.
December 24, 2014
Fast paced and one of the most intense in the series a true cat and mouse game.
dnf
March 20, 2016DNF 20%
To confusing with all the characters, and it's not drawing me in.
To confusing with all the characters, and it's not drawing me in.
August 8, 2018
Once again, I find it not a good idea to start one of Laukkanen’s books later in the day, as it guarantees I’ll be reading late into the night. This one was a roller coater ride of action; the main plot centered around human traffickers and 2 sisters that were brought to America. The interaction between Irina and Catarina was the best part of the book. Subplots concerned Stevens’ relationship with his family, and Windermere—well, I’m not sure what about Windermere, except that she is one hardassed bitch. Fortunately for me, I’ve come to realize that not liking a character doesnt necessarily make for bad reading, because I’m a real fan of this series. The plot relies a little too much on coincidence, and the finale ties everything up a little too neatly, but it’s a satisfying read, nonetheless.
April 3, 2017
Owen Laukkanen takes his readers on quite the ride each time he writes a book! His stories are generally fast-paced this book is no exception. We are aware of the crime -- and the criminal -- right from the beginning. It is a police procedural rather than a mystery. But it is thrilling and compelling. I enjoyed this book more than the previous two and I am very glad that I stuck with the series. I like the Stevens/Windemere pairing and intend to read books number 5 and 6 very soon.
November 24, 2019
Hubby and I picked up this book at our local library and read it mostly due to the cover quote recommendation from one of our favourite authors, John Sandford.
There was a lot about this book that reminded me of a Sandford story. The writing style felt similar in that jerky, shot from a moving camera way, and of course the Minnesota background is right out of Sandford's Prey novels.
I liked the pace of the story and the setting. I liked the main characters Windemere and Stevens. It's a solid plot of grimy subjects - human trafficking - and the perpetrators and victims of this sordid world.
In the end, this was a 4 star read for me, and I'd look for stories with Stevens and Windermere again.
There was a lot about this book that reminded me of a Sandford story. The writing style felt similar in that jerky, shot from a moving camera way, and of course the Minnesota background is right out of Sandford's Prey novels.
I liked the pace of the story and the setting. I liked the main characters Windemere and Stevens. It's a solid plot of grimy subjects - human trafficking - and the perpetrators and victims of this sordid world.
In the end, this was a 4 star read for me, and I'd look for stories with Stevens and Windermere again.
December 8, 2019
3.5 stars. Horrifying aspects of human traficking and sex trade. In the background of this book was Andrea Stevens's defiant adolescent attitudes and Carla Windermere's relationship with fellow agent, Mathers.
With-reservations:
kidnapping, sex slaves, sex trade, sexual situations, violence, murder, drugs
With-reservations:
kidnapping, sex slaves, sex trade, sexual situations, violence, murder, drugs
February 4, 2018
A police thriller about human smuggling of women for the sex trade. A gripping tale of murder and human abuse and of the police efforts to end it. The Stolen Ones exoses the evil of human smuggling and sex trafficing. A thoughtful read.
September 30, 2016
The Stolen Ones by Owen Laukkanen
Stevens & Windemere series Book #4
4★'s
From The Book:
When you’ve got nothing left, you’ve got nothing left to lose. Cass County, Minnesota: A sheriff’s deputy steps out of a diner on a rainy summer evening, and a few minutes later, he’s lying dead in the mud. When BCA agent Kirk Stevens arrives on the scene, he discovers local authorities have taken into custody a single suspect: A hysterical young woman found sitting by the body, holding the deputy’s own gun. She has no ID, speaks no English. A mystery woman.
The mystery only deepens from there, as Stevens and Carla Windermere, his partner in the new joint BCA–FBI violent crime task force, find themselves on the trail of a massive international kidnapping and prostitution operation. Before the two agents are done, they will have traveled over half the country, from Montana to New York, and come face-to-face not only with the most vicious man either of them has ever encountered—but two of the most courageous women.
My Thoughts:
I read the first three books previously and they were all 5 star books. This one looses some of the rating...not because it isn't well written or as dynamic as the past three but because for one thing...it deals with a horrific subject...human sex trade trafficking...and two...because Windermere's horrible over blown ego is becoming almost unbearable.
I really like Owen Laukkanen's writing style and will certainly read more of his works. I just hope he brings back the Windermere that we met in the first three books. She was flawed but she was at least reasonable in her thinking.
Stevens & Windemere series Book #4
4★'s
From The Book:
When you’ve got nothing left, you’ve got nothing left to lose. Cass County, Minnesota: A sheriff’s deputy steps out of a diner on a rainy summer evening, and a few minutes later, he’s lying dead in the mud. When BCA agent Kirk Stevens arrives on the scene, he discovers local authorities have taken into custody a single suspect: A hysterical young woman found sitting by the body, holding the deputy’s own gun. She has no ID, speaks no English. A mystery woman.
The mystery only deepens from there, as Stevens and Carla Windermere, his partner in the new joint BCA–FBI violent crime task force, find themselves on the trail of a massive international kidnapping and prostitution operation. Before the two agents are done, they will have traveled over half the country, from Montana to New York, and come face-to-face not only with the most vicious man either of them has ever encountered—but two of the most courageous women.
My Thoughts:
I read the first three books previously and they were all 5 star books. This one looses some of the rating...not because it isn't well written or as dynamic as the past three but because for one thing...it deals with a horrific subject...human sex trade trafficking...and two...because Windermere's horrible over blown ego is becoming almost unbearable.
I really like Owen Laukkanen's writing style and will certainly read more of his works. I just hope he brings back the Windermere that we met in the first three books. She was flawed but she was at least reasonable in her thinking.
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