The Professionals

The Professionals by Owen Laukkanen is an interesting book.  I wound up finishing it, mainly I think because I wanted to see how it would end, but I never really liked it.  It was a well-plotted book and even well written... the problem is the characters REALLY put me off.  The book features a quartet of professional kidnappers, a hit man who’s after them because they made a mistake and kidnapped someone with some influence in the mafia and a pair of law enforcement officials.  Point of view switches among the participants.  Unfortunately, the kidnappers, who I believe the author thinks are likeable rogues, come across as incredibly self-centered sociopaths.  At no point do you want them to get away with anything and you spend all the portions of the book that are spent looking at their point of view wondering why the author’s bothering --- it doesn’t make them more sympathetic.  Throw in the author’s awkward portrayal of relationships and all in all this is not a book I’ll be recommending.