Book pick: 'The Professionals' by Owen Laukkanen

'The Professionals' by Owen Laukkanen
Book cover courtesy of publisher

Kerri's book Pick of the Week is "The Professionals," a thriller by Canadian writer Owen Laukkanen. She says it's dramatic and creative with "a really unusual setup that touches on the economy we're in and the employment picture for young people."

Here's what Publisher's Weekly said:

"Laukkanen's clever debut, the first in a new crime thriller series, compares favorably to Scott Smith's classic caper novel, A Simple Plan. Four college friends, who possess varying skills but are unable to find work in today's grim job market, decide to make money by kidnapping bankers and other extremely wealthy men around the U.S. The gang stays below law enforcement's radar by demanding ransoms so modest that the unharmed victims are inclined not to report their abduction. The group's luck runs out on a Michigan job."