The Stolen Ones

January 26, 2015
Early in Laukkanen’s savage, cathartic fourth series crime novel (after 2014’s Kill Fee), Cass County (Minn.) sheriff’s deputy Dale Friesen notices a truck towing a container in a diner parking lot. His suspicions aroused, Friesen orders the truck’s driver to unlock the container door, and two dirty young women try to flee, but only one escapes. Friesen is shot dead, and later Irina Milosovici, a Romanian sex-trafficking victim, is found next to his body holding his gun. Kirk Stevens, of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, and his FBI task force partner, Carla Windermere, investigate. Stevens is sure Irina didn’t kill Friesen. Irina is determined to save her younger sister, Catalina, from the clutches of the sex traffickers. Meanwhile, Andrei Volovoi, orchestrator of the slave ring, and his menacing partner, known only as the Dragon, prepare to teach Irina a lesson. Laukkanen deftly mixes sharp social criticism with bleak white-knuckle suspense. Agent: Stacia Decker, Donald Maass Literary Agency.

January 15, 2015
From start to finish, a fast-moving and satisfying thriller starring a likable if unlikely duo.In northern Minnesota, an off-duty deputy sheriff asks one too many questions of the driver of an 18-wheeler. A terrified girl bursts out of the back of the truck, and within minutes, the deputy lies dead. State cop Kirk Stevens and FBI agent Carla Windermere investigate the strange killing and soon discover the frightened girl, who speaks only Romanian. Through a translator, the agents learn that many more girls are imprisoned in that truck; a criminal ring plans to sell them as sex slaves. Just how big is this horrific operation, the agents want to know. And how can they find that truck before those girls disappear forever? Chapters both crisp and short show everyone's viewpoint and keep the reader's rapt attention. The escaped girl, Irina Milosovici, arrived in a shipping container and might as well have landed on Mars. She's filthy, in great danger, has no idea where in America she is and is terrified of men-and yet she's as strong and heroic as any character in the story. A team of criminals, including Andrei Volovoi and the fearsome Dragon, are making huge money by luring girls with promises of modeling careers in America. Losing a girl and leaving a dead cop is bad, Volovoi thinks, "[b]ut these things happened when you made your living selling women." Stevens is a happily married dad whose family figures into the plot, while Windermere is single, black, beautiful, a wee bit profane and whip-smart. The two agents have worked together before (Kill Fee, 2014, etc.), and if there's justice in the literary world, they will team up on many more cases. Just keep them out of the same bed, and their chemistry will be great.Thriller fans will enjoy this one. Laukkanen is a first-class storyteller.

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December 1, 2014
Minnesota BCA agent Kirk Stevens (Kill Fee, 2013) is camping with his family when he's called to the nearby scene of a rural deputy's shooting. A young woman found next to the body could be either killer or witness; she's hysterical and barely speaks English. When they finally convince the girl, Irina, to trust them, they learn that she's escaped a ring of human traffickers who still hold her teenage sister captive. Stevens and his partner, Carla Windermere, get the case, and, assisted by FBI Agent Derek Mathers, they track the ring through a maze of shell companies and a string of bodies left like breadcrumbs as they race to find Irina's sister before she's sold beyond their reach. True, the human-trafficking story isn't breaking new ground, but Laukkanen is gifted at creating relatable characters, and readers will happily tear through his version of this familiar plotline. The combination of breakneck pacing, scarily plausible evils, and steadily rising stakes culminates in an explosive, and only slightly improbable, finale. Recommended for readers seeking the thrill of the chase.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)

Starred review from February 1, 2015

In their fourth outing (after Kill Fee) Kirk Stevens of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Investigation and FBI agent Carla Windermere are working on a case involving sex trafficking of women "stolen" from Romania and other Eastern European countries. Hellishly transported in cargo containers to New Jersey, these women are distributed by truck like so much produce to places far and wide, including Walker, MN, where the escape of one of two sisters held in the "box" eventually results in the downfall of the entire operation. The escaping older sister, Irina Milosovici, meets up with Stevens in Walker after the police suspect her in the killing of a local deputy. She provides valuable information to Stevens to launch the widely spreading investigation that ultimately involves Windermere, reunites the sisters, and brings the hunt for their captors to a just conclusion. VERDICT Fans of Laukkanen's The Professionals who found the succeeding two books in this series somewhat disappointing will be delighted with this fast-moving installment. Here it is not the criminals who are intriguing, but rather the victims who turn out to be far stronger and more remarkable than originally anticipated. Recommended for fans of well-written, thought-provoking thrillers. [See Prepub Alert, 10/15/14.]--Vicki Gregory, Sch. of Information, Univ. of South Florida, Tampa

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 15, 2014

A woman who has no ID and speaks no English is accused of killing a Minnesota sheriff's deputy after being found crouched next to his dead body. Soon, BCA agent Kirk Stevens and Carla Windermere, his partner in the joint BCA-FBI violent crimes task force, are after a huge international kidnapping and prostitution operation.

Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 1, 2015

In their fourth outing (after Kill Fee) Kirk Stevens of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Investigation and FBI agent Carla Windermere are working on a case involving sex trafficking of women "stolen" from Romania and other Eastern European countries. Hellishly transported in cargo containers to New Jersey, these women are distributed by truck like so much produce to places far and wide, including Walker, MN, where the escape of one of two sisters held in the "box" eventually results in the downfall of the entire operation. The escaping older sister, Irina Milosovici, meets up with Stevens in Walker after the police suspect her in the killing of a local deputy. She provides valuable information to Stevens to launch the widely spreading investigation that ultimately involves Windermere, reunites the sisters, and brings the hunt for their captors to a just conclusion. VERDICT Fans of Laukkanen's The Professionals who found the succeeding two books in this series somewhat disappointing will be delighted with this fast-moving installment. Here it is not the criminals who are intriguing, but rather the victims who turn out to be far stronger and more remarkable than originally anticipated. Recommended for fans of well-written, thought-provoking thrillers. [See Prepub Alert, 10/15/14.]--Vicki Gregory, Sch. of Information, Univ. of South Florida, Tampa

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.