Owen
Laukkanen is a relative newcomer to the thriller genre. Killer
Fee, the third book of the series, once again reunites
FBI special agent Carla Windermere with Minnesota State police
investigator Kirk Stevens. Fans of crime thrillers will be
reminded of best-selling author John Sandford because the
setting and the main characters career path are the same.
However, it becomes abundantly obvious that Laukkanen is able
to put his own distinctive imprint on his books.
The plot begins when Windermere and Stevens witness an assassination,
and are unable to apprehend the fleeing murderer. As other
targeted killings occur these two law enforcement officers
travel throughout the US to find answers and to catch those
responsible. What becomes obvious is that they are always
one step behind as they try to put the pieces together, including
a murder-for-hire Internet site. They seek to find the person
behind turning young war veterans into emotional killers.
Using complete control someone is transforming them into broken
human beings who are obedient and lethal.
Laukkanen stated, “I had been reading about how the
Internet can be used to help build crime empires. I expanded
that to having a murder site since it is so easy to hide your
identity online. This is one of the issues I dealt with in
the book, how these criminals can hide out and avoid detection.
I made sure that the bad guy knew how to steal other people’s
IP addresses and then bounce them around to make it difficult
to detect.”
The readers can readily identify with these very realistic
characters. The protagonists share varying degrees of dissatisfaction
with their personal lives as they struggle to balance that
with their job responsibilities. The author weaves the various
characters actions together in an intense plot. Even many
of the antagonists become sympathetic figures as they struggle
with PTSD and to free themselves from the control of this
one person who is their lifeline to the world.
In all of his books Laukkanen makes sure to write about societal
issues. After researching the emotional state of many returning
combat soldiers he decided to include it as a powerful theme
in the book. He explained, “I used a DOD clearance to
keep the antagonist’s identity secret. I compared this
guy who spent his life building bombs to now running a murder-for-hire.
I had him kidnap and take control of the veterans’ lives
where there is this bond between the tortured and the torturer.
After reading about the vulnerabilities of the veterans as
they return home from Iraq and Afghanistan I became struck
by how let down they are by the government and society. They
are left to deal with their traumas in silence and by themselves
since many are uncomfortable to talk about their mental health.”
He also gave a heads up about his next book, which will be
about sex trafficking. Two Romanian sisters are brought to
the US in containers, but one escapes. Windermere and Stevens
attempt to find the people behind this ring. This plot will
also have a struggle between the private life and job responsibilities.
Laukkanen has Stevens trying to handle how women are treated
as commodities and the evilness of men as his daughter begins
the dating scene.
Kill Fee has a very riveting plot that includes mayhem
and misdirection. It has characters that are very well developed
and intriguing. This intense novel is a must read for anyone
who enjoys suspenseful thrillers.
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