Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Kill Fee - Owen Laukkanen

Kill Fee is the third novel from Owen Laukkanen. I've read and really enjoyed his first two books. Kill Fee again brings together Minnesota State Investigator Kirk Stevens and special agent Carla Windermere.

Killswitch - murder for hire. And the contact method? On the web. The puppet master behind these hired assassins is fiendishly clever and extremely ruthless. But, he's also greedy. And that greed starts the dominoes falling...

Laukkanen's novels are always cleverly and inventively plotted. The choosing and training of the killers is perhaps not so far from the truth. And the online 'shopping' is not far fetched either. Kill Fee is  packed full of action, twists and turns and reads like an action film. (It would make a great movie) In every one of Laukkanen's novels, I always end up rooting for one of the 'bad' guys. In this case, it's one of the hired killers.

There's been a 'romantic' - or perhaps attraction is a better description - subplot between Stevens and Windermere that began in the first book and has continued. This undercurrent does provide us with a more personal glimpse at the characters and adds another layer of tension to the plot. But by the end of Kill Fee, I was growing tired of the back and forth. Personally, I think it's time to put it to bed.(Sorry, couldn't resist)

A definite page turner and thoroughly entertaining. Fans of John Sandford and Lee Child would enjoy this series. Both authors have provided cover blurbs for Laukkanen's books. Kill Fee can certainly be read as a stand alone, but the first two books are definitely worth picking up. And I'll be waiting for the fourth.  Read an excerpt of Kill Fee.

You can find Owen Laukkanen on Facebook.

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