A review by jeanetterenee
The Stolen Ones by Owen Laukkanen
4.0
3.5 stars
This was just the right thing to have on hand for a dreary weekend when I was feeling lousy and needed distraction. It has excellent pacing and held my interest throughout. The ending was a little too tidy, with a couple of "Awww, shucks, isn't that sweet?" moments, but I suppose it does help us feel more connected to Stevens and Windermere when we're allowed to see a part of their lives outside of the crime-fighting milieu.
The plot involves a situation that is, sadly, not entirely fiction. It deals with human trafficking, wherein young girls from Eastern Europe are smuggled into the U.S. to be sold as sex slaves. We meet two sisters from Romania, Irina and Catalina, who become separated in the U.S. Both are attempting to escape. Kirk Stevens and Carla Windermere team up once again in a nationwide chase to save the girls and capture the thugs.
I have been with this series since the first Stevens and Windermere novel. Owen Laukkanen comes up with some wonderfully imaginative plots. He especially excels at creating deliciously evil criminals we love to hate. With this fourth book, I can happily say that the author's skill as a novelist is steadily improving, especially with regard to pacing. Although this is a series, I think each of the novels stands alone well enough that it's not strictly necessary to have read all the others.
The one notable flaw in this story is the use of too many obvious coincidences. Of course, all thriller writers have to use them. That's how we move the plot along and keep things exciting. It's just that Laukkanen has perhaps not yet learned how to hide them as well as do some of the more experienced authors.
This was just the right thing to have on hand for a dreary weekend when I was feeling lousy and needed distraction. It has excellent pacing and held my interest throughout. The ending was a little too tidy, with a couple of "Awww, shucks, isn't that sweet?" moments, but I suppose it does help us feel more connected to Stevens and Windermere when we're allowed to see a part of their lives outside of the crime-fighting milieu.
The plot involves a situation that is, sadly, not entirely fiction. It deals with human trafficking, wherein young girls from Eastern Europe are smuggled into the U.S. to be sold as sex slaves. We meet two sisters from Romania, Irina and Catalina, who become separated in the U.S. Both are attempting to escape. Kirk Stevens and Carla Windermere team up once again in a nationwide chase to save the girls and capture the thugs.
I have been with this series since the first Stevens and Windermere novel. Owen Laukkanen comes up with some wonderfully imaginative plots. He especially excels at creating deliciously evil criminals we love to hate. With this fourth book, I can happily say that the author's skill as a novelist is steadily improving, especially with regard to pacing. Although this is a series, I think each of the novels stands alone well enough that it's not strictly necessary to have read all the others.
The one notable flaw in this story is the use of too many obvious coincidences. Of course, all thriller writers have to use them. That's how we move the plot along and keep things exciting. It's just that Laukkanen has perhaps not yet learned how to hide them as well as do some of the more experienced authors.