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Stevens & Windermere is a series of suspense thriller novels written by Owen Laukkanen. The books follow the exploits of a veteran detective and a young FBI agent who join forces to solve crimes.
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Order of Stevens & Windermere Series
| # | Read | Title | Published | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Professionals | 2012 | Description / Buy | |
| 2 | Criminal Enterprise | 2013 | Description / Buy | |
| 3 | Kill Fee | 2014 | Description / Buy | |
| 4 | The Stolen Ones | 2015 | Description / Buy | |
| 5 | The Watcher in the Wall | 2016 | Description / Buy | |
| 6 | The Forgotten Girls | 2017 | Description / Buy |
The Professionals, the first novel in the series, was published in 2012. However, the author actually started working on it in 2009. The financial crisis was pretty fresh and a significant portion of America’s population was suddenly unemployed.
Laukkman was fascinated by the idea of so many graduates leaving college with fresh hopes and dreams only to find that the employment market in the United States had nothing to offer them.
The author wondered what such young minds would do, the lines they would eventually cross to survive after injecting so much of their time and energy into earning degrees that ultimately served no purpose.
It was from all that rumination that Marie, Arthur, Ben, and Matt were born. The central figures of The Professionals, Marie, Matt, Ben, Arthur worked their hearts out, attained great degrees and dared to believe that the world would reward their hard work.
But then the economy crashed and these young people tried and failed to get jobs. Eventually, during an evening of drinking, one of them suggested in jest that they turn to crime.
The idea was to kidnap wealthy but low profile figures and then demand sizable but affordable ransoms of no more than $60,000.
These were amounts that hedge fund managers, trust fund babies and the like would happily pay to secure their safety.
This conversation was never meant to bear any actual fruit. But the economy tightened its grip and this crew of creative minds decided to act. Two years later, the gang was flying high, kidnapping mark after mark, and accumulating the resulting ransoms.
But then things went wrong. First, they took a mark with connections to the underworld. And then another victim’s family decided to call the police.
Kirk Stevens, an agent of the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, and Carla Windermere, a young FBI agent, came onto the scene and made it their mission to find and apprehend Ben and his crew before the bad guys took their revenge.
It was in the aftermath of this case that Stevens’ partnership with Windermere was cemented.
With the kidnapping saga finally put to rest, Windermere and Stevens went their separate ways. They never expected their paths to intertwine after.
But then circumstances kept conspiring to reunite them. More importantly, Windermere and Stevens found that they actually enjoyed working together despite their varying ages and backgrounds.
Stevens & Windermere Awards
The first novel in this series received Anthony, Barry, Thriller, and Spinetingler Award nominations in 2013.
The second novel was nominated for an International Thriller Award in 2014.
Best Stevens & Windermere Books
These novels have been commended for their rapid pace and action-oriented narrative, with some of the best books in the series including:
The Professionals: Stevens is an older agent of the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension in Minnesota. He is happily married. Windermere is a young, black, female FBI agent.
Stevens and Windermere were never slated to meet. But then a gang of college graduates kidnapped a fellow with criminal connections. Now all the wrong people are hunting them down.
Stevens and Windermere must join forces to find them before the worst comes to pass.
Criminal Enterprises: Stevens and Windermere solved the kidnapping case of their careers, and then went their separate ways. Now an enthusiastic bank robber has reunited them.
Everyone thought Tomlin had a perfect life. His wife was pretty, his children were happy, and his job paid well.
But then Tomlin’s source of income vanished and everything went wrong. As the bills mounted, the enterprising fellow decided to rob a bank. That first job was done out of desperation.
But it gave Tomlin a thrill he had never felt before. Now Stevens and Windermere must stop him before his new taste for violence takes more innocent lives.
Other Book Series You May Like
You may also enjoy the Lucas Davenport Series by John Sandford. Lucas is a police detective in Minneapolis. When things take a wrong turn, when killers and murderers come out of hiding to terrorize innocent communities, Lucas is the man they call to restore order.
Another good read is the Gabriel Allon Series by Daniel Silva. Gabriel Allon was tasked with finding and eliminating Israel’s foes. But then his work cost him the lives of his family. He abandoned his career and started anew. Now Gabriel does art restoration. But the world is a dangerous place and whether he likes it or not, Gabriel’s talents are necessary to maintain peace.
What Is The Next Book in The Stevens & Windermere Series?
There doesn't seem to be an upcoming book in The Stevens & Windermere Series. The newest book is The Forgotten Girls and was released on March, 14th 2017.