CRIMINAL ENTERPRISE

With this second thriller in a series, Laukkanen’s latest provides an entertaining worst-case scenario of an accountant gone bad.

Carter Tomlin has a lovely wife, daughter and home, but the good life in Minnesota comes crashing down when he’s laid off from his accounting job. Now no one wants to hire him, and consulting can’t pay the bills. How can he support his family and their lifestyle? Well, banks have money. He’ll rob one. Just one ballsy heist to tide him over, and he’s done. It doesn’t yield him enough cash, though, and he discovers that scaring the living bejesus out of harmless bank tellers is a lot more fun than balancing books. So, he has to amp up his game, and he and a young lady partner go for bigger scores. Bullets start to fly, and soon, Tomlin is in much deeper trouble than he’d ever expected—and he’s loving it, all while his innocent family remains clueless. Meanwhile, FBI agent Carla Windermere and detective Kirk Stevens team up to identify the robber and try to bring him down. They’ve previously worked together in Laukkanen’s debut, The Professionals (2012), and have a professional and personal chemistry that makes them fun to follow and easy to root for. Tomlin takes them through plenty of twists and turns as he becomes increasingly unhinged and dangerous—even other bad guys had best give him a wide berth.

Fans of crime thrillers shouldn’t miss this one or anything else with Laukkanen’s name on the cover. The writing is so crisp, the pages almost want to turn themselves. He’s a terrific storyteller.