Owen Laukkanen Books In Order

Publication Order of Stevens & Windermere Books

Publication Order of Neah Bay Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Anthologies

Owen Laukkanen is one of the most promising novelists to come out of Canada. Let us look at his biography, some interesting facts about Owen as a man as well as some of his most interesting books:

Owen Laukkanen’s biography

Owen Laukkanen was born in Vancouver, Canada, but was raised as a young child in the town of Windsor, Ontario, in 1985. Since he was a young boy, he always was interested in writing, doing well in English and composition classes.

Indeed, it is this talent that saw him accepted into the prestigious and highbrow university of British Columbia to the creative writing BFA program, which he did with a view of becoming a writer of novels or short prose in the future. It is at this college where he was urged to shun genre fiction and instead focus on writing for the mass market, decision that he has never regretted since.

After graduating from the University of British Columbia in 2006, Owen Laukkanen embarked on that most arduous of tasks: looking for work. The search was tortuous. He applied for every and any job ad he could find, including to be a driver for an escort agency, but to no avail. He finally saw a job ad on craigslist that offered six weeks to be a writer for the world series of poker. He applied for it, was chosen and his life changed forever.

He did this gig for three years, and got so much experience of many parts of the world travelling with professional poker players across the world. He got to live in five star hotels, see beautiful sights such as Macau, Monaco to Barcelona, and meet the best poker players in the world. He credits this experience with enabling him to be able to set some of his novels in far flung areas such as America’s west.

Owen Laukkanen resides in Vancouver, having eschewed the bright lights and cosmopolitan streets and life of New York for the more idyllic and creative friendly streets of Vancouver. He insists that getting away from it all helps him in writing, and that he does not miss New York.

Owen Laukkanen’s creative style

Owen Laukkanen is a writer who is very prolific and relaxed in his style. He can write for over four or five hours per day, with little in way of an outline or a specific plot to follow. Laukkanen is an author who can type over 5,000 words in a day, his preferred style is to finish the first draft of the book he is writing as fast as possible.

Owen Laukkanen’s novels are somewhere in the middle of high art and commercially designed works, it is this style of writing that led him to write “the professionals.” In an interview with straight.com, Laukkanen noted that he always wishes to write works that are relevant to his audience, as well as offering insights into human nature and problems that all of his audience can relate to.

In addition, Laukkanen prefers to write novels where the characters are black or white. He wants the reader to empathise with the villians as well as the good guys as they read.

Owen Laukkanen’s novels:

The Professionals

The Professionals is the first novel released by Laukkanen. A fast paced novel, it follows a group of young twenty something’s across America, following a failed kidnapping attempt that leads law enforcement and underworld bosses hot on their trail over the country. In the book, Owen decided that basing the plot on unemployed graduates who are lured into the criminal world due to lack of employment opportunities, because he felt that this would be a very relatable story and plot to many adults across the world. The four kidnappers are Pender who is the leader, mouse, the brains, Marie, who is Pender’s girlfriend, and sawyer, the muscle of the group. Follow this spellbinding plot as the college graduates try to escape the long arm of the law, the cold hearted killers of the underworld as well as trying to figure out what exactly the world has in store for them far away from the dreams they had in their young adulthood years. It is a remarkable novel and one that put Owen Laukkanen firmly on the map.

Criminal enterprise

Criminal enterprise is another spellbinding novel that follows the life of Carter Tomlin, who lives a picture perfect life with his lovely wife, two kids in his mansion. However, all is not rosy in this world. He lost his job and is flirting with bankruptcy. In desperation, he robs a bank, and ends up having FBI special agent Carla Windermere as well as state investigator from Minnesota, kirk Stevens on his trail. Carter Tomlin decides he rather enjoys robbing banks, and loves the feeling of power and excitement that violence and guns brings. Windermere and Stevens have to set outside their messy history if they are to catch this criminal hell-bent on causing as much havoc as he can.

Kill fee

Minnesota state investigator kirk Stevens and his occasional partner Carla Windermere witness one of the most remarkable assassinations of recent times, when one of Minnesota’s wealthiest men is gunned down in broad daylight in downtown saint Paul. They get to see the assassin, a young man with very weird eyes, apart from having a deadly shot and cold nerves when chasing his victims. The two sleuths chase the assassin and the story all over the country, and after many escapades, blind alleys and dead ends, they end up to a social media website that is designed for advertising murders for hire. Who has the shooter with the dead eyes chosen next as his victim? And how is he targeting them? The mystery unfolds from here.

Conclusion

Owen Laukkanen is a brilliant novelist who changed the writing scene of Canada and the world at large with his remarkable novels. With a fast paced style, focusing on plots, characters and themes that he thought were attractive to the mainstream audience as well as readers who want something they can relate to, he was one of the most critically acclaimed authors to come out of Canada for a very long time.

4 Responses to “Owen Laukkanen”

1. LARRY P.: 6 months ago

   Where has Owen gone??? it’s been 4 years since the last book!! I hope he is well. Great writer!

   Reply
2. Anne Styczen: 1 year ago

   I am reading your first book The Professionals.
   Can’t put it down. Have read many different authors and now, of course, will have to read your
   series. Thank you. Great reading.

   Reply
3. Anna Rogers: 2 years ago

   You are absolutely my favorite all time writer and I’m a retired librarian who’s read thousands of books. PLEASE write many more very soon!!!!

   Reply
4. Karen S Harris: 3 years ago

   Please tell me the series has not ended. Absolutely love Stevens & Windermere

   Reply