The pieces in this book profile a range of personalities. As the title suggests, most are notorious criminals, scammers or crooks, but all are fascinating in their own twisted way.

Rogues is a collection of essays written by Patrick Radden Keefe, whose books Empire of Pain and Say Nothing won multiple awards and made huge waves in the non-fiction literary world. In his latest book, Keefe presents 12 articles that previously appeared in The New Yorker. They all focus on the titular rogues - law-breakers, killers, arm dealers, and other people who keep to the margins of society for one reason or another. I do have to admit that I was surprised that Keefe included an essay on Anthony Bourdain, who seemed to be a bit out of place when put in the same row as Amy Bishop or Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. I suppose he fits the criteria of being a rebel and it’s always a bittersweet pleasure to read about him, but it did feel slightly jarring. It is the only thing I could possibly complain about when it comes to this collection, because overall it’s a brilliant, captivating read that I could not put down. I think there’s a reason a huge part of society is obsessed with true crime and scandals, and Keefe writes about them in a way that both entertains and forces the reader to pause and take a moment to think about the reasons humans are the way they are. Even when writing about serial killers or drug kingpins, Keefe has a unique ability to show their humanity through his writing, which makes reading his work an amazing experience.

TLDR: Rogues is an incredible, well written and well researched collection of essays that feature all types of crooks, scammers, and people who refuse to follow society’s rules.

I've read all these stories before but this is a smart idea, to put them all into one book. He is a very engaging reporter who readers will love.

Thanks to NetGalley and Doubleday Books for an ARC of this title.

I'm a big fan of Patrick Radden Keefe's work, and after the thrill rides of Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland and what I had already read of last year's Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty (much like Keefe, I'm a bit of a magpie when it comes to starting books and leaving them around my apartment in piles to be finished), this was a great collection of his work for the New Yorker.

While there's some connection in the types of story Keefe chooses to tell in his work, it's really interesting to see how he applies his same lens to his subjects both when he can and can't actually speak with them to write a profile. All in all, this was a delightful collection of complex stories, and I'm excited for whatever he's writing next.

Read an excellent collection of some of Keefe’s best articles from the New Yorker. Each article is different in that it highlights some aspect of today’s world including: drugs, finance, mass killings, family strife and international trade. Keefe focuses on a main protagonist and takes the reader inside that person’s world. Although all these people are very different, in backgrounds and situations, they all seem to have an unshakeable belief in themselves – even if that belief is warped. Perhaps one of Keefe’s best skills is the ability to make these people relatable in the face of what they pursue and how they attempt to achieve it. Even the essays that I assumed would be difficult to follow (arms dealings, finance, and mineral resources) were so well explained, that engagement was easy and informative. Highly recommended. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this title.

I’m a big fan of Patrick Radden Keefe’s writing, but this collection of essays (most of which had been previously published in The New Yorker) was hit or miss for me. My favorites were the opening essay about wine forgery (and the epic tools who spend a gazillion dollars on bottles of wine - fake or not) and the final essay, which was a profile of Anthony Bourdain. The story of Amy Bishop and the Swiss Bank Heist were also really interesting, but a few others were a bit dull. Overall, this was a really enjoyable and informative read with a variety of topics that could interest pretty much anyone!

I am avowed Patrick Radden Keefe fangirl, so this was an easy 5 stars for me. It's very typical of PRK's work: well-researched, exquisitely told stories of murder, mayhem, conspiracy, intrigue, etc. What I didn't know going in was that the book is a collection of his New Yorker pieces, many of which I had already read. I probably could have figured this out by reading literally any description online, so I can only fault myself for being disappointed by that. Said disappointment not withstanding, this is a great book, full of fascinating stories written by a master storyteller.

Patrick Radden Keefe is one of the best nonfiction writers working today. His Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty was nominated for the National Book Critics Circle Award, among other honors. He admits here that he benefits greatly from having the backing of The New Yorker's staff of fact checkers. In fact, Rogues is essentially intended to be an introduction to magazine writing with about a dozen of his best stories from The New Yorker.

I hope readers will carefully read the subtitle: True stories of grifters, killers, rebels & crooks because there is a broad variety of stories here: Dutch gangsters, a vintage wine fraud (and perhaps more interestingly very wealthy wine collectors), and a profile of the late Anthony Bourdain. Keefe recounts how El Chapo's people enjoyed his profile so much that they floated the idea of working together on his memoirs/autobiography. One can only imagine how intimidating such a proposition would be for an author.

He smartly give hints of the characters in these stories without being too heavy-handed, In particular, the Bourdain profile is really well-done. There is a prevailing sadness, some of it coming internally from Bourdain himself, but I think Keefe really captures Bourdain--his occasional forays into hyperbole that made him well-suited for television, his uneasiness with being boxed in because of his public profile, some regrets, as well as a desire to become a better person at some level. Highly recommended.

This book had some fascinating stories. All were separate but followed the story line of the main characters being rogues of some sort. I gave it a 3 because some of the articles drew me in instantly but some could have been skipped and I didn’t enjoy them as much.

Some stories were more interesting than others, but overall I was very entertained. Since the stories were previously published as magazine articles, some were a little old, but the short follow-up of where things stand now was great. It reminded me of David Grann's The Old Man and the Gun and The Devil and Sherlock Holmes.

This collection of true crime essays, previously published individually in The New Yorker, is an excellent sampler of the genre - with stories ranging on Dutch gangsters, vintage wine fraudsters, mass shooters, the life and captures of ‘El Chapo,’ the Lockerbie bombing, and more. Each essay is a world of its own, with Keefe telling an exhaustive, thoroughly researched story, complete with a brief update at the end of every chapter. Based in fact, sometimes philosophical, and always humanizing, this is investigative journalism at it’s best- providing deep dives in an easily digestible format. This book is perfect for those who enjoy settling in with long-form articles and readers who enjoy their true crime on the less-bloody side. It’s also recommended for fans of Keefe’s previous critically acclaimed books Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland and Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty.

A fantastic collection of essays about crime ranging from insider trading to murder, Patrick Radden Keefe's Rogues focuses more on the psychology behind many of the crimes than the cut and dry facts of the cases. The facts are presented, but the emphasis is on the people involved and their motivations and actions. Crime is ultimately about someone acting in a way that normal society doesn't find acceptable, therefore it is riveting to see how the thought process of these people work. The fact that the book is a group of essays and not completely about one of the crimes or criminals keeps the book fresh, even though any of these topics could probably have a whole book written about it. The only issue with the book is that the reader might want to follow a rabbit hole of learning more about any of these given cases since they are all so interesting. If the reader is looking for true crime and some of the psychology behind it, this is an excellent book that is well researched and thoughtful in its treatment of crime and criminals.

Thank you to NetGalley and Doubleday books for the ARC

A collection of twelve articles by Keefe, excellently written and researched, mostly about various criminals around the globe. The last article, a feature on Anthony Bourdain, definitely felt a little out of place in this book. Some of the subjects were more interesting to me than others, and overall I have to admit to feeling a little depressed about how many awful people there are in the world and the lengths they'll go to achieve money and power. Thank you to NetGalley and Doubleday Books for a digital review copy.

Patrick Radden Keefe is must-read nonfiction. I even delight in the preface and acknowledgements. This books reads like a collection of nonfiction stories and the Anthony Bourdain piece at the end is like the perfect dessert to finish it off: sour, sweet and satisfying. I love the way Keefe lays out the facts for the reader, allowing you to make your own conclusion while not explicitly making value judgements - this is particularly seen here in "The Worst of the Worst" about lawyer Judy Clarke's work on the trial of the Boston marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.

The author of the excellent “Empire of Pain” and also a writer for the New Yorker has turned his magazine articles into a book. If you’re familiar with the author you will recognize some stories (like HSBC and the documentary “Dirty Money”).

I have enjoyed this author’s work for years but haven’t spent time to read the magazine articles, so this book was perfectly up my alley. The stories are the perfect length and are so interesting and well researched. From banks, to the mob, El Chapo to Donald Trump, there is something for everyone.

The final story features Anthony Bourdain. Perfectly written and so many quotes from the man himself. Despite knowing the ending, it was heartbreaking to read the end. It was like a silence and a light switch had been turned off. The end.

Excellent book on so many current and important topics. I highly recommend picking up a copy of Rogues! Thank you NetGalley for the arc!

A collection of articles written by Patrick Radden Keefe on various people who are outside the "normal" life paths.
Covering con artists, a death penalty defense attorney, El Chapo, a mass shooter, and an arms dealer among others, each chapter focuses on one person and their story. All are well written, well researched, and explore the nuances of humanity in a unique way. That said they all plum the darkest parts of humanity (with one notable exception and by far my favorite chapter: Anthony Bourdain, which captured his life in full dazzling effect).

Like most people, I read and was captivated by Keefe's book, Empire of Pain, but hadn't read any of his other works (yet). This was a nice way to catch up on his articles without having to track them down. Each section stands alone but has the classic Keefe attention, curiosity, and commentary that made me relish Empire of Pain.

Like so many other readers, Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty cemented Patrick Radden Keefe as a must-read author for me. Keefe, an investigative journalist for The New Yorker, specializes in writing meticulously researched narrative nonfiction, usually on crime- or justice-related subjects. But his backlist isn't very long, so I was excited to see that he was releasing a new book this year.

Rogues is just as good as Empire of Pain in its meticulousness, its depth of detail, and its impactful writing. Rather than telling one long-form narrative, Rogues delves into several different true-crime stories, my favorite of which was a delve into the scam behind the Thomas Jefferson-owned Lafitte wine bottles. And while some of the articles resonated with me more than others — Keefe's profile of death-row defense attorney Judy Clarke made me think about justice in new ways, while his exposé on African mining rights was frankly quite boring — I think that's actually a strength: there's something in here for everyone.

I will say, though, that the very last chapter (about Anthony Bourdain) seemed a tad out-of-place in this collection since Bourdain, unlike the subjects of the rest of the articles, was not involved in any criminal activity. I discovered after finishing that the reason the Bourdain story was included was because Rogues, while presented as a new publication, is simply a re-print of Keefe's New Yorker articles in book form. There's little new content, other than an introduction (written by Keefe) and brief, easily-Googleable "where are they now" addendums to most of the stories. So while Rogues is a great book with objectively good reporting, you can probably save yourself $26 and get a free tote bag by subscribing to The New Yorker and reading these same stories there instead.

Rogues is perfect for the true crime fan. It's a collection of Patrick Radden Keefe's most celebrated articles from The New Yorker. It covers an array of crimes in short story form making it easy to pick up for brief periods of time. If you enjoy true crime or Keefe's writing, this is perfect for you!! I know I'll be reading a lot more of Keefe's articles going forward. Highly recommended!!

I always loved when Patrick Radden Keefe's name popped up in the table of contents of The New Yorker when I had a subscription and those issues got read first, as opposed to the ones that ended up in "the pile to be read later" (it's a cliche because it's true, people!) so I was thrilled that some of the best have now been compiled into a book. Most of these stories were new to me and I devoured them quickly. If you only know Keefe from his brilliant books, Say Nothing and Empire of Pain, do yourself a favor and catch up on how it all started by reading this collection about all the other n'er do wells out there!

I really enjoyed Rogues: True Stories of Grifters, Killers, Rebels and Crooks by Patrick Radden Keefe. Ever since reading Empire of Pain, Patrick Radden Keefe has been on my must-read list. Given that I’m a true crime fan, this new book was perfect for me. This book includes many short stories of true crimes from cons to murder.

I really liked the short-form story format. It meant my attention didn’t have to last too long while reading each story. I’ve been busy lately and this book was perfect for me to pick up in between the many different activities I’ve been involved in. I also liked how he did some stories that I recognized while many others were new to me.

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes short non-fiction stories or true crime.

Rating: 4/5
Genre: Non-Fiction/True Crime