Immensely enjoyable writing married with fascinating subjects makes this a must-read. Patrick Radden Keefe tells us in the preface to in his new book, Rogues: True Stories of Grifters, Killers, Rebels and Crooks, that the 12 long-form essays reflect some of my abiding preoccupations: crime and corruption, secrets and lies, the permeable membrane separating licit and illicit worlds, the bonds of family, the power of denial. Every one of these selections is a journalistic gem.

“Winning” takes a look at the rise of Donald Trump from the point of view of Mark Burnett, creator of The Apprentice, and in “Journeyman,” chef Anthony Bourdain, more rebel than rogue, muses on dining with Barack Obama. “A Loaded Gun” explores why neurobiologist Amy Bishop shot and killed three colleagues at the University of Alabama decades after she was suspected of killing her own brother. “Crime Family” charts the daily life in hiding of Astrid Holleeder, a Dutch woman who brought down her own crime family by testifying against her brother.

The 12 essays in this superlative collection from New Yorker staff writer Keefe ( Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty) reflect, as he says in his preface, his abiding preoccupations: “crime and corruption, secrets and lies, the permeable membrane separating licit and illicit worlds, the bonds of family, the power of denial.” “The Jefferson Bottles” chronicles how the sale of bottles of wine that supposedly belonged to Thomas Jefferson, for hundreds of thousands of dollars, resulted in a lifelong crusade against wine fraud by billionaire Bill Koch.

Rogues radden keefe