Mr. Keefe is himself a witness: entering the narrative discreetly, attending court proceedings, poring over research materials, interviewing sources. His glimpses of people under stress are keen and often poignant, and his own discoveries can be profound ... Each of these stories could make a book in itself, not to mention an engrossing feature or documentary film ... [Keefe] does pay his unique subjects the compliment of his world-class attention, in works of deadline prose that shock, inform and entertain.

Taken separately, each piece offers a portrayal of rogues variously defined, ranging from the overtly criminal to the lovable (in the case of chef Anthony Bourdain). Taken together, the essays reflect the collective preoccupations of the unsettling era in which we now live: mass shootings and terrorism, unaddressed mental health issues, and the many flavors of financial corruption ... Judged solely by the severity of their crimes, many of the lawbreakers are overtly despicable. Yet while not excusing their misdeeds, Keefe nonetheless manages to highlight the humanity and contradictions in their lives ... Intimate characterizations are at the heart of Keefe’s writing ... A book largely about highly publicized rogues and those engaged with trying to entrap them, Rogues is a fast-paced and frequently suspenseful read. While the often-high-profile crimes committed are familiar, Keefe is a virtuoso storyteller, able to create suspense with his descriptions of how those crimes unfolded. There is a feeling in many of the essays that, given the smallest of detours, events might not have happened as they did ... reveals much that is troubling about our world today: the challenges of international cooperation, the ill-gotten gains of obscenely wealthy individuals, and the intractable presence of terrorism and mass shootings. The overwhelming impression from these essays is that justice in our violent, turbulent world is fragile and elusive. Fortunately, there is no shortage of individuals engaged in lifelong crusades to pursue it or, in the case of Keefe, to write about it.

At one point, when Keefe scrutinises a few thriller novels Bishop had written years ago for clues, you can’t help but admire a preternaturally attentive reporter at work. In another unforgettable moment, he gets Bishop to admit that in the months before she went on a shooting spree, she often broke out in hives worrying about her career prospects ... Keefe may travel the world over to unearth facts and investigate allegations, but his fidelity is strictly to the story; anything erratic gets left out. The genre has its formulaic flourishes and Keefe doesn’t always avoid them in this collection ... Then there is the nut graph that dutifully surfaces in the opening pages of every new piece, the story striving to impress on you its newsworthiness, which might have been necessary in the magazine version, but feels oppressive years later in a book. But the indiscriminate use of omniscient narration is perhaps the most infectious of Keefe’s offences ... These questions are exhaustively explored, but Keefe doesn’t provide any pat answers. He illuminates how in the end we sift through a bulky catalogue of evidence and settle for the most plausible story.

It's an excellent collection of Keefe's detective work, and a fine introduction to his illuminating writing ... It's a fascinating profile that showcases Keefe's ability to empathize with his subjects while still maintaining an appropriate level of journalistic skepticism. It also demonstrates Keefe's immense skill as a storyteller; like the other pieces in the book, it's compulsively readable, imbued with narrative tension that's never overwrought or melodramatic ... a wonderful book, not only because Keefe's prose is masterful, but because he has a preternatural gift for reading people. He recognizes that we're all unreliable narrators of our own lives, and writes about his subjects with a keen sense of understanding ... This book is a joy to read.

Keefe collects a dozen thoroughly investigated and engagingly reported articles on a fascinating assortment of characters ... Keefe isn't a flashy writer, but he's able to summon an arresting phrase at just the right time ... Trusting the intelligence of his readers, he digs deeply into complex and often arcane topics ... Keefe painstakingly unearths and shares the details that render diverse true stories as engrossing as fiction.

... a collection of New Yorker pieces of astounding variety, each more riveting and extraordinary than the last ... The pièce de résistance is the closing profile on chef turned television star and provocateur Anthony Bourdain, whose humanity and vulnerability are shown with incredible sensitivity. Many of Keefe’s subjects exemplify greed, power, and self-delusion, but he also illustrates with remarkable nuance the stigma of mental illness and the compulsion toward ethical principles, reminding us that the arc of the moral universe is long, but it does bend towards justice.

... a combination of investigative journalism and personality profiles that often take the author on a globetrotting adventure—complicated stories that have room to breathe in the long-form format. Whether Keefe is exploring the wine fraud that plagues the world of the one percent or digging into a university shooter’s past, he shows remarkable skill in explaining complicated schemes and a dogged determination to track down leads. He emphasizes the importance of fact-checking, and he documents his attempts to get as close as possible to his subjects ... A strong collection of essays of most interest to true crime readers, but also on display is a model of journalistic credibility.

In these days of disposable tweets, fake news, and celebrity insta-pundits, there is still a place for long-form journalism, as this sharp collection of essays from award-winning writer Keefe shows ... Keefe is one of our most diligent investigators and skilled journalists ... Keefe effectively shows how we can seek to understand why people commit evil acts without absolving them. Some of these articles are more successful than others in finding the core of their subject. For example, Keefe clearly respects celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain, and he colorfully chronicles his explorations of Hanoi’s hawker stalls. So the fact that Bourdain committed suicide in 2018, mentioned only in a coda, comes as a shock. Nevertheless, there is plenty to like in this book, and as always, Keefe writes with flair, color, and care ... Thought-provoking examinations of human motivation, choices, follies, and morality.

... superlative ... Every one of these selections is a journalistic gem. Immensely enjoyable writing married with fascinating subjects makes this a must-read.