With a wildcatting spirit--and set in a West Texas town in 1947--"The Rogues' Game" is a high stakes novel and an exquisite quest for revenge.

In Shell Games, journalist Craig Welch delves into our nation's waters and wildlands in search of America's most unusual criminals. The resulting detective story is filled with butterfly thieves, bear poachers, shark-trafficking pastors—and a rogues' gallery of double-crossing crooks who get rich smuggling bizarre marine creatures. Puget Sound is home to the geoduck (pronounced "gooey duck"), the world's largest burrowing clam—a seafood delicacy worth millions on the international black market. Outlaw scuba divers pursue this prize while dodging cops, committing arson, and hiring hit men to eliminate their rivals. Detective Ed Volz has spent decades chasing fish and wildlife smugglers. Now, he and a team of federal agents are desperate to take down the most remarkable thief they've ever hunted: a darkly charming con man who works both sides of the law and calls himself the "Geoduck Gotti."

With its wildcatting spirit, Milton T. Burton's The Rogues' Game is a high stakes novel and an exquisite quest for revenge. 1947. An enigmatic man driving a fine Lincoln convertible and accompanied by a beautiful blonde, comes to a small West Texas town. Ostensibly, his purpose is to get into a poker game that had been going at the infamous Weilbach Hotel. But as the story unfolds, it becomes apparent that he has a darker motive, one that centers on a sinister local banker named Clifton Robillard. Aided by an old-time hood named Chicken Little, the protagonist maneuvers Robillard toward a shattering climax in which we discover that nothing is what it seems to be.

It Takes a Thief . . . When brute force won't get the job done, you need someone with . . . skills. A specialist. Preferably someone who doesn't let a lot of nagging concerns about law or morality get in the way. Whether you're looking for just the right character to round out an adventuring party, or a dangerous NPC to challenge your players, GURPS Rogues has what you need - 29 different templates, letting you quickly create the scoundrel that's right for the job. Templates include . . . Thieves who are only in it for the money, such as the armed robber, cat burglar, pirate, pickpocket, housebreaker, and forger. Rogues who have other goals than mere material gain, like the spy, hacker, evil mastermind, mad scientist, and saboteur. Charmers who work more with people's minds than with lockpicks and prybars . . . the con man, bard, fixer, gambler, prostitute, and street doctor. Mysterious figures who work on the shadowy edges of society -- the tracker, poacher, assassin, master thief, smuggler, mobster, and black marketeer. Each template comes with four complete characters, drawn from a wide range of settings. All told, you get 116 ready-to-use sample characters, as well as historical background and information on the technology and tactics that shaped their professions. This version of GURPS Rogues also comes bundled with the 24-page GURPS Update, providing information on how to upgrade these GURPS Third Edition templates and characters to Fourth Edition!

Daring Games. Dangerously Delicious Consequences. Lovely Eve Reynolds plays the role of a naive young debutante, but her demure appearance hides an experienced cardplayer who, at her uncle's instigation, is engaged in fleecing London aristocrats in the high-stakes card games favored by society. Only London's most notorious rake, Julian Clay, the Earl of Westleigh, sees through her wiles, for he recognizes a fellow gambler when he sees one. Lured by the passion in Eve's stormy eyes, so at odds with her reserved elegance, Julian lays impassioned siege to her. And Eve responds with a rising fire of desire that leaves behind all sensible caution, until both Julian and Eve can think of nothing but the searing hours they spend in each other's arms. But Eve's uncle wants her to play for the highest stakes by making a respectable match with a wealthy lord...and Eve has her own secret reason for following his plan. Although Julian began to play recklessly to seduce a clever young lady, now he wants much more from Eve, and no one will stop him from risking everything on one final game that might win him Eve's heart and soul forever.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the award-winning author of Empire of Pain and Say Nothing—and one of the most decorated journalists of our time—twelve enthralling true stories of skulduggery and intrigue "An excellent collection of Keefe's detective work, and a fine introduction to his illuminating writing." —NPR “Fast-paced...Keefe is a virtuoso storyteller." —The Washington Post Patrick Radden Keefe has garnered prizes ranging from the National Magazine Award to the Orwell Prize to the National Book Critics Circle Award for his meticulously-reported, hypnotically-engaging work on the many ways people behave badly. Rogues brings together a dozen of his most celebrated articles from The New Yorker. As Keefe says in his preface “They reflect on 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.” Keefe brilliantly explores the intricacies of forging $150,000 vintage wines, examines whether a whistleblower who dared to expose money laundering at a Swiss bank is a hero or a fabulist, spends time in Vietnam with Anthony Bourdain, chronicles the quest to bring down a cheerful international black market arms merchant, and profiles a passionate death penalty attorney who represents the “worst of the worst,” among other bravura works of literary journalism. The appearance of his byline in The New Yorker is always an event, and collected here for the first time readers can see his work forms an always enthralling but deeply human portrait of criminals and rascals, as well as those who stand up against them.

There's a single ambition no man can reject: Immortality. For John, death was merely the beginning. Transmigrating into a new world granted him an opportunity to change his view on life. With power and immortality as new goals, he is willing to pay any price. Unfortunately, there are those willing to take advantage of him and his unfamiliarity with a new world. Shadows behind the curtains, unwilling to reveal themselves, will trick him into doing their bidding. Now, John faces an entire kingdom on his own. Deceived? Conned? They don't care. His actions carry a sin none of them are willing to forgive. With the world as an enemy, John will fight to accomplish his goals. His path will be stopped by no one. Read this novel to enjoy a journey of self-discovery, ambition and revenge. Inspired by classical LitRPG, Xianxia and Fantasy, Idle System is a new take on these genres.