New Releases by Pete Hautman

Is there any greater thrill than staring down your opponent across the poker table, waiting for the card that will make or break your hand? Acclaimed YA novelist Pete Hautman would know—he’s been a poker fanatic for thirty years. And with poker now an international TV phenomenon, the time seems right for an anthology about this most exciting game. From a contest that pits a hapless teen against his girlfriend’s redneck family, to a midnight game with the Devil, to an Internet poker scheme gone horribly wrong, the stories here brilliantly reveal how poker can both irrevocably affect and eerily imitate teenage life.

From award-winning author Pete Hautman and Mary Logue comes a lively mystery series. When high school student Alicia Camden suddenly disappears, the small town of Bloodwater is in shock. And it’s up to Roni Delicata, reporter for the school newspaper The Bloodwater Pump, and her brilliant sidekick, Brian Bain, to figure out what’s going on. With suspects all around them and suspicions high, Roni and Brian risk their lives -- and a few groundings from their parents -- to get to the bottom of things. But can they find Alicia and solve the mystery before it’s too late? Full of suspense and humor, readers will love to watch the hilarious relationship between Roni and Brian as they save the day.

While on a class field trip, Roni Delicata and Brian Bain find a local archaeologist unconscious in a cave. Professor Andrew Dart is trying to find evidence of an Indian burial ground to stop the Bloodwater family from developing the site. But it is Dr. Dart who has been stopped first, in this exciting follow-up to "Snatched."

Doug and Andy are unlikely best friends--one a loner obsessed by his model trains, the other a popular student involved in football and theater--who grew up together and share a bond that nothing can sever.

Suppose you quit your job, took out a second mortgage, and borrowed every penny of your in-laws'' nest egg to start up a surefire new business. What if your partner ran off with all your money? What if you caught up with him? These are the questions Pete Hautman''s hero faces in Rag Man, a wryly funny, Faustian tale of a good man going bad. Mack MacWray''s new clothing manufacturing company was wildly successful -- until the day his charming, street-savvy partner, Lars Larson, disappeared with all the assets, leaving Mack stuck with nothing but debts and shattered dreams. Devastated, Mack thinks he has nothing left to live for until, at the edge of a cliff on the idyllic Mexican resort of Isla Mujeres, he comes face-to-face with his former partner. Mack discovers something about himself that fateful afternoon -- that maybe he''s not such a nice guy after all. After push comes to shove, Mack must live with what he has become. Mack returns to the U.S. with his moral compass demagnetized and discovers a world of opportunity. Without the ball and chain of guilt and accountability, making money is all but guaranteed. He transforms himself from bankrupt loser to hard-nosed success story -- but at what cost? His wife wants the old Mack back; her best friend wants Mack in bed; Lars''s widow wants money (or revenge); and Detective Jerry Pleasant wants answers -- or maybe more. As the pace quickens and tensions rise, these characters begin to surprise even themselves. Pete Hautman treads the line between psychological darkness and laugh-out-loud funny as he asks tough questions about the nature of good and evil -- and offers some unexpected answers.

Sixteen-year-old Denn finds himself alienating both friends and family when he becomes obsessed with playing high-stakes poker with adult gamblers.