In order: Book 5, book 4, book 1
"They say crime doesn't pay. Well, let me tell you, they're either stupid, or lying. The rewards of the criminal lifestyle are vast, if you're good at it. And I'm the best there is."
— Jason Jorgensen
Jason Jorgensen, high school senior and self-proclaimed genius, isn't your average high school student. He runs a group of con artists, hidden in plain sight as the Club for Perfect Cleanliness, who combine their talents to rule Van Buren High with an iron fist. But when Jason's crush Addie Bristol ends up in the group, he's inspired to set his sights higher and enter the world of adult crime. The four-person group soon finds itself struggling against external foes and internal tensions, doing everything it can just to survive.
The team consists of
- Jason Jorgensen. The financier/leader of the group. He would also tell you he's the smartest and handsomest. He has an antagonistic relationship with his father, Lucas Jorgensen, and started the CPC as a way to escape his father's eye.
- Addie Bristol. Spy, thief, and actress with an innate sense for lies — both telling and detecting. At the beginning of the series, she is independent from the group, stealing to pay off her mother's debts, but soon joins the CPC. Jason finds himself drawn to discover the secret she's hiding.
- Kira Applewood. The CPC's driver, hacker, and muscle. By far the most crass member of the group, and the most determined to keep her criminal lifestyle hidden from her family. She is fearless, and has seemingly limitless endurance.
- Z Davis. Through a vast network of friends, acquaintances, and favors, Z always has someone on the inside. He's generally the least trusting of Jason, but willing to go the extra mile for Kira, who he has an unrequited crush on. Z is also incredibly unlucky, usually bearing the brunt of the CPC's schemes.
The Big Bet is a six-book series by Owen B. Greenwald, released on January 1, 2016.
- The Four Racketeers deals with the CPC's first job: to rig a high-stakes poker game, and the fallout when their mark turns out to be more dangerous than expected. Jason and Addie are able to fleece the other players to the tune of three million dollars, but when Z is kidnapped by high-roller Richard Trieze, it'll take all of Jason's intellect to rescue him and make it out in one piece. Meanwhile, Addie and Jason begin to kindle a romance.
- Up the Stakes opens with a mysterious man offering Jason the chance to rig a basketball game in Las Vegas, where he reunites with the CPC. Despite misgivings about the mysterious circumstances of their hiring, as well as working with Jason again, the CPC is able to come together and ensure their success. But the reward isn't quite what they suspect...
- Bullseye covers the short-lived battle between the New York Mafia and the CPC, who are seeking revenge for being betrayed. Though their efforts are initially fruitful, the Mafia retaliates with strikes against their families. The team of four splits up to save their families individually, but not all of them are successful. In the aftermath, Jason and Addie start a relationship and Z leaves the CPC in disgust at Jason's tactics.
- Payment in Kind details the CPC's revenge against Richard Trieze, who they discover was behind sending them to Las Vegas. In order to exact their vengeance, they make some unlikely allies — including Z, who they trick into rejoining them. In the process, they discover that Jason's billionaire father has been keeping tabs on the group for an unknown, potentially sinister, reason.
- In Too Much Action, tensions within the CPC come to a head. Kira's bloodthirst is flaring, Z is still resentful of the rest of the gang, and Addie's keeping more secrets than usual. When Z breaks Jason's hastily-negotiated truce with the Mafia, the CPC's forced to turn to underground fights to raise enough money to buy them off. Money or no money, though, a showdown with the Mafia seems imminent.
- Checkmate continues the CPC's struggle against the Mafia, this time with Jason and the gang attempting to fake their own deaths and flee to Copenhagen. However, betrayal from within the group sinks the plan, with dire consequences for everyone involved.
These novels provide examples of:
- Abusive Parents: Lucas Jorgensen. Worst Christmas ever.
- Affably Evil: Most of the villains, actually. Lorenzo and Richard Trieze generally start polite until they're backed into a corner. Lucas is too confident in his own safety to take any of his opponents seriously, and so comes off this way sometimes too.
- Deadpan Snarker: The entire gang. Jason in particular, due to his first-person perspective.
- Dressing as the Enemy: Addie, multiple times.
- It's Personal: By book three, the CPC has largely abandoned its original pursuit of profit in favor of revenge and/or survival.
- The Berserker: Kira. Particularly in book five.
