A masterful thief plots an impossible crime—stealing the Iranian Crown Jewels. From the author of the wildly successful Dexter series comes a new, mesmerizing bad guy we can root for: Riley Wolfe. He’s a master thief, expert at disguise, and not averse to violence when it’s needed. It’s no accident, though, that Riley targets the wealthiest 0.1 percent and is willing to kill them when they’re … kill them when they’re in his way: he despises the degenerate and immoral rich and loves stealing their undeserved and unearned valuables.
In this series launch, Riley aims for an extraordinary target in a heist that will make history. Riley will try to steal the Crown Jewels of Iran. Yes, these jewels are worth billions, but the true attraction for grabbing them comes down to one simple fact: it can’t be done. Stealing these jewels is absolutely impossible. The collection is guarded by space-age electronics and two teams of heavily armed mercenaries. No one could even think of getting past the airtight security and hope to get away alive, let alone with even a single diamond from the Imperial Collection.
No one but Riley Wolfe. He’s always liked a challenge.
But this challenge may be more than even he can handle. Aside from the impenetrable security, Riley is also pursued by a brilliant and relentless cop who is barely a step behind him.
With the aid of his sometime ally, a beautiful woman who is a master art forger, Riley Wolfe goes for the prize that will either make him a legend—or, more likely, leave him dead.
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Another blockbuster from a can’t-miss master. Enjoy the ride.
This is a masterful heist thriller that is one helluva fun read!
The plot is positively genius.
Riley Wolfe is a master thief. He is feeling somewhat stale. He needs a challenge. So he sets his sights on the Iranian Crown Jewels. In particular, the “Daryayeh-E-Noor”, The Ocean of Light, a huge, flawless pink diamond that is worth at least fifteen billion dollars. That’s right, that’s billion, with a “B”!
Riley is a complex and intriguing character. Through his backstory we discover what makes him tick. His pyschological make-up. And “The Darkness”.
Riley is not averse to murder if someone stands in the way of a plan.
Still, all in all, he’s a likable guy.
So, with the assistance of his sometimes ally, the beautiful art forger, Monique, he sets off on a seemingly impossible quest. One that will be the greatest heist…ever.
Riley will have to overcome many obstacles. The least of which is FBI Special Agent Frank Delgado.
Delgado is an intelligent and tenacious agent who’s been on Riley’s trail for years. He’s made it his personal mission to bring Riley Wolfe down.
This story is about as exhilarating as it gets. The writing is excellent and the idea his sheer brilliance.
Bonus: Riley enjoys listening to music while working out his schemes, so there’s a killer “soundtrack” to this tale.
This is the start of a new series. i can’t wait for the next one.
Will Riley’s plan work?
Well. Riley Wolfe’s #1 Law is. “There’s always a way”.
Just watch him!
Interesting plot, lots of action, but the constant, shallow narcissism of the main character was off-putting.
Fascinating “hero” villain who I couldn’t help rooting for. Loved the plot twists and author’s writing style. A must read.
Seriously flawed good guy thief. Not anew concept but well done
A fun heist book
When the main character is a thief of unparalleled excellence, a man who cannot resist a challenge, and the prize is the crown jewels of Iran, the plot thickens. Riley Wolfe needs a new challenge, and finds it in planning the perfect heist, one that no other thief or law enforcement officer or even high tech security firm would consider possible. does it carry it off? And at what cost? I’m not giving it away! A perfectly engrossing book to take on vacation or curl up with on a rainy weekend.Just don’t start reading it when you have obligations that will , trust me, be ignored once you start reading. The only reason I didn’t give it 5 stars is because Riley isn’t a very nice person in some ways, and I did not see any growth or change in his character as the tale unfolded.
Lindsay’s a master at writing the anti-hero you root for and like.
Throughout the majority of Just Watch Me I would have rated it . I was looking forward to this book because I loved Dexter. Riley isn’t as likable a character. He is extremely smart and can create a personality for any situation. He may turn into a more likable character if there is a sequel. The final heist bumped it up to four stars. If you enjoy robbers stealing from the extremely wealthy and dishing out their own idea of justice, check out Just Watch Me.
I have been waiting for a new book since he polished off dexter.
A new book by the author of the Dexter series? Absolutely, sign me up. Now, before I get into my thoughts on Just Watch Me, let me add that I haven’t read the Dexter series, but I enjoyed the television series quite a lot. So, I suppose Riley Wolfe is supposed to be to thieves what Dexter was to serial killers? If so, something got lost in the translation for me because I didn’t find anything likable about Riley. He is stealing from the rich and powerful who didn’t exactly earn their money honestly, but I can’t really say the same for the caper he’s planning in this book. Nope, this is just because he’s bored and wants a challenge, so why not attempt to steal the unstealable? Riley’s talent for thievery reminds me a little of Neil from White Collar except for one thing – Neil was likable. Riley just isn’t. Not even a little bit. Now, I have no problem with an unlikable main character, but I didn’t find any of the characters in this one particularly likable. It’s quite possible that I’m comparing apples to oranges with this book and the Dexter series, but if that’s so, maybe it shouldn’t have been used in the blurb. We’re promised “a new, mesmerizing bad guy we can root for,” and I didn’t find that here.
As far as the storyline and writing style, Just Watch Me starts off well enough, and it certainly piqued my interest with the caper Riley pulls off. Sadly, it fizzled from there with some serious lags in the story. The dialogue is often stilted with way too many dialogue tags. The “he said” “she said” after almost every line in conversation was repetitive and tedious, especially when only two people were talking. In the end, this one left me underwhelmed at best, and with the lags in the story, I had a really hard time getting through it. With that, I think it’s safe to say that I won’t be continuing with the series.
I wanted to like this more. When Darkly Dreaming Dexter was released I loved it, and told all my friends to read it. After all, not only was it an excellent suspense story, but Dexter had a moral compass. He’d promised his stepfather that when he got the urge to torture and kill, he’d use it to take out the trash–evil people who prey on the weak, and damage society.
Riley Wolfe is missing that moral compass. While I enjoyed the caper aspect of the book, I couldn’t feel much for the amoral protagonist who is perfectly willing to murder and harm people who stand in his way. people who would interfere with his heist. Not just bad people, not just the ones who prey on the weak.
To his credit, author Jeff Lindsay points out this flaw in Wolfe’s character, many times. And yet just as one character at the end rejects Wolfe for his sociopathic tendencies, I’m not sure I would want to read more books about this master thief. Riley Wolfe reminded me of Patricia Highsmith’s Tom Ripley, but without the same cunning charm.
You may not know Jeff Lindsay by name, but if you pay any attention to pop culture, you likely do know who he is – he’s the man who introduced Dexter (sociopathic blood spatter expert) to the world. I confess, I haven’t read the Dexter books. I have seen the television show, and it’s creepy and eerie and fascinating – like so many sociopath stories are – which left me feeling just familiar enough with the type of character that Lindsay creates to be intrigued by the prospect of a new series. I have a long-standing love affair with master thievery goes back to Cary Grant in To Catch a Thief, so I figured a blend of master criminal and masterful character development would be a good fit for me.
My instincts were good – this was every bit as entertaining and engaging as I thought it would be.
True, at times I found Riley Wolfe’s tendency to refer to himself in the third person a bit annoying. But self-aggrandizement and overweening self-confidence are probably stock-in-trade for master criminals, so I set my irritation on the back-burner and just sat back to enjoy the ride – and what a ride it was! I can already see the Showtime series that this one could turn into, and I’d watch it just as readily as I did Dexter. Lindsay is great at writing compelling characters who are endearing despite themselves, and then at throwing them into crazy capers that should feel unbelievable and eye-rollingly insane yet somehow come together into surprisingly tight narratives full of action and adventure that roll on with a momentum all their own… This was a fun read and I’m delighted to see that it appears to be the kick-off of a full-blown series. I’d follow Riley Wolfe around the world (at least, in books), and am looking forward to seeing where he takes me next!
Thanks to the publisher for my obligation-free review copy.
With master thief Riley Wolfe, Jeff Lindsay gives us an anti-hero for our times, as morally-ambiguous and hard to resist as his serial killer Dexter.
Thief extraordinaire
Riley Wolfe is not your ordinary thief. He goes after jewels, art, and other items that are considered impossible to steal. He’s been getting bored lately so when he reads that the Crown Jewels of the Persian Empire are going to be displayed in New York City with security measures that have never been seen before, he knows what his next job will be – the Daryayeh-E-Noor, the Ocean of Light, the largest pink diamond ever worth an estimated $15 BILLION.
I’ve always enjoyed stories about jewel thefts and also treasure hunts for lost jewels so of course I wanted to read this book. Plus it’s by the author of the DEXTER series, a favorite of mine.
The story was great. My only problem was I thoroughly disliked the character of Riley Wolfe. There’s backstory to explain why he is the way he is but I still didn’t like him.
Some of the side characters I did enjoy though including an art forger and an FBI Special Agent.
I’m glad I read this book but it shows it’s the first in a series and I don’t believe I’ll continue on with the series.
I received this book from Dutton Books through Net Galley and Edelweiss in the hopes that I would read it and leave an unbiased review.