Full disclosure: I had Bruno Mars' Uptown Funk' on repeat in my head the whole time I was reading this.

Riley Wolfe, the MC, is definitely a bad guy you root for. He craves challenges, is a master of disguise and avoids violence, but isn't averse to it.

This one was slow at the beginning for me (the planning of a heist is always tedious, but also so interesting!), but then when the actual heist started I was HOOKED.

It's fast paced and perfect for a TV show or movie.

DNF. Thank you NetGalley and Publisher for this early copy! I decided to not keep reading this one, it was not for me. Thanks!

Jeff Lindsay is a wizard with words and this book was everything I wanted it to be. Do yourself a favor and add this one to your list.

I've enjoyed Lindsay's Dexter series and was hoping that I'd enjoy this one as much, but it was mediocre and didn't capture my attention.

Jeff Lindsay has done it again. Just Watch Me introduces Riley Wolfe, a master criminal who seeks to do the impossible and make it look easy. The book opens with the theft of a statue and the kidnapping of a billionaire by Riley Wolfe, but he was not happy. Everything went off without a hitch, but he felt the caper was too easy. He wanted something so difficult that it would be impossible to pull off, and then find a way to do it. Then the idea came to him, steal the crown jewels of Persia! And the rest of the book is Riley plotting, planning, scheming, murdering, manipulating, and finagling to accomplish the impossible. The rest of the book is also the tale of an obsessed FBI agent tracking down the past history of Riley Wolfe so that he can finally catch him. The fun for the reader comes from how the two tales intertwine to create the full story. And Riley, well he does not get the ending he wanted, but he will keep trying until he does get it. Do read and enjoy.

As a big fan of Dexter, I was excited to read this new series by Jeff Lindsay. 

I liked the focus on the heist as that is less common these days in the mystery/thriller world and something I find really interesting. Ultimately, however, this wasn't the book for me. I found the pacing to be too slow to keep me engaged and I struggled to care about Riley. I am all about an unlikable lead, but I need to feel something, whether it is like or hate to become invested. This is just my personal experience and I know others will enjoy the book, its writing and topic.

As a big fan of Dexter, I was really looking forward to this book by the same author. And it did not disappoint! This is a heist story starring master thief Riley Wolfe in a seedling impossible job. I was intrigued the whole time I was reading and couldn't put it down. The character is wonderful and really hope there are more books in this series.

The impossible crime? That is what everyone thought until it was done. A story that tells the tail of accomplishing the impossible.

Thank you Netgalley for the chance to read and review this title. I will review this title at a different date.

I am a big fan of Dexter, so I was excited to read Just Watch Me by the same author. This is the first book in a new series, focused on a "master thief" and his desire to pull off an unthinkable caper. I am not normally a big fan of heist novels, but this one was fun. This was told from multiple points of view, which kept the story moving along at a nice pace. I did not love the main character, but I did enjoy the cast of characters he interacted with. Overall, I think this will be a fun series. Maybe not Dexter-level fun, but it's a good beginning.

Just Watch Me by Jeff Lindsay, pages. Dutton (Penguin Group), 2019. $26.
Language: R (491 swears, 215 “f”); Mature Content: R; Violence: PG13
BUYING ADVISORY: HS - NO
AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE
Riley Wolfe is a master thief. Having successfully accomplished another job that was too easy, Riley decides to challenge himself by doing the impossible -- something even he isn’t sure he can pull off. But if anyone can do it, Riley Wolfe will.
Through the entire book, I was at war with myself. In watching Riley’s schemes unfold in the roundabout way that only makes sense to him, I wanted to see him pull off the impossible; but, at the same time, what Riley was doing wasn’t right, and I wanted the FBI agent tracking him down to succeed in catching the bad guy; but how could Riley be caught without implicating his forger friend -- I didn’t want to see her get caught! The constant conflict of interest within myself kept me on the edge of my seat, even when the timeline didn’t always seem clear and consistent. Surprisingly, Lindsay ends Riley’s story in a way that feels satisfying to me and all my conflicting interests. The mature content rating is for alcohol and drug use, references to pornography and masturbation, brief discussion of pedophile activity, nudity, and sex. The violence rating is for criminal activity, including stealing, forgery, and murder.
Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen

Ok this book was AWESOME! I loved the Dexter series. I knew as soon as I saw Jeff Lindsay's name I needed to read this. His new character Riley Wolfe is incredible. As a child he was born poor and constantly bullied. Until his dad taught him "Be smarter" than those bullies.  So he changes his name to Riley Wolfe and changes his life. He's always looking for his next adventure that will make him money and excitement. Then comes The Ocean of Light a huge beautiful gem worth 15 billion. Agent Delgado has been chasing the wind known as Riley Wolfe for years. As he gets closer to the man behind the name he soon realizes he's been 1 step behind. I truly hope there's another book.

Title: Just Watch Me

Series : Riley Wolfe #1

Author:Jeff Lindsey

Genre: thriller

Rating: 4

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 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


My thoughts

Would I recommend it? Yes

Will I read more of this series? Maybe

Will I read more by this author? Yes

This is the first time I've read anything by this author and I can see why some people like his writing.But as a new to me author he writing was kind of slow going and it took me a while to get into the story as well as to get a feel for the main character. But there was somethings that I  really  did enjoy and like and that was how it give off  the feeling like I was watching a movie, and an old one at that, for some unknown reason some of the stuff  that Riley did remind me of  the old black and white heist movies and how the characters planned out their heist. With that said I want to thank Netgalley for letting me read and review it , and I can't wait to see what happens next.

I was instantly drawn to this since I loved the dexter series. the main character is ruthless so makes him a little hard to love yet he’s so well developed. But I enjoy unlikeable narrators also. I really wanted to keep reading to see what he would do next. I also love stories told with multiple POV. I love how it gives different angles to the story. This read to me like a movie, like oceans 11 or a heist movie. This was a compelling and fun read.

I think people are either going to like this book or not. For me, I liked it once I got going. I found it to be a quick read. Fast-paced full of twists and turns with Riley Wolfe wanting to steal the crown jewels. You also have FBI agent Frank Delgato who is working on finding out who he is. The story goes back and forth and though at the beginning of the book I did not care for Wolfe I cannot say my opinion change once I got to the ending. The characters in-between connect you to the story and that is what keeps you going. I found myself into all of the different characters and not so much about if or what Wolfe was doing. A very good read and the author gives some thought at the end which I thought was good.

This book is the start of a new series by an author whose previous work I have not read. It features the “master thief” Riley Wolfe and (too a much lesser extent) his beautiful colleague Monique, an expert art forger. Riley is bored and looking for a new challenge, so he decides to steal a diamond jewel while the Iranian Crown Jewels are on exhibit in a small, family-owned museum in NYC. Riley’s plan involves an elaborate (and improbable) long con to get around he super security surrounding  the exhibit. <spoiler> One of the most improbable aspects was Monique’s expert replication of the jewel. The idea that someone without years of jewelry making experience could replicate a famous, antique jewel is just ludicrous.</spoiler> The plan was intricate and held my interest. My problem was that I hated the smug, sociopathic Riley and wanted him to fail. That’s not really good when you are supposed to be rooting for him. The author needs to reread “The Talented Mr. Ripley” and see how a reader can be led to root for the villain. It’s not enough to tell us that Riley is charming and engaging. You need to show it. In this book Riley is just a murdering, greedy, deceitful asshole who is perfect at everything he attempts. Unfortunately, he is still alive at the end of the book and will make it into book number two. 3.5 stars

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

©2020 All Rights Reserved TheLitForum.com Reviews

Just Watch Me
By Jeff Lindsay
Thriller
December 2019
Dutton
ISBN: 978-1524743949

An impossible heist -- a huge statue anchored in place -- is pulled off with ease as Jeff Lindsay introduces his new protagonist, master thief Riley Wolfe. Nothing is impossible to Riley. The more out-of-reach something appears to be, the more determined he is to grab it. But after a success like this, how can he possibly top it?

Hmmm, perhaps an exhibition of Iranian crown jewels would be fitting. Guarded by an elite company of former U.S. Army Rangers and the Iranian Guard? Plus a new alarm system? It's impossible. So, Wolfe decides it's perfect.

The heist aspect of Lindsay's novel is the best part. There is a blend of bravado, research, misdirecting the marks of the heist and lots of disguises to entertain.

Wolfe also has a backstory. This isn't his real name. But he is being hunted by a dedicated FBI agent who has come close to finding him before. An agent who is determined to hunt him down this time, starting with Wolfe's real story. The real story is tied to Wolfe's targeting of the richest of the rich, but he's no Robin Hood.

The drawback to Wolfe is that he is utterly without empathy. He has no concept that his actions will hurt others. Why should that be a problem for him? Even the disdain his actions cause to the person who is closest to him, an artist who is brilliant a copying any artwork, is nearly meaningless to him. Wolfe can't figure out why she won't go to bed with him after what he does. His reaction? Oh well, tomorrow is another day.

This aspect to the novel is both a strength in Lindsay's writing and a weakness in the concept of the lead character and further books in the series. The pain that Wolfe causes is well-written. It has an impact. That it has an impact on other characters who know what happened is even stronger storytelling.

But where to go next? Wolfe is incapable of feeling, so he isn't about to grow and change. Lindsay has a challenge similar to that of his creation. How to top himself? What to do next?


--Reviewed by Lynne Perednia
TheLitForum.com Reviews


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Just Watch me by Jeff Lindsay is a mixture of the movies Catch Me if You Can and Now You See Me.  
  This series launch follows a very skilled con artist named Riley Wolfe who has realized there is nothing he cannot do.  He is looking for something to challenge him, when he comes across an article about the Crown Jewels of Iran.  They  are going to be put in the American museum as a sign of good faith between the two countries and it is just the impossible job he is looking for to put the final feather in his cap.
  The story follows Riley through his many aliases in his quest to steal the Jewels and dodge the dogged FBI agent that is on his tale.
  I enjoyed this book.  I thought that the author did a great job of showing the thoughts and processes of the con artist.  It showed how he felt justified in every crime because the people he was hurting "deserved" what they got.  If you like a quick read and a glimpse into the criminal mind, you will like this book.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Penguin Group Publishers for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This novel is a solid 3.5 out of 5 stars. If you are looking for an easy-to-read novel about an elaborate jewel heist, this book is the one for you! The protagonist goes by the alias Riley Wolfe and is quite the mystery! He has an extensive amount of skilled skills such as stealth, infiltration, espionage, manipulation, and parkour, to name a few. Riley Wolfe is a criminal mastermind that has done it all, and has managed to get away with it all as well. He needs a challenge, a crime to offset all his other crimes and to establish himself the best of the best. What better way to accomplish this than to set out to steal the Crown Jewels of Iran? The Jewels are being brought to a local art exhibit in the States and he is determined to do the impossible. In order to accomplish this he extends a hand to the lovely and talented Monique who is an extremely talented art forger. The game is afoot!

This novel starts out with a  bang and grabs you, however I had a hard time pushing through the fluff in the middle. The author sets up this elaborate jewel heist but seems to branch off in too many directions. There is the jewel heist, but there is also a court case, art forgery, a game of cat and mouse, and an extensive amount of characters that did not really grab me at all. I had a hard time caring for the characters and sympathizing with them, even the main character Riley Wolfe. We have an enigmatic man with an extremely impressive amount of skills, an elusive past, and extremely impressive motivation to do the impossible. However, I found it very difficult to find his motivation for all of this, the "why" behind it all. Even when they dig into his past and you start to lift the veil, it just did not seem warranted. I really enjoyed that they started to unveil the darkness of his character, the author really needs to develop this further. If this was a standalone novel I would have been really disappointed in the development of Riley Wolf, however this appears to be the beginning of a series with intent to develop him further. 

Monique! Monique was by far the most impressive and interesting character in the novel! If she is not in the sequel I think I may have to pass!! This master art forger has so much character and spunk! 

All-in-all a fun and enjoyable read but there was some lost potential in my eyes. Perhaps this will be made up in further novels but as of now it just missed the mark for me. That being said, I can see a lot of people enjoying this as a nice and easy read after a long and daunting one. I'm curious to see what the author does with the characters in the next novel.

Jeff Lindsay has the unique authorial ability to make you root for the bad guy. He relishes in making you cheer and hope for the kind of things you know you shouldn't be cheering for. In fact, Lindsay is so adept at entrancing readers with his vile characters and their nefarious deeds that he sustained an eight novel series about a serial killer. His Dexter novels became bestsellers and launched a hit television series. When it comes to Lindsay's characters, sometimes bad is actually good. When I first learned of a new novel by the author, I was immediately intrigued. Dexter is the kind of once in a lifetime, lightning in a bottle phenomenon characters that most authors can only dream of creating. I wasn't sure Lindsay would be able to capture that kind of magic again, but I certainly wouldn't miss the chance at reading his attempt.

Who is Riley Wolfe? To most, his is merely a shadow. He's the kind of person you may have heard whispers about, but you're not certain that he actually exists. He is more myth than a living, breathing person. In reality, Wolfe is the mastermind behind some of the most daring a lucrative heists the world has ever seen. He alters is appearance and mannerism with ease, blending seamlessly into his surroundings and evading detection from even the most careful of foes. He is an enigma of sorts, and he is at the absolute top of his game. 

Riley Wolfe has spent years taking on the most impossible heists and building his personal wealth to staggering heights. Despite all of his accomplishments, Wolfe has succumbed to the kind of affliction that threatens to derail his entire life. Riley Wolfe is bored. Sure, he is unmatched as a thief, but nothing seems to challenge him. When stealing a brand new statue via helicopter becomes just another day at the office, it is time to find something more. Something more appears in the form of a new expedition at a private museum in New York. A rare jewel from the middle east will be on display and under the guard of two government security details. Stealing this jewel is impossible. Naturally, Wolfe decides he can steal it. 

I was gifted a copy of Just Watch Me from Jeff Lindsay's publisher, and I'm happy to report that it was everything I wanted in a new novel from the famed author. Riley Wolfe is a liar, cheater, thief, and murderer, the kind of character that Jeff Lindsay excels at writing. He has less redeemable qualities than Lindsay's Dexter (which is certainly saying something), but I still couldn't help but enjoy his escapades. Written as a pretty straight forward heist thriller, Just Watch Me is easily Lindsays best-plotted book in years. The pages flew as I devoured this novel over the course of a few evenings. Like a cross between Oceans Eleven and Lindsays own Dexter novels, Just Watch Me proves that Jeff Lindsay is still the master at making readers fall in love with the bad guy.