"Just Watch Me" by Jeff Lindsay is a riveting heist novel that's as thrilling as it is smart, filled with twists that will keep you hooked from start to finish.

It has all the components of the heist caper. Daring thief, master of disguise. Able to slip into and out of every sticky situation. It has panache to spare. A truly fun read.

Absolutely didn't care for this book or any of the characters in it. The only one that I sort of liked was the FBI agent who reminded me of Reacher in a Lee Childs book but there wasn't enough of him in the book following Riley Wolfe. Riley Wolfe was over the top and too perfect and just obnoxious. I wanted to read this book because of Dexter and was hoping that I would see the same character development in this book but it is sorely lacking in my opinion.

I love Jeff Lindsay's Dexter series and also enjoyed his followup series about his Billy Knight character. I also love a good heist book, so this book was a no-brainer for me to try.
Happily it did not disappoint. Riley Wolfe has just pulled off what would've seemed to have been an impossible heist. But he realizes it hadn't been enough of a challenge for him and he's gotten just a bit lazy, and lazy can get him caught or killed. So he needs a truly impossible challenge, one that will engage all his talents, and he finds it. It's both fascinating to watch his mind work through the steps to achieve his goal - and a bit horrifying to watch the lengths he'll go to to try to succeed. And much like with Dexter, I found myself rooting for the bad guy. But I was also weirdly rooting for the agent trying to track Riley down - making the read even more interesting. Hopefully the core characters from this book will return in future books - it definitely left me wanting more of the interactions and to see how relationships will play out.
Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin/Dutton for providing a copy for an unbiased review.

While I didn’t enjoy it as much as Dexter, this is a promising start to a new series. Lindsay is a master at writing darkly funny dialogue and thoughts, and it comes through here. I’m looking forward to the next in the series.

TW: Toxic relationships,

*****SPOILERS*****
About the book: 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.
Release Date: December 3rd, 2019
Genre: Crime drama
Pages: 320
Rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

What I Liked:
• I love this author and his books
• Felt like an easy going crime drama
• The audiobook was nice

What I Didn't Like:
• Sometimes the book felt like it could ramble and ramble on.

Overall Thoughts: Omgosh this was a fun read! Riley Wolfe is such a fun character. When he circles through all the different costumes it's a real fun treat. I found it very fun, an easy read, and just kept the story flowing. I was so eager to find out if he got away with it and was able to steal the jewels that the time just flew. Reading about Frank chasing Riley down to catch him and always getting so close builds up and keeps your interest.

Final Thoughts: I would recommend this book to someone who loves crime novels or TV shows. If you are a fan of books like Catch Me if You Can & The Talented Mr Ripley then check this one out.

Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Group Dutton for this advanced copy of the book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

If you are a fan of heist’s novels, this is for you!

Also, fun fact! This author is actually the author that wrote Dexter! Which I absolutely adore!! So I just had to read this book!

Another bonus, this is a series!! Just Watch Me is Book #1 of the Riley Wolfe series, and Book #2 Fool Me Twice up is already out! I’ll need to pick it up ASAP.

Riley is a con artist and a thief; if you know me, you know how much I love heists, thieves and con artists storylines!! After mystery novels, they are my favorites! This book was full of action, scheming, and surprises!

I also really loved Riley’s character and how he interacts with people, plans his numerous schemes, uses disguises, etc. Just keep in mind it’s not the usual thriller /mystery, I would say it’s more adventure/suspense/fiction.

I could totally see this being made into a series or movie! Great plot, excellent writing, many surprises! Highly recommend.

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.