A Book A Week

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 exhibition 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 straightforward 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.

For more information visit the author's website, Amazon, and Goodreads.

(2020, 1)