Every time I think of Jeff Lindsay, I cannot help but fondly recall his outstanding Dexter Morgan thrillers --- which inspired the long-running Showtime series --- and hope that he will return one day. Even though DEXTER IS DEAD is the title of the last installment, one can still dream.

Lindsay has since started a new series featuring super thief and master of disguise Riley Wolfe. While JUST WATCH ME and FOOL ME TWICE were solid reads, I still missed my demented serial-killer blood pattern specialist. That is, until I read THREE-EDGED SWORD. Lindsay pulls out all the stops here and has created not only the best story in the Wolfe series so far, but one of his finest and most entertaining novels period.

The prologue takes us directly into the diamond trade in Botswana, which is an interesting place to start. Riley is there to infiltrate the French mining company operating there for a big score. But he will have the tables turned on him when he is caught and finds himself in the presence of a slick-looking silver-haired gentleman who seems to have been expecting him.

"Lindsay has penned a novel worthy of his best Dexter work and in the process has given us a new antihero whose adventures and exploits we eagerly await."

Riley’s captor is a rogue government agent named Chase Prescott, and he wants Riley to infiltrate the Middle Eastern locale of Simon Ushakov, a wealthy and insane entrepreneur. He is holed up in a place that Riley refers to as the Fortress of Solitude, and Prescott has tasked Riley with bringing back a number of Russian Orthodox icons of indeterminate value. Riley’s mother and his partner, Monique, are in the hospital, and Prescott’s men will make sure that Riley never sees them again if he fails in this mission.

It is now up to Riley to pull off a new and highly believable persona that not only will get him inside Ushakov’s fortress, but will allow him to reach the valuables that are constantly under lock and key to the highly militarized staff on the property. Of particular interest to Prescott is a specific flash drive, which is more valuable to a political rogue than all the treasures hidden in Ushakov’s vault. However, Riley has something else in mind that will allow him to get the riches and the flash drive while also securing the release of his loved ones. He gets help from an unexpected new colleague, Jeff Winston, who is more than happy to take down Prescott.

All the while, FBI agent Frank Delgado has Riley on his radar. Riley’s master plan to take down Ushakov and Prescott will require the involvement of both Winston and Delgado. It’s a nice turn of events to see Riley doing something that supports his country while at the same time getting to use every ounce of cunning and guile he has to pull off the caper of his life.

THREE-EDGED SWORD is non-stop fun and a globe-trotting thrill ride that shows Jeff Lindsay and Riley Wolfe at the top of their games. This may sound like just another heist thriller, but that would be greatly underselling it. Lindsay has penned a novel worthy of his best Dexter work and in the process has given us a new antihero whose adventures and exploits we eagerly await. I will be there, and hopefully those reading this review will make a date with Riley as well!