Darkly Dreaming Dexter
by Jeff Lindsay
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Book Reviews of Darkly Dreaming Dexter
Book Review: Good, but it has its weak points
Summary: 4 Stars
In Darkly Dreaming Dexter, we are introduced to Dexter Morgan, a Miami PD blood spatter specialist with a rather horrific hobby: he's a serial killer. As a child, he suffered some sort of unspecified trauma which left him without a conscience, without emotion, without any sort of inner soul. In fact, the only thing inside Dexter is his "Dark Passenger," a voice which compels him to kill. At a young age, his foster father realized Dexter's secret, and -- knowing he couldn't stop him from killing -- decided to try to guide him. Dexter, you see, is a serial killer who only kills bad people. He trails his victims, ensures himself of their guilt of their own bloody crimes, and takes a sort of macabre vengeance. But now a new killer is stalking Miami, someone whose methods are disturbingly similar to his own, and Dexter is caught between an admiration for this new fiend's work and a desire to trace him down.
Dexter is really a unique protagonist. As a first-person narrator he's somewhat unrelatable, constantly reminding us of his own darkness and inhumanity... yet somehow, he manages to charm us as well as he does the people around him, most of whom are utterly oblivious that there's something different about him. There's absolutely nothing heroic about him, either. Some may be tempted to compare him to other killers-of-killers like Marvel Comics' Punisher, but that isn't an apt comparison. The Punisher is driven by an unquenchable thirst for revenge, a desire to snuff out all evil in a vain attempt to redeem the death of his family. Dexter has no such deep motivation for targeting murderers. He simply needs to kill SOMEONE, and was convinced by his father that it would be wiser to hunt down the people who "deserve" it than innocent victims.
The other characters in the book aren't quite as interesting. There are three main women, all stereotypes: the political-minded, bumbling detective; Dexter's hard-nosed cop sister; and Dexter's traumatized, closeted "girlfriend" are all somewhat two-dimensional. The other men get even less "page time." Besides Dexter, in fact, the most developed character is the other killer, who we don't see until the climax of the book. The climax is a little weak too, a real deus ex machina. The killer hinges on something from the backstory that was never even really hinted at until that point, except for vague rumblings about some childhood trauma Dexter couldn't remember.
While there are some weaknesses, the main character is intriguing enough to make me want to read the rest of the series and recommend this volume. Not great, but good enough to keep me reading.
Book Review: Having fun with a sociopath
Summary: 5 Stars
Dexter Morgan is a blood spatter technician for the Miami Police Department. Besides being an expert at his job Dexter is also a vigilante of sort. In his spare time, he hunts down serial killers and kills them. One could almost support Dexter in his hunt for justice except that there is a big problem. Dexter enjoys killing... and he enjoys it way too much. Dexter is, in fact, a serial killer who only kills evil people. He is a conscienceless sociopath who feels nothing for human beings but feels compelled to make them suffer. And he is the hero of the story. Dexter does everything he can to appear normal. He has a girlfriend that he treats well but he cares nothing for her. He has learned to look and act like any other person in Miami.
But sometimes trying to convince everyone he is normal forces Dexter to do things he might not otherwise do. Dexter's sister, Deborah, is also in the Miami Police Department and she desperately wants to get out of Vice and into Homicide. When a series of brutal killings occur, she sees an opportunity to get recognized. She doesn't know her brother is a serial killer but she does know that her brother sometimes seems to have an insight into the criminal mind and wants Dexter's help. But this killer is something truly special... someone that Dexter is not prepared to go up against.
It's hard to believe that a book that makes a hero of a serial killer could be so enthralling, humorous, and enjoyable but Jeff Lindsay has suceeded in creating a sympathetic sociopath. Writing the book in the first person is ingenious as it lets us see into the mind of Dexter and allows Dexter to talk to us and show us his self-deprecating, sarcastic humor. I could like Dexter (even if he could never actually care about another person) if it wasn't for that little character quirk of occasionally letting The Dark Passenger, as he refers to his compulsion to kill, take control and drive him to unspeakable acts of cruelty.
My daughter told me about this book and she was right that it is amazingly good. After struggling through the Dante Club for weeks I finished this in three days and thoroughly enjoyed it. Lindsay keeps the story moving so fast that we forget that we are rooting for a serial killer. No, it is not going to win an award for literary genius but as a guilty pleasure it is a great read.
Book Review: Dexter Won Me Over
Summary: 4 Stars
Dexter is not your average blood splatter analyst. He's a serial killer. He works with the police but cannot resist, and frankly doesn't want to, the urge to feed the dark need inside him. Dexter tries to keep his head down among people. He says the right things and smiles at the right times. Few ever notice that he's slightly off. When Dexter's foster sister, Deborah, asks for his help catching a serial killer Dexter is torn between his personal desires and the urge to help her.
I really liked the voice of this book. I was easily pulled through the pages. The mix of dark humor, confusion with human emotions, and unapologetic need to kill worked for me. I fell easily into the mind of Dexter and enjoyed my time there. I think that it is the mark of a skilled writer that I was able to like a character so much when he was clearly a sociopath. I couldn't help but feel for him even when I was repelled by his actions.
I enjoyed watching Dexter fumble with the emotions of people around him. Seeing him try to figure out what most normal people know by instinct was very amusing. I particularly enjoyed his confusion in relation to Rita. What seemed so obscure to him was obvious and hilarious to me (as well as most readers I'm sure). I really loved how he was disturbed and confused over what ended up happening with Rita. The embarrassment and definite yuck feeling was funny, but also kind of sad.
I was faintly disbelieving of Harry's reaction to Dexter. I mean, the guy was a cop. I really thought the teaching and honing of his setup and clean up was an odd thing to do. I don't know, maybe I'm just being idealistic.
I can honestly say that I wasn't expecting the serial killer to be who it turned out to be. It occurred to me when Deborah and Dexter were watching the video, but I discounted it. I guess I should have listened to myself.
The ending really bothered me. What happened exactly? How did that get resolved with all the cops? What happened in that final moment before it skipped to the last chapter? It's bugging me that I don't know. Hopefully it's covered in the next book. I'll definitely be buying it. I can't wait to see how Dexter's story continues.
Book Review: Extremely flawed, but good for a rainy day crime read
Summary: 3 Stars
In 2008 I had only recently gotten into the Dexter craze; my cousin-in-law was CRAZY obsessed with the show and lots of my friends were telling me "Dude, you HAVE to see this awesome show called Dexter". So taking their advice, I went and watched the show... I rented the first season from the video store and watched it in a week. After seeing it, I was addicted. Then I went online and watched the entire second season online, and loved it even more. I caught season 3 in it's probably the best yet. This year I decided to go back and buy all three books and read them. I started with this one.
If you've seen the show you basically know what to expect:
Dexter is a charming young man who works as a blood splatter expert in the Forensics Department of the Miami Police Department. He has a beautiful (but whiny and bitchy as hell) girlfriend named Rita, who was abused in the past by her ex -husband. He was adopted into a family after his parents died, and has a foster sister named Deborah, who is a tough as nails cop.
However there's a dark side to Dexy. He's really not who you think he is. He HATES serial killers. And I mean REALLY hates them. As contradictory as it may sound, he IS one. That is... a serial killer who kills only serial killers. He believes in getting rid of bad people.
There's this one killer out there, and his name is the Ice Cream Truck killer. He has a vastly unique way of killing people, AND dismembering. He leaves no blood on and/or around the body. It's all cleaned out. He leaves his status cleared so he can't be found or traced by the police.
Overall it's an interesting read. Though definitely not as good as the show. While the story is entertaining it's deeply flawed- there a re a few plot holes that could use a bit of filling.
Also, the writing is piss poor. Lindsay repeats himself a LOT. Every chapter we get 3 paragraphs where Dexter says that he's emotionally dead inside. Even further, he always spends paragraphs describing things. This could have been 220 pages if it wasn't so slow. But no, Lindsay had to flesh it out with detailed descriptions of things and repeats.
In short it's not a bad book, but be warned of the flaws.
Book Review: A heartless killer with heart
Summary: 4 Stars
How do you make a serial killer likeable? First, make him not only intelligent, but classy as well (Hannibal Lecter is perhaps the best example). Next, add some dark humor, to make it clear that he is not to be taken TOO seriously. And as a final touch, make sure that the folks he kills are unpleasant and when dead, will be unmourned (at least by the reader). In a nutshell, this is Dexter Morgan, Jeff Lindsay's amiable sociopath who makes his debut in Darkly Dreaming Dexter.
By day, Dexter works as a blood spatter technician for the Miami police. Every now and then, however, he is driven by his "Dark Passenger" to kill someone. Fortunately, his foster father, a veteran cop, recognized Dexter's murderous nature early and, knowing it couldn't be stopped, had it redirected instead: Dexter would focus his homicidal tendencies on killers and other low-lifes, using his father's instructions to execute perfect crimes.
As Darkly Dreaming Dexter begins, it's evident that he is not the only serial killer in Miami. There is another murderer who is specializing in prostitutes; this killer drains them of their blood, cuts them into pieces and arranges the corpses in an artistic fashion. Dexter is torn between wanting to help his cop sister catch the killer and admiring the man's work. Complicating matters is that this unknown killer seems to know all about Dexter's own deeds and seems to approve of them.
Darkly Dreaming Dexter was the basis for the first season of the well-received TV series, and though a fun read, is actually not as good as the show. This is principally because the show provides more detailed characters and plotting than this relatively short book, allowing the revelation of the killer's identity to unfold more gradually and logically; in the book, it seems to almost come out of nowhere. For that reason, though I am recommending the book, it's better if read before watching the show; however, if you liked one version, you should like the other, regardless of the order.