 |
Dexter by Design: A Novel by Jeff Lindsay
Book Summary InformationAuthor: Jeff Lindsay Edition: Hardcover Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published) Published: 2009-09-08 ISBN: 0385518366 Number of pages: 304 Publisher: Doubleday
Book Reviews of Dexter by Design: A NovelBook Review: Please spare my gay lover, please Summary: 5 Stars
After the omnibus of the first three novels I was looking forward to reading that fourth one and enjoy the sequel of these very bloody but as clean as clean can be adventures of the most famous blood spatter technician in the world. And I was not disappointed. Dexter is always running clandestine as an avenger in his police department, though a black sergeant who has been seriously maimed in the previous but one volume is still running after him, with the help of some more curious baboons, like a couple of Internal Affairs officers and FBI officers who are after Deborah who was nearly killed by the new serial killer at large in Miami. But the new element is of course the third party in this deadly picnic, the criminal at large in Miami who is defending the brand new modern artistic trend that is derived from snuff videos and snuff art: to maim living human beings on the stage of the installation, or even better to self-maim yourself in front of your installation audience. And then put up as an exhibit the amputated part of your body. Let's note it is the fourth volume in which that amputating, dismembering, maiming of live subjects is used. Obviously Jeff Lindsay knows his classics. Frankenstein was horrible for building a body from spare parts recuperated from dead bodies, or, if necessary from freshly killed bodies. Lindsay took the opposite stand: Dexter himself is a dismemberer, then his brother was an artistic dismemberer with his elaborate installations of the body parts. Then we had that crazy doctor back from the special forces in El Salvador who made it his trade to reduce a living human being to nothing but his head on top of his trunk from shoulders to hips, all elements jutting out of it having been severed and disposed of. This well done that human being still survives, even without eyelid nor tongue. Then you had that sect that burned the bodies but severed the head first to display it somewhere public. This time the new serial killer, gay by the way (let's note this gay touch on that side of the criminal line reveals some kind of a slightly sexist element in the novel because it has nothing to do with the crime itself, uses bodies as fruit and flower baskets to enhance the touristic reputation of Miami. This time the end is close because Dexter has more or less confessed to Deborah who is going to overlook the fact, but the serial killer puts on the Internet some pictures that are more than dubious, that are frankly as clear as spring water. And Deborah's partner has managed to see the pictures by eavesdropping one night. Unluckily for him he makes a mistake that will make him part of the final installation of the artistic serial killer who will in fact himself be part of his own installation after a scuffle with our Rita who was just back from her Paris honeymoon with Dexter when all that started. That was a very close case this time and every volume brings the plot closer to a complete revelation. And during that time Rita's two kids are getting more and more insistent about doing some experimentation to learn the trade, be it only with a pencil, though a screwdriver is a lot more interesting, but. This writer reveals the deepest layers of our censored, repressed and blooming psyche. We all love that because we all have experienced these drives in our subconscious or unconscious mind. That explains the tremendous success of this author and the TV series inspired by his characters. We are expecting the next volume ASAP or otherwise we would have to come out and do it ourselves, which would be slightly sloppy and untidy, and that would not be in line with the author's anØl or recØØl character. Sorry for the censorship but some delicate ears my be reading our lines with their very fingers and one has to keep one's fingers away from some bodily places, even if Dexter does not.
Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne, University Paris 8 Saint Denis, University Paris 12 Créteil, CEGID
Summary of Dexter by Design: A NovelThe ?Dexter? series?bestselling books, acclaimed TV show, worldwide phenomenon?continues with Dexter?s deadliest case yet. After his surprisingly glorious honeymoon in Paris, life is almost normal for Dexter Morgan. Married life seems to agree with him: he?s devoted to his bride, his stomach is full, and his homicidal hobbies are nicely under control. But old habits die hard?and Dexter?s work as a blood spatter analyst never fails to offer new temptations that appeal to his offbeat sense of justice. Not to mention that his Dark Passenger still waits to hunt with him in the moonlight. The discovery of a corpse (artfully displayed as a sunbather relaxing on a Miami beach chair) naturally piques Dexter?s curiosity and Miami?s finest realize they?ve got a terrifying new serial killer on the loose. And Dexter, of course, is back in business. Book Description The macabre, witty New York Times bestselling series (and inspiration for the #1 Showtime series, Dexter) continues as our darkly lovable killer matches wits with a sadistic artiste--who is creating bizarre murder tableaux of his own all over Miami. After his surprisingly glorious honeymoon in Paris, life is almost normal for Dexter Morgan. Married life seems to agree with him: he?s devoted to his bride, his stomach is full, and his homicidal hobbies are nicely under control. But old habits die hard--and Dexter?s work as a blood spatter analyst never fails to offer new temptations that appeal to his offbeat sense of justice...and his Dark Passenger still waits to hunt with him in the moonlight. The discovery of a corpse (artfully displayed as a sunbather relaxing on a Miami beach chair) naturally piques Dexter?s curiosity and Miami?s finest realize they?ve got a terrifying new serial killer on the loose. And Dexter, of course, is back in business. An Essay by Jeff Lindsay: "Dexter and Me" My mother called me one night two years ago. "Well," she said. "Now I know you?ve really made it." "Oh, really?" I said. "What do you mean?" "I?m watching Jeopardy," she said. "The answer to the last question was, ?Who is Dexter??" A few nights later, my sister called. "You were just on Nancy Grace," she said. "I was?" I said, very surprised. It didn?t seem like the kind of thing I would forget. "You mean me?" "No, not you," she snorted, as if I should have known better that someone like me would never be on Nancy Grace. "Dexter. Somebody?s foot washed up on a beach, and she called it a real-life Dexter moment." And then a few weeks later my agent called. "Did you hear what they named the new robot arm for the space shuttle?" he said. "Let me guess," I said. "It?s iconic," my agent said. "That?s a good thing." And it is. Dexter is iconic. But as my sister was smart enough to pick up on, I am not. I think this is a good thing. I worked in Hollywood for a dozen years, and all I can say about it is that the primitive tribes who think the camera steals your soul were really on to something. So I don?t want to be instantly recognizable--not Tom Cruise famous, not even Stephen King famous. On the other hand, if Dexter wants fame, that?s fine with me. He deserves it: he?s a fine, upstanding, hardworking guy who is good with kids, thoughtful to co-workers, and helpful around the house. And if he slips away now and then for a little bit of human vivisection--well, nobody?s perfect. I will admit, though, that lately I?ve begun to suffer what may be the world?s first Edgar Rice Burroughs Complex. Like Burroughs?s Tarzan, my character is known all over the world, and I am still anonymous. That takes some getting used to, even though there are perks. It has given me some wonderful moments--like riding into Times Square in a taxi and seeing Dexter 60 feet tall on the side of the building. "Have you seen that program?" the driver asked me. "I don?t watch much TV," I said, even though I was staring like a school boy at a peep show. "There are books, too," he said. And there are. I hope you will like them. They make wonderful gifts, too. Even better, Nancy Grace and Alex Trebek will never have to see me sweat.--Jeff Lindsay (Photo © Hilary Hemingway)
Literature & Fiction Books
|
 |