Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Darkly Dreaming Dexter
Book Review: Dark, Funny and My First encounter with a Loveable Psychopath??!! (With one small moan at the end)
Summary: 4 Stars
Dexter is a blood spatter analyst working closely with the Miami Police. However, in his spare time he kills people (but only those who have committed horrible crimes themselves.) In this novel prostitutes are being found mutilated and murdered around Miami, and once Dexter has got over his admiration for the killer's `work' he decides to help his sister (a cop) to catch him and get her a well-deserved promotion.
I think that I may have been lucky that by missing the recent television series, I have nothing to compare the novel to. The first person narration in this novel is what really makes it so great , I still find it difficult to comprehend that I really liked Dexter even knowing the horrible things that he does! I think I will also remember this book as being more graphically violent than it actually is, as Lindsay manages to suggest quite a lot and leaves your brain to fill in the gaps.
The only slight problem I have is that Dexter will only kill bad men and yet still admires the work of a killer who targets prostitutes. I know this is a work of fiction, but I am getting a little tired of prostitutes being regarded as inherently bad people and therefore fodder for serial killers. In such an imaginative novel, he could have done something better.
Book Review: A good series opener
Summary: 4 Stars
I haven't seen the TV series so I enjoyed the book for what it was, a good series opener with a fantastic lead character. There's enough plot information around without me going into detail but Dexter has an aversion to blood (taken from the blurb) and despite this still works for the police as an analyst. This was my only query with the plot. Otherwise he is devilish and easy to like until you remember who he actually is.
Good fun, not too tricky to work out. A worthwhile read over the course of an evening. I will certainly be following this series through.
Book Review: A great crime/psychological thriller
Summary: 5 Stars
I picked this book up because the blurb and the cover caught my eye. From opening the book I couldn't put it down. I'm not a huge fan of crime novels that are often heavy with police procedure but as this has the twist of a serial killer narrator I thought I'd give it a go, I wasn't dissapointed. It's easiness to read and sardonic humour throughout made it a fabulous book for pure escapism. The TV is good, but it certainly does not beat the books.Book Review: Better than the TV Show
Summary: 5 Stars
I read this book long before the TV show and it blew me away - the darkness, the depth and the originality of the serial killer who directed his irrepressible urges for the force of good was a blisteringly inventive hook. For me, the book was far superior to the show (although I enjoyed that too). And for what it's worth, Jeff Lindsay's sequels to this rock too. Book Review: Your Friendly, Neighbourhood Serial Killer
Summary: 4 Stars
This is a great premise for a book (or series of books), a guy working for the police who also happens to be a serial killer. It's so clever, and produces a fascinating anti-hero, Dexter Morgan. Lindsay hits pay dirt here with a series that combines criminal sleuthing, an intriguing main character and the perennial favourite, the serial killer.
The thing to remember if you're reading these because of the television series, which is also great, is that the books came first, and the books are never, never like the television series, so if you're in love with a particular plot arc, or character from the television, prepare to be disappointed. If however, you want to experience the birth of Dexter and some interesting personality quirks, issues and just 'stuff' that never made it onto the screen, it's well worth looking at.
The alliteration, darkly, dreaming dexter, deeply dopey dexter, etc, can be a little off putting until the book hits stride and then you become carried away with the plot, and Dexter's fascinating mental landscape that you don't notice it so much. The writing is fast and punchy, things move fast in Dexter's world, and my only complaint would be that Lindsay sometimes skims the surface, where more detail would be appreciated.
The character of Dexter is profoundly interesting, not necessarily sympathetic, but then he's a serial killer, so he's hardly likely to be cuddling kittens and weaving his own valentines cards. His struggle between his dark, inner urges and his failure to understand 'humans' is done really nicely, and the counterpoint with Debs trying equally hard to understand him is beautifully balanced. I will be reading the rest.