Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay
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Book Reviews of Darkly Dreaming Dexter
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: Neurotic to the maximum-I love this character!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
Dexter Morgan. He's a highly respected lab technician specializing in blood spatter for the Miami Dade Police Department. He's a handsome, though reluctant, ladies' man. He's polite, says all the right things, and rarely calls attention to himself. He's also a sociopathic serial killer whose "Dark Passenger" drives him to commit the occasional dismemberment.
Mind you, Dexter's the good guy in this story.
Adopted at the age of four after an unnamed tragedy left him orphaned, Dexter's learned, with help from his pragmatic policeman father, to channel his "gift," killing only those who deal in death themselves. But when a new serial killer starts working in Miami, staging elaborately grisly scenes that are, to Dexter, an obvious attempt at communication from one monster to another, the eponymous protagonist finds himself at a loss. Should he help his policewoman sister Deborah earn a promotion to the Homicide desk by finding the fiend? Or should he locate this new killer himself, so he can express his admiration for the other's "art?" Or is it possible that psycho Dexter himself, admittedly not the most balanced of fellows, is finally going completely insane and committing these messy crimes himself?
Despite his penchant for vivisection, it's hard not to like Dexter as his coldly logical personality struggles to emulate emotions he doesn't feel and to keep up his appearance as a caring, unremarkable human being. The plot is tense and absorbing, but it's the voice of Dexter and his reactions to the other characters that keeps me reading the Dexter series, as well as making it one of the most original and highly exciting serial killer stories in a long time.
Book Review: A super hero for modern times
Summary: 5 Stars
I loved this book. It had everything one could ask for in a murder mystery/suspense novel, and it was fun on top of it. Dexter was adopted by a cop when he is 4. He witnessed something that he can't remember but the effects of his earlier life leave him lacking a few things. Nothing important really, just a conscience, compassion, empathy, ability to love. You know, the little things in life that separate us from wild beasts. Try as you might, you just can't help but love this guy in spite of it all. It's the whole bad boy thing on steriods. He is all grown up now and works for the police department as a blood spatter technician. His step-sister, Deb, is a cop who wants so badly to become a detective and leave behind her glamorous life working vice as an undercover hooker.
The premise of this book is fresh and new, which is why I am giving it 5 stars. Dexter is a serial killer who stalks serial killers. His adopted father Harry, recognized there was something lacking in young Dexter and channeled this evil to work for the good of mankind in a weird, sick kind of way. This is revealed in the beginning of the story, so I am not spoiling anything for you. The journey through this book is about introducing our characters, and finding out what has made Dex the monster he is today. It shows the struggle between Dexter the killer and Dexter who only wants to hurt those who hurt others. The book is a breath of fresh air and a joy to read. I can't wait to dive in to the sequel. You are missing out on one of the best mystery/suspense books written in while, if you pass on this one.
Book Review: What a Twist, the Serial Killer is the Good Guy
Summary: 5 Stars
Dexter is a is a blood-spatter analyst for the Miami Dade Police Department, with a knack for profiling killers. He is neat, organized, handsome and witty. His adoptive father Harry (also a Miami cop) died a while ago, however before his passing he recognized that Dexter was different and encouraged him to be neat and tidy with his victims. I say victims because Dexter is a sociopath serial killer who chooses his victims with care, only those who deserve it and there are plenty enough of those, from the nurse tending to a dying Harry, to a molesting priest. Dexter has a certain flair, a certain style to the way he dismembers his victims.
So when a second serial killer makes an appearance in Miami, Dexter is intrigued by the perpetrator's style - so reminiscent of his own. When he arrives home one evening, he senses someone has been there. In the kitchen he finds a Barbie doll's head attached to the refrigerator, and the rest of the doll's body parts in the freezer and Dexter wonders if the killer is trying to tell him something. And he also wonders if maybe he's crazy, if maybe he is the second killer and is killing without knowing it.
Did I forget to mention that Dex is the good guy? I guess I did. He's likable, logical and unforgettable as is this story. I picked up "Darkly Dreaming Dexter" without knowing what I was in for. I'm glad I did. Mr. Lindsay is a major new talent, one I trust will be around for a long, long time. You won't go wrong with this one.
Book Review: A terrific book and a great read EVEN if you have watched the series!
Summary: 5 Stars
I have been a fan of the Showtime series Dexter since it's release. I've seen each episode a hand full of times and since September 30th (the premier of season 3) is a long ways away I decided to read the books.
Darkly Dreaming Dexter is the first of the 'Dexter' novels and while there are a number of parallels between the book and the series, the book brings a certain level of character detail that the show surprisingly missed. More over, a number of the events that take place in the book greatly differ from that of the show making it almost more interesting to somebody who has seen the series.
If you have not seen the television series then this book is perfect for anybody with a bit of a cynical side and a passion for a dark thriller.
In short: I highly recommend this title, its a great read for anyone who has or has not seen the series. I've got the second book on the way and I'll be back with a review of that when I am done!
Cheers!
- Nicholas