If you liked the Showtime Original Series Dexter or Dexter: New Blood, here's the original
Dexter in the Dark (2007, Doubleday) is the third book in the series by Jeff Lindsay on which the Showtime television series "Dexter" is based. If you are unfamiliar with the show or the books, the main thing you need to know is that Dexter is an interesting dude: He is a serial killer who works for, of all places, the Miami Police Department as a blood-spatter analyst.
The ironic thing is that Dexter actually doesn't like blood, despite his vocation and penchant for slicing and dicing people. His love-hate relationship with hemoglobin is carried into the choice of "trophy" he takes a serial killer: one single drop of blood from each victim, neatly preserved on individual glass slides in a wooden box carefully hidden away in his home.
So, if Dexter is such a heinous individual, how can he carry a series? Can we really relate to him as a protagonist? Well, the good news about Dexter is that his foster father, Harry, who recognized Dexter's murderous proclivities when he was still a lad, instilled in him a strict moral code, which is that he must kill only bad guys: other serial killers, child molesters and abusers, etc. Harry, who was a cop, trained Dexter to use his investigative skills to confirm that his prey was unequivocally guilty before the fiendish festivities could commence (as well as how to clean up evidence of said festivities afterward).
Since Dexter follows this code, our inner vigilantes cut him a break, and we sort of overlook his "indiscretions", as we do with a classic antihero type. However, as these stories are narrated in the first person, we are also aware that he does indeed consider himself a bad person, even as he derives pleasure from taking lives. We can also sympathize with his distress over how to deal with typical situations, such as family and workplace conflicts, as well as not-so-typical ones, like how to relate to his girlfriend, Rita, when he is actually incapable of experiencing affection or even sexual attraction.
That's the backstory. In Dexter in the Dark , we learn that Dexter has decided to take the next logical step in his effort to blend in with the normal world, and now Rita is excitedly planning their upcoming wedding. The socially clueless serial killer having to make decisions about bands for the reception and attending tastings with a high-strung "artistic" caterer provide lots of comic relief, as do Dexter's attempts to conduct Harry-style training with Rita's adorable children, Astor and Cody, who have revealed their less-than-adorable true natures to Dexter, who is bemused at the prospect of becoming an actual dad!
And he has to do all this while helping his homicide-detective sister, Deb, who has been assigned a series of incredibly bizarre, cult-like murders. Unbeknownst to Dexter, he himself has set into motion, through his choice of victim, a sequence of slayings leading back to a source of evil so powerful that it sends his Dark Passenger (Dexter's evil 'spirit guide' that urges him to kill) scurrying for cover. How will Dexter, vulnerable and feeling adrift without his Dark Passenger, escape being destroyed by this powerful adversary?
As a fan of the Showtime series, I picked up this book with great anticipation. I have not read the other books in the series ( Darkly Dreaming Dexter, Dearly Devoted Dexter ), so I was unprepared for Lindsay's writing style-specifically the way Dexter refers to himself interchangeably in the third person as well as the first person. Perhaps this is due to the occupying presence of the Dark Passenger, who wasn't addressed in the original TV series (it is in the 2021 series, Dexter: New Blood).
Dexter also seems to be very much in love with his own name, frequently appending alliterative adjectives (Daring Dexter, Disappearing Dexter, etc). This fits the characteristic of narcissism typical to serial killers, but it's a little much. I think it is Lindsay's attempt to add more humor, but I like the humor that more naturally arises from Dexter's social fumbling-it's less contrived. However, you do eventually get used to these devices, and under them is a gripping, interesting and well-paced thriller that does indeed have its darkly comic moments, one of which occurs during its very satisfying conclusion.
If you haven't seen the Showtime series or read the earlier books, you may want to start with Darkly Dreaming Dexter to get the maximum enjoyment. And watch the series, too-the first series is available on DVD or streaming, and the reboot is currently available on Showtime. You'll never believe how likable a homicidal maniac can be!
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