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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