Darkly Dreaming Dexter: A Novel (Hardcover)

by Jeff Lindsay (Author) "MOON. GLORIOUS MOON. FULL, FAT, REDDISH moon, the night as light as day, the moonlight flooding down across the land and bringing joy, joy, joy..." (more)
Key Phrases: thack thack, sex suit, refrigerator truck, Dark Passenger, Father Donovan, Daryll Earl (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Meet 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. Breakout author Jeff Lindsay's plot is tense and absorbing, but it's the voice of Dexter and his reactions to the other characters that will keep readers glued to Darkly Dreaming Dexter, as well as making it one of the most original and highly recommended serial killer stories in a long time. --Benjamin Reese

From Publishers Weekly
It's been years since there's been a thriller debut as original as this one by Lindsay, who takes a tired subgenre-the serial-killer novel-and makes it as fresh as dawn. Lindsay's premise alone is worthy: narrator Dexter Morgan, a blood-spatter specialist for the Miami cops, is also a serial killer. But all his life, Dexter has followed the rules set down by his cop foster father (who knew of Dexter's proclivities), to indulge his passion only by slaying other serial killers. What makes this novel zing, though, is the narration-humorous, self-deprecating, smart and sometimes lyrical, it's a macabre fun ride ("I thought about the nice clothes that I always wore. Well of course I did. I took pride in being the best-dressed monster in Dade County"). The story opens with Dexter at play, kidnapping and killing a priest who has murdered a number of children, then moves on to the main plot, a series of gruesome killings of prostitutes by an unknown madman. Dexter's foster sister is a Miami Vice Squad cop working on the killings, so Dexter decides to help her solve the case. This puts him in conflict with a dumb but ambitious female homicide detective as well as, soon enough, the killer himself, whose approach to serial killing mirrors Dexter's own, uncomfortably so. Might Dexter himself be the culprit? The answer feels a bit contrived, but will surprise most readers, and it's a minor flaw in a gripping, deliciously offbeat novel that announces the arrival of a notable new talent.
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Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Doubleday; 1st edition (July 20, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 038551123X
• ISBN-13: 978-0385511230
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (265 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #330,589 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

• This is item 1 in The Dexter Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

120 of 131 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A murderously charming protagonist, July 20, 2004

By	Luan Gaines "luansos" (Dana Point, CA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Here's the deal: a good book writes its own review, triggering sufficient spontaneity to fill the page without reaching for bits of interest; this is one of those books, pushing aside all those mundane summer novels, leaving the reader with a satisfying, "Ah."

The attractively ghoulish protagonist is a sociopath and a murderer, but one with a "conscience", unfortunately an asset as manufactured as his other feelings. But Dexter does his best, given the circumstances. Brilliant and introspective, Dexter charms from the first page, even while distracted, dismembering his latest victim. What makes Dexter's extra-curricular activity bearable is the reason he kills: Dexter only chooses victims who have perpetrated foul deeds, those who would continue harming innocents if not stopped. To be honest, who hasn't secretly applauded the occasional vigilante who takes justice in his own hands, balancing the scales a bit?

Essentially passionless in his pursuit of evil-doers, Dexter is an elegant ghoul, fascinated by blood, the essence of human life. With the self-control of a recently sated vampire, Dexter is intelligent and thorough in his murderous pursuits. Like Rice's Vampire Lestat, this more human predator has a dark, romantic appeal, his dispassionate regard for "necessary" murders seductive and curiously erotic.

Dexter spends his days as a blood spatter analyst for the Miami Dade PD, the perfect job for keeping up with current crime scenes and maintaining a cover, not to mention the chance to troll for other deserving victims. Lurking behind his public self, Dexter is as secure as a serial killer can be. Until another killer shows up, perfectly modeling Dexter's MO. Both anxious and intrigued, Dexter scents a challenge, another creature of the night that lives with a Dark Passenger, as he refers to his murdering alter-ego. But Dexter is torn; he covets this newcomer for himself, but has promised to help his half-sister policewoman solve the case in her bid to become a detective.

Suddenly events spiral out of control, Dexter's careless insouciance is a thing of the past, as he is pursued by dark dreams and chaotic nightmares. Like Alice in Wonderland lost in a psychedelic trance, Dexter tumbles down the rabbit hole. What he finds is completely unexpected, a twisted, deviant detour into horror, startling the man who has thought himself incapable of shock. One has to wonder about Dexter's powers of self-preservation, whether he is tempting fate and secretly wants to be caught.

Lindsay has delivered an inspired mystery, one that demands to be read, in one sitting if possible, the elegant Dexter speaking to the need for justice where often there is none. Can't help but smile at the young man's antics, dancing in the moon-drenched night with his own demons and skirting the edge of mayhem. With infinite grace, the author reaches into the dark heart of each of us, igniting atavistic memory, no doubt with a smile on his face. Luan Gaines/2004.

71 of 80 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dexter: friendly, sick, and utterly thrilling, July 23, 2004

By	bensmomma "bensmomma" (Ann Arbor, Michigan) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

Jeff Lindsay's first novel is gruesome but fascinating in a Silence-of-the-Lambs sort of way (the narrator, who is trying to catch the serial killer, is himself a serial killer). Dexter is a blood-spatter technician with the Miami PD, a perfect job for someone who cuts live people up as a hobby, I suppose!

Relative to Hannibal, Dexter is actually fairly likeable, and the reader finds him/herself strangely "on Dexter's side" as he simultaneously admires and tries to find the killer.

Lindsay has a real knack for plotting; the book moves very swiftly. The end result is the best thriller in ages, and I'm sure we'll see more of Dexter in sequels very soon.

39 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Takes One to Know One, September 4, 2004

By	Robert Derenthal "bucherwurm" (California United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Darkly Dreaming Dexter (Audio CD)

We've had quadriplegic detectives, drunken PIs, little old lady investigators, ethically challenged policemen, and a myriad other crime solvers who have various physical and mental quirks. So how can we come up with a new and unique expert crime investigator? Well, why hasn't anyone ever thought of it before, a police department employee who solves serial killer crimes, and is himself a serial killer? As the eminent Thomas Henry Huxley said after reading Darwin's new book on evolution in 1859, "Why didn't I think of that.?"

Our hero (?) is Dexter Morgan, a blood spatter specialist with the Miami police department. Dexter murders people in his free time, and happily admits that he is a sociopath, and, in his own terms, is really not quite human. Though he has a girlfriend, for the sake of appearances, he has no sexual desires, and is incapable of love. He does care for his sister who is a cop, and decides to help her find a serial killer. It's really difficult for him to do this, as he greatly admires the technique of the man he sets out to apprehend.

How on earth can we God fearing readers identify with a sociopathic killer, and wish him well? Well, for one thing, he is often quite witty, and that goes a long way with me. And he isn't a boozer or a womanizer -in fact he rejects the advances of a female detective-, and those are kind of good traits I guess. He is also a pretty good sleuth as well he should be, having the same hobby as the man he is chasing.

I was a little disappointed in how things worked out, as the author injects a bit of farfetchedness into the final part, but this is the first of a series, and I am looking forward to the next book. I am also booking a special appointment with my psychiatrist in an effort to find out why I would actually like this sort of story.