Dexter Is Delicious [Hardcover]

Jeff Lindsay (Author)

Book Description

Release date: September 7, 2010 | Series: Dexter

America’s most-read, most-watched, and most­ beloved serial killer—Dexter Morgan—is back. After selling more than one million copies and inspiring the wildly popular #1 Showtime series and top-rated crime drama on pay-cable television, New York Times bestselling author Jeff Lindsay returns with his most hilarious, macabre, and purely entertaining novel yet.

Dexter Morgan has always lived a happy homicidal life. He keeps his dark urges in check by adhering to one stead­fast rule . . . he only kills very bad people. But now Dexter is experiencing some major life changes—don’t we all?—and they’re mostly wrapped up in the eight-pound curiosity that is his newborn daughter. Family bliss is cut short, however, when Dexter is summoned to investigate the disappearance of a seventeen-year-old girl who has been running with a bizarre group of goths who fancy themselves to be vampires. As Dexter gets closer to the truth of what happened to the missing girl, he realizes they are not really vampires so much as cannibals. And, most disturbing . . . these people have decided they would really like to eat Dexter.

Jeff Lindsay’s bestselling, dark, ironic, and oftentimes laugh-out-loud hilarious novels about the lovable serial killer with no soul (but a redeeming desire to kill only people who deserve it) have gained a legion of fans and assumed a place in our cul­ture.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Authors are often poor narrators of their work—happily this is not the case with Jeff Lindsay, who brings a perfect performance to the narration of his latest novel starring Dexter, the charismatic, sociopathic serial killer. Life for Dexter has taken a major turn. He is now the father of a new baby daughter, Lily Anne, and this extraordinary event has him putting away his knives and duct tape and vowing to extinguish the dark murderous flame that has flared inside him for so long. But some vows are easier kept than others, and when he becomes involved in the investigation of a possible cult of cannibals, it's just possible that he will be drawn back to being the dark Dexter of old. Lindsay's wry reading proves that he knows Dexter and his world better than anyone. With a clear, controlled voice, he pulls the listener into the story, keeping the tone light even when describing the grisliest scenes, but he's more than capable of conveying danger and suspense. With material that alternates dizzyingly between the disturbing and humorous, listeners will cringe and chuckle from beginning to end. A Doubleday hardcover. (Oct.)
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

From Booklist

There are two Dexter Morgans, the one you see on television (in the hit series Dexter) and the one Lindsay writes about in his books. They’re sort of the same guy but not really: the TV Dexter feels like a fictional version of the “real” Dexter from the books. In his fifth novel, Lindsay paints Dexter, who works as a blood-spatter expert for the Miami Police Department, into a corner. He’s got a new baby, a beautiful little girl, and he really, really wants to live like a normal human, to leave his Dark Passenger behind and stop all this murder stuff (in case you’re a newbie, he only kills other killers, people who have evaded justice). But when he catches a case involving missing girls, vampirism, and cannibalism, he has a rough time keeping his homicidal urges in check. The novel, as usual, straddles the fine line between drama and satire, and as usual, it’s Dexter’s battle with his inner demons, his struggle to put a human face on his monstrous self, that takes center stage. Faithful readers will note that their favorite homicidal monster has made some real progress on that front: Lindsay has inched the character a teensy bit closer to normality. (But not too close: that would take all the fun out of it.) Recommend this one highly to fans of both the novels and the television series. --David Pitt

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Doubleday; First Edition edition (September 7, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385532350
• ISBN-13: 978-0385532358
• Product Dimensions: 6.4 x 1.4 x 9.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (122 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #163,966 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

JEFF LINDSAY is the author of Darkly Dreaming Dexter and Dearly Devoted Dexter. He lives in Florida with his wife and children.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 36 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Doting Daddy Dexter Exchanges Danger And Darkness For Diapers September 7, 2010

By K. Harris HALL OF FAMETOP 10 REVIEWER

Format:Hardcover

Dexter is back! I think it's fair to say that most people who will be picking up the latest installment of Dexter's misadventures "Dexter is Delicious" will be familiar with the subject matter--if not from the novels, then from the Showtime series. Author Jeff Lindsay returns with the wry and macabre humor that I have come to love--but it's hard to know how to evaluate "Dexter is Delicious." As a stand alone, I was entertained by its over-the-top plotting and Dexter's ever entertaining inner monologue. However, if I look at it in context--it falls somewhere in the middle ground. It is definitely more successful than Lindsay's last two installments (that's a BIG plus), but it does falls short of his initial two forays into the heart of evil. Understandably, Lindsay has wanted the Dexter character to evolve by becoming more adult, and by extension more human, but that has tamped down the danger of the Dark Passenger which made the character so exhilarating in the first place.

The Dexter that is "delicious" is decidedly less deadly. With a new baby, the Dark Urges play second fiddle to diaper changes and daddy doting. In an amusing, but lightweight plot, Dexter and Debbie are hot on the track of a missing girl. This quickly leads to a second missing girl, vampire wannabes, and a cult who just might want to serve Dexter for dinner. There's nothing ground breaking here--but it's fun and fast paced. Many of the recurring characters are sidelined or are given abbreviated roles. More substantially, Rita still dithers to comic affect and Debbie is still the most annoying cop on the beat. (Don't even get me started on appropriate or remotely believable police procedure when it comes to Debbie). One character from the past does resurface to wreak havoc in Dexter's home life, and that is easily my favorite part of the story! I wanted more, more, more of this subplot.

I will say that I breezed through "Dexter is Delicious" and thoroughly enjoyed it as a page turning romp. Is it my favorite Dexter? No. It's not even a particularly substantial Dexter. But the saving grace is Lindsay's humor. I love spending times in Dexter's mind--it is deranged and laugh-out-loud funny. I'm eager to see Dexter embrace the darkness again, but I was willing to take this entertaining side trip. That's why I'm giving this 4 stars as a stand alone. Maybe in the greater context, it would be harsher, but I really don't want to get on Dexter's bad side. Do you?

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Dexter Takes Backseat to Deb September 13, 2010

By E. Marquez

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Dexter is Delicious continues where the previous book left off. Dexter now has a baby and all the responsibilities of a father that comes with it. In Dexter in the Dark, the previous novel, the author had personified Dexter's Dark Passenger and this novel follows that same path.

Throughout the book, the Dark Passenger has short dialogues with Dexter and shows impatience, frustration, and even sulks. Although I got used to this supernatural feel from the previous novel, I still long for the style of writing where his inner self was still Dexter, yet darker.

Deborah plays a huge role in this novel and the story is slow at first. Unfortunately, the novel felt more like a story about Deb in the Dexter perspective. Dexter constantly follows Deb around while she pieces together a crime that centers around cannibalism. It makes Dexter's character feel more like a cameraman in an episode of 'Cops'. Deborah herself is colder than her usual potty-mouth self. She argues, quite heavily, with every single person she interacts with as they drive to point A to point B to point C in Miami traffic. Yes the traffic is bad, I get it.

Still, the suspense is there as always and Dexter's wit and humor is still at 100 percent.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Nick Landrum (Narrator) gone... :( December 1, 2010

By Steven Strozeski

Format:Audio CD

Sure wish that Nick Landrum was the narrator for this book. It's a much better book than the last one, but it will take you a while to get used to Lindsay. It's too bad... I liked the way Landrum was Dexter.