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Darkly Dreaming Dexter | 
 enlarge | Author: Jeff Lindsay
Publisher: Orion
Category: Book
This item is no longer available
Rating:  30 reviews
Sales Rank: 360493
Media: Paperback
Edition: New Ed
Pages: 304
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
ISBN: 0752866761
EAN: 9780752866765
ASIN: 0752866761
Publication Date: November 18, 2004
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Amazon.co.uk Review
Meet Dexter Morgan, the chief protagonist of Darkly Dreaming Dexter. He's a highly respected lab technician specialising 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 draws 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. Debut author Jeff Lindsay's plot is tense and absorbing, but it's the voice of Dexter and his reactions to the other characters that make this one of the most original and highly recommended serial killer stories in a very long time. --Benjamin Reese, Amazon.com
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| Customer Reviews: Read 25 more reviews...
 Creativity over content July 28, 2008
What a great idea - a serial killer who only preys on other serial killers. The shell that houses this novel is a strong and original one, however it is the contents which let this book down. The charming and deadpan Dexter is a joy to read about. His internal monologues are full of satire and wicked thoughts, a protagonist who appeals to to a wide audience, he balances upon a fence that divides honourable vigilantism and the bureaucracy which bogs down our police force. Ironic, since he is both, a serial killer and a forensic officer. However, the actual story is weak, unlikely, and for the most part, quite improbable. With the characters firmly established I imagine further Dexter novels to deliver a strong plot, where readers can actually get immersed in a more robust story. This one is fun, but unfortunately superficial.
 Astounding darkly delicious read June 7, 2008
Just as in real life, popular fiction has always taught us that Killers are the bad guys of the world, whether their motives are for love, hatred, money, revenge or simply for bloodlust.
In popular fiction, the killer always loses and the good guy always wins.
But what if...what just IF the killer and the good guy are the same person?
Ask yourself that question and then dive into this dark and delicious tale of Dexter Morgan, a Miami based forensic specialist on blood analysis. A likeable and pleasant guy, charming and dedicated - but this is all a facade.
Dexter has always known he was different. Sociopathic, emotionless, and most unfortunately, he has a desire - a need - to kill. A true serial killer at heart he has learned to keep his murderous activities under control by choosing victims who have done wrong in the world (i.e. paedophiles, rapists, other murderers), killing them and carefully disposing of the bodies where they can never be found.
He's been content doing what he's doing for quite some time, and life is peachy, he's upbeat despite his rather dark thoughts, and he still manages to maintain a career, a girlfriend and a vague semblance of family with his sister.
However, life begins to change for Dexter as a killer who leaves bodies dismembered and strange little clues for Dexter to find, makes himself known.
A serial killer trying to find a serial killer proves more difficult when at least one of them is always two steps ahead.
This is a twisted story that is engrossing, darkly funny and imaginative. Dexter is the first serial killer characters I've ever read who remains likeable despite his dark deeds and inability to feel.
Somehow, the villain Dexter feels himself to be is the true hero of the story, and that's quite an achievement for the author to pull off.
 Spoiled by the horrendously cheesy ending. June 6, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
The concept of a vigilante serial killer narating the tale in his own words is a very unique concept indeed.
If only the writer was half decent.
The plot is slow and hardly action packed (or even tense for that matter), but the worst thing is, the ending is so terribly written you'd think the author had finished writing the whole damned thing in one night.
In comparison with the TV series, the book is inferior in both style and storytelling. Best avoid.
3 1/2 Stars: A Good Book -- But I Expected More! June 5, 2008
After reading the first half of the book, I felt that it was going to deserve a 5-star rating. This was due to Lindsay's providing a fresh, surprising, fast-paced writing style and a rather unique main character. However, once I became accustomed to the novelty of his style and the wittiness of the character, I realized the story was too passive for a story about serial killers and not as exciting as I thought it would be. Further, with the exception of Dexter, all of the other characters are not very well-developed nor are they particularly interesting. While I wasn't disappointed in Darkly Dreaming Dexter, it is not a book that I'd urge you to rush out to read.
Pretty good, BUT... May 21, 2008
Lately I seem to find myself reading a lot of books written by authors who don't seem to realise that their clever, clever twists aren't really all that clever. One example is Kathy Reichs, who, despite being an excellent writer, plots her books in ways that can be seen almost from page one. A major event in the early chapters, usually concerning love-interest Andy Ryan, tells me exactly how the final chapters are going to go.
Sadly, this is also true about Darkly Dreaming Dexter. The book is wonderfully descriptive, as is the protagonist's point of view, painting a world so vivid I could see myself standing over Dexter's shoulder the entire time. Unfortunately, most of the time I wanted to hit dim, dopey Dexter with something heavy for not seeing the painfully obvious conclusion, as I saw the first time he had one of his "visions".
In fairness, it's probably not right to blame the author for this. At this point, there probably isn't a story or arc or twist imaginable that hasn't been done to death by now. But I can't pretend it's not disappointing when I get to the last couple of chapters and see that everything progresses exaclty as I knew it would...
DDD's first-psycho-perspective makes for an excellent character study, but unfortunately, the book falls short as a thriller.
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