Dexter in the Dark

Dexter in the Dark, by Jeff Lindsay

Third in the series, Jeff Lindsay always has something for Dexter up his sleeve, but this time it almost becomes too much for one of my favorite characters to handle.

Dexter Morgan, forensic analyst for the Miami Police Department, has a secret that only a few know about. And the only reason they know is because this secret helped save their lives at one time or another. Dexter Morgan is a serial killer. But don’t worry, he’s not out to get you; that is, as long as you aren’t a dangerous criminal yourself. Thanks to his cop foster father, Dexter has been trained to seek out and kill only the bad guys that the police can’t put away on their own. Can’t get a warrant? No problem, Dexter doesn’t need one once he’s sure he has found his guy. With the help of his inner voice, the “Dark Passenger,” Dexter is smart, meticulous, and unstoppable. However, upon arrival at a new crime scene, his “Dark Passenger” is scared off and Dexter is left alone. Dexter finds it difficult to work without his inner-voice giving him serial killer tips to help him out. And if it weren’t hard enough for this killer with a conscience, Dexter must also try to plan his upcoming wedding to girlfriend Rita, and deal with his soon to be step-children, Cody and Astor, that appear to have the same type of “inner shadow” as Dexter. On top of his regular life, trying to look normal, the now vulnerable Dexter must try to solve this new case with his foul-mouthed cop sister Deborah and without the “Dark Passenger.” It just keeps getting better when Cody and Astor get involved and possibly become the next victims of a new voice that shares the narration while stalking our Dexter.

The plot is exactly what you’ve come to expect from Jeff Lindsay: creative, engaging, and always intelligent. The style of writing, however, has changed somewhat in this novel. For starters, Dexter is not the only narrator. He is still our favorite, darkly comic voice, but he must now share time with two other narrators that do not compare to what readers have been used to. There is the new watchman figure, always on the periphery, identity unknown to the readers until the end. In addition, there is a type of third person narrator that has its own sections in italics. These sections seem interesting because they start to describe the origins of where Dexter’s “Dark Passenger” might come from, and whether or not there are others like him with the same passengers. Yet, these sections seem too repetitive and take away from the voice we really want to be hearing: Dexter’s. Jeff Lindsay still has his amazing writing talent; I just think his attempt at trying some new things is something we as readers could probably do without. When you strike oil with a narrator like Dexter Morgan, stop drilling.

I would still say that nothing compares to Jeff Lindsay’s first novel in the series, Darkly Dreaming Dexter, but once you start reading, you will not be able to stop. This is in major part to Jeff Lindsay, but I also like to think it is because of the characters themselves, even if they only seem real in my head. This is a definite series to have on your reading list.

“The ability to read awoke inside me some long dormant craving to be mentally alive.”
- Autobiography of Malcolm X, 1964

Dearly Devoted Dexter

Dearly Devoted Dexter, by Jeff Lindsay

The lovable serial killer with a conscience is back after his latest adventure. Dexter must try and stay out of the radar after Darkly Dreaming Dexter, but this may prove harder than expected.

When the ice truck killer from the last novel inserted Dexter and those around him into the fray, Dexter briefly comes into the spotlight after his previous life of lurking in the shadows. The already suspicious Sergeant Doakes seems even surer now that Dexter is a creep in need of supervision and takes it upon himself to survey the lab rat specializing in blood spatter analysis for the Miami Police Department. Doakes may have his suspicions, but Dexter is not going to let the sergeant find out what homicidal extra-curricular activities he’s been up to. Dexter Morgan is pushed even farther into his human disguise by spending time with his girlfriend Rita and her two kids. But when an ex-military psycho killer from Doakes’ past starts acting up in Miami, Dexter must come out of hiding to track him down with his cop sister Deborah and her new FBI boyfriend. This ex-military doctor kidnaps other former military figures, like Doakes, and mutilates the bodies in a “reverse-hangman” type fashion until very little of their original bodies are left. Will Dexter’s fascination with this new villain allow him to continue his search when Doakes becomes the next target? Or will Dexter let the crazed doctor take away the only person who suspects Dexter is anything but a genuine guy?

Jeff Lindsay has put out another fantastic piece of writing from the point of view of our favorite serial killer. Dexter’s unique narration offers hilarious comments from an exceptional personality of someone faking his way through everyday life. The other police characters are back as well as some new characters for the new case. All are brilliantly combined with a thrilling plot that makes even the most gruesome acts enjoyable.

I will give the same recommendation for this novel because I am a big fan of this book series for its constant originality in a popular genre where that rarely seems to be the case. You don’t have to be a gore lover to read this series, because in fact there is very little. Read the series for its unique point of view from the darkly comic main character in which everyone is sure to take pleasure.

“Reading is a discount ticket to everywhere.”
- Mary Schmich

Darkly Dreaming Dexter

Darkly Dreaming Dexter, by Jeff Lindsay

The basis for Showtime’s Emmy nominated “Dexter,” that just previously finished its third season, is this wonderfully original series by Jeff Lindsay. You’ve seen cat-and-mouse mystery thrillers before, but none like this from a truly unique point of view.

Dexter Morgan, a blood-splatter forensic analyst for the Miami police department, goes above and beyond to catch the bad guy. If there is not enough evidence to catch the murderer and put him behind bars for good, Dexter takes care of it himself. However, Dexter’s secret is not that he is a superhero; Dexter Morgan is a serial killer. Here’s the catch, he only kills the bad guys. He fakes a normal life with his girlfriend Rita and his cop sister Deborah, but things become more complicated when a series of murders start to mimic Dexter’s method. As a child, Dexter was found on a brutal crime scene where his mother was murdered. The officer on scene, Harry, became Dexter’s foster father, but it wasn’t long before Harry started to see the beginnings of Dexter’s dark side. Instead of kicking that badness out, Harry trained Dexter to have a conscience and only get those that the law could not get by itself. He was also trained to never get caught. When this new series of murders seems to be sending messages directly to Dexter that only he can see, it seems that someone might know what Dexter does as a hobby. But with Harry dead who could possibly know besides Dexter? Could it be that Dexter’s training and wiring has blown and he no longer only kills bad guys and just doesn’t know it yet? He better find out quickly when those close to him start becoming targets. The only way to do this is to figure out more about his past before Harry found him at the crime scene and confront that buried past.

In his first book to the series, Jeff Lindsay brilliantly introduces a new point of view that has rarely been seen in literature, that of the serial killer mastermind. He makes it easy to fall for the killer even though Dexter is emotionless and fakes everything to the real world. There is also a fine bunch of characters to interact with in this way, his girlfriend Rita who might be as damaged as him, his foster-sister Deborah desperately trying to move from vice to homicide, a perverted lab forensic lab partner, a female lieutenant constantly flirting with him, and a Sergeant Doakes who may be the only one that suspects Dexter is more than what he seems. The fantastic way Lindsay gets his readers into the head of this serial killer is more than enough to make you enthusiastic for the rest of his series. And the fact that the plot keeps you on the edge of your seat constantly, and each new clever step blows your mind, will keep you flipping through the pages so fast you are in danger of a paper cut.

I would strongly recommend this book as well as Season One of Showtime’s “Dexter” that follows the same plotline. I am a big fan of this book series for its constant originality in a popular genre where that rarely seems the case.

“It is not true we have only one life to love, if we can read, we can live as many lives and as many kinds of lives as we wish.”
- S.I. Hayakawa

The Dante Club

So starting a book review blog during my busy junior year may have been a little too ambitious. However, even with the amount of coursework I have, I am determined to share my opinions of books for the masses, or at least the small amount of readers this blog gets. I will now be mixing in some “reviews” from previous Facebook reading projects, to make sure that every Monday will have something to offer.
This is from “Caught Reading: Summer Project 2007.”

The Dante Club, by Matthew Pearl

“An interesting historical fiction mystery that starts out a little rough but finishes strong. This book was very hard to get into since the first 50 pages were more or less for character analysis and laying the foundation for the rest of the novel, but once it gets into the mystery of it (and people start dieing), it keeps you at the edge of your seat. Four Boston writers in 1865 (Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Oliver Wendell Holmes, James Russell Lowell, and J.T. Fields) are working on translating Dante's "Inferno" with much literary criticism from those who don't think Dante's writings are appropriate in proper society. But when multiple murders start occuring, the writers get swept into the mystery after discovering that the events are mimicking gruesome scenes taken directly from Dante's work. It is up to the intellectuals to save the day since they are the only ones capable of making any sense of it all. If you can struggle through the beginning of the novel (which I admit was hard) you will be rewarded for your efforts by going through the amazing and exciting process of finding a serial killer in historical Boston.”

I still think this book is a good one to share, which must say something about its quality. Personally, being an English major, I liked the literary aspects they were able to take to “epic” proportions. The beginning takes a while only because you need some time to understand the politics of the university administration and untangle a cast of seemingly similar professor characters. The action in this book is thrilling, and not what you would expect from older teachers. It is both physically and mentally active. The main characters stick to their passion of translating Dante even to the point of almost losing their jobs, but their work leads them to the cat-and-mouse chase of a mass murderer. They want to inspire others through this epic poem, but one character becomes far too inspired to the point of reenactment. Only those with literary knowledge are able to solve the mystery, which is inspiring to us English majors. But the best part is that you don’t have to be a literature expert to understand the novel or its references. The author gives readers the exact amount of knowledge needed about Dante’s work through the comprehensible dialogue that also helps readers just feel smart for knowing anything about Dante.

I think it says enough that I have chosen to re-share this book; I would definitely recommend it to any book lover who just likes to know that someday everything they read will help pay off. Maybe not to the point of catching a murderer, but I hope all this reading will help mold me into a cultured individual… someday.

“A capacity and taste for reading gives access to whatever has already been discovered by others.”
- Abraham Lincoln