Darkly Dreaming Dexter

Dexter Morgan is the adopted son of a deceased police officer that has dedicated his life to catching criminals by becoming a blood spatter expert for the Miami Dade police department.  At least that is what Dexter would have everyone think.  In the book Darkly Dreaming Dexter we find that he is in fact a serial killer that was given some direction from his father.  Realizing that his adopted son was “damaged” and would need to kill Harry (Dexter’s father) set up a series of rules by which Dexter should select and do away with his targets to satiate his need to kill.  See Dexter only goes after those that deserve to be killed or that have somehow escaped justice.  And of course his training in forensics and police procedure also help him a great deal.  But when a new killer starts hunting Miami’s working girls Dexter becomes fascinated with him.  This is further complicated by his sister’s (Deb, Harry’s biological daughter) ambition to solve the case, and that the killer knows who Dexter is and seems to have a strange connection to him.  When the killer grabs Deb and lures Dexter to his kill room things get really complicated.

I’m a huge fan of the Dexter television show, so when I saw the book that first established the character, Darkly Dreaming Dexter I had to pick it up.  I have to say that I’m really impressed with both author’s Jeff Lindsay’s writing and how well the book was translated for the small screen.  The book jumps right into the story of the latest serial killer terrorizing Miami.  If you are a fan of the show you will figure out pretty quickly that the first season of the series pretty much follows the plot of the book.  That is of course until the end, which has a few cool twists that the show didn’t follow.  So even if you are a big fan of the series, like I am, you still have something to look forward to with the book. 

Of course I keep comparing the book to the show, which again I love.  Both the show and the book are outstanding.  I can see why someone decided to try and adapt the book because the way author Lindsay portrays the character of Dexter is amazing.  We are basically in the characters head hearing his own internal monologue, looking at the world thru his eyes.  Dexter is completely disconnected form the world around him and is only showing people what he thinks they want to see.  Whether it is his coworkers, his sister, or his girlfriend and her children it is all an act.  Though in a strange way it does seem that Dexter connects to children far more than he can anyone else.  But in the end there isn’t really anything all that redeemable in the character, especially given how differently the book ends.  Which I think makes it all the more remarkable how endearing the Dexter character becomes by the end of Darkly Dreaming Dexter. 

Whether you are a fan of the show or not I highly recommend that you guys check out the book Darkly Dreaming Dexter.  It is worth your money and the time spent reading it.  Plus it is good to get away from the T.V. sometimes and let the old grey cells fire a bit over the written word.

reviewed by John Shatzer

© Copyright 2009 John Shatzer