Dearly Devoted Dexter

This time, our favorite serial killer is facing a new enemy - Doakes. The suspicion he has long harbored for Dexter has blossomed into obsession. Now he follows Dexter everywhere making it impossible for our antihero to stalk his prey. But when a nefarious doctor begins to dismember some of Doakes' old special forces buddies, the hunter becomes the hunted. Now Doakes must rely on Dexter and Debra if they have any hope of catching this brutal killer.

Wow, the plot of this book is out and out unbelievable. When this insane killer begins cutting all the limbs off people, some mysterious guy turns up from Washington and just takes over the whole investigation. His plan? Hard to say, as he literally questions none of the witnesses and instead show more begins banging Debra almost instantly. I mean... professionalism?

And Debra is maybe emotionally unstable? Why does she start banging this mysterious stranger? No explanation given. He's in town for literally five days before being abducted and their relations commence perhaps eight hours into his tenure. He begins eye-humping her at the police briefing. Gross. Then Deb just about pisses her pants with indignation when her new boyfriend buys drugs as a cover to investigate some shady people and get information. Like, that's totally allowed, cops do that stuff all the time. What's the problem? But at the same time she has no problem with the fact that her brother is an active serial killer. Huh?

Anyways, the most insane part is that Doakes and Dexter put together this plan to catch the murderous doctor and rescue Debra's new squeeze. But... they don't involve the Miami police at all? Like... why? Why does this all have to be secret? Apparently, the doctor was mixed up in some weird secret military operation and "the goverments" don't want anyone to know about it. Okay? But the police can't help to capture someone? Whatever.

Then, when Dexter saves Kyle, he doesn't go to the hospital even though he's missing multiple limbs. Like, he just downs a fifth of whiskey and keeps on solving the case. Okay. Sure. And what is this mysterious government operative's super clever plan to capture this limb-collector? He's going to make Dexter do it. Yup. He literally says, "You'll just have to think of something." Like, what exactly is this detective's training? How did he get this job? He just goes from town to town making low-level CSIs solve crimes for him? So much nonsense. show less

The Good: I absolutely loved the Dexter and Doakes interaction in Dearly Devoted Dexter. I loved how they have always been sort of pitted against each other, but had to work together. How that all played out was probably one of the most interesting plot twists I've read in crime fiction recently.

The Bad: The whole "Dark Passenger" inner monologue is very grating. I'm not a fan of it on the show, but reading it is somehow worse. It makes it difficult to like Dexter, which is kind of the crux of the premise of the entire series - a serial killer that you like, that you can kind of understand.

I stayed up way past my bedtime a couple of nights in a row reading this for two reasons: 1) I found the book impossible to put down, and 2) I was so creeped out I couldn't have slept anyway.

Just as I experienced with the first in the series, this book quickly pulled me in and refused to let go. Dexter is his usual charming and eerily captivating self; following him and his Dark Passenger around is a fascinating exercise in realizing I can like someone and, at the same time, never want to spend a moment in the same room with him. In this instalment, Jeff Lindsay has developed not only a unique and engrossing main character but also a truly messed up villain whose victims (what's left of them) are the stuff of nightmares.

And yet, despite show more the horribly macabre subject matter, the book is extremely funny. There's an undercurrent of dark humour running through the pages that had me chuckling aloud numerous times. (And then promptly feeling guilty about it; like laughing at a funeral.)

Is this the best thriller plot in the world? Not by a long shot. Yet I loved every minute of it, even when some of the details of the police investigation got a little farfetched. Can't wait to dive into the third in the series! show less

a gaze into a serious topic that tries to be very un-serious, and mostly manages.

it raises a question about the abyss -- exactly how awake is it? if one does not stare but merely glances, will the abyss return the gaze? does the abyss know when you think about it? how easy is it to disturb the universe, and when you cast a stone into that water, how long does the ripple last?

5★
Diffidently NOT for the squeamish
It's not easy being a serial killer, especially when you absolutely hate blood even though your job is in a crime lab in a police department doing blood analysis. But, hey... somebody has to do it, and these are all folks that absolutely deserved to die...so he's just "helping them out". If you watched the TV show... (and of course I did), I think I even have a few seasons on DVD...then you will feel right at home with the Dexter books. He's been described as a "killer with a conscience"...and it's been said that "It takes a monster to catch a monster." There are 7 of these books and each one will take you back and seat you in front of your TV. You might want to skip the refreshments. If you have a show more really dark and twisted sense of humor, and like reading about rather dark and twisted vigilantes, then you definitely need to spend some time and make friends with Dexter Morgan. Note: The author, Jeff Lindsay, reads the books on audio. show less

Fiction is replete with examples of anti-heroes where, in spite of our better judgment, we find ourselves rooting for a less-than-desirable individual. The Godfather's Michael Corleone, Alex in Clockwork Orange, Ignatius in A Confederacy of Dunces, and as things are turning out, just about anyone in Game of Thrones (I'm only on book three – no spoilers please). Dexter is starting to add his persona to that august group. (In fact, I just saw him included in one list of the top 10 anti-heroes.)

I have no problem with anti-heroes, and I had no problem with Dexter's particular type as I read the first book in the series. In case you didn't know (spoiler alert – but not really a big one – this may be the worst kept secret of all time), show more Dexter is a serial murderer. But, he is not really a bad guy because he has learned to channel his urges in a positive way – he only kills other serial murderers.

In the first novel, Lindsay did a good job playing this psychologically disturbed person against the everyday backdrop of a personal life and job with the (irony alert) police department. I bought into the premise, and I bought into the fact that, in spite of how disturbing the character of Dexter is, I can sympathize with his actions and his motives.

But now we get to the second novel in the series and I am becoming a little more concerned. We still have Dexter doing his thing – finding the bad guys and eradicating them in his own special way. But this novel digs a little more deeply into Dexter's psychology. Yes, this was all evident in the first book; yes, we learned that Dexter did not connect with human emotions and feelings. And we saw how that fit in with the person he felt forced to become. But this installment really drives that home.

That exploration in and of itself would not be a real problem. However, Dexter is beginning to involve more people in the charade that is his life.

It is one thing to watch his demented approach to life as it impacts criminals and an impersonal general public. It was a little more disturbing to see the impact on his sister (starting to get just a little more personal.) But now he is becoming involved with other private parties – including children. And it is disturbing to watch the facade he has built trap him and others into that false existence. And this also leads us to understand that there is a wider and wider range of disturbed individuals in the world.

Maybe this is really where Lindsay intends to go – not just an interesting concept but a commentary about the people that are around us. If so, then this is a much more profound series than I ever imagined. However, until that has proven to be the case, I find myself increasingly disturbed with the series and what it makes me feel – disturbed enough that Lindsay has only one more book to make his case.

Yes, I will keep reading the series, but it is on a short hook. show less

I felt like I was back in the television series.
The over-the-top hokeyness of Dexter's internal monologue might go so wrong, the cuteness just a little too cloying for someone who calls himself a monster, but Lindsay manages to pull it off and make my own Dark Passenger (who is a reader, and gets murderously outraged if it senses the writer pulling a fast one) settle down and accept it. For each of the two books of the Dexter series I've read I've had moments where I pause at a certain point (usually one of the many alliterative descriptions of Deadly Dexter), but every single time I've thrown Jeff Lindsay the benefit of the doubt and kept on going. I don't know if it's the folksy dialogue Dexter keeps up with the reader or the fact show more that Michael C. Hall did such a great job bringing him to life for the screen, but you forgive the little idiosyncrasies because, well, Dexter's kind of a charming monster, and hell sometimes repeat himself as he tries to work out just how a human might react to his situation.
Repetition aside, the book just roars along. I think reading too many of these in quick succession might wear down the patience of your Dark Reader, but grabbing one from the shelf every few months seems to be working, so far, and I've loved revisiting with everyone's favorite serial killer and provider of donuts. show less