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Darkly Dreaming Dexter (Dexter #1)

3.84 of 5 stars 3.84 · rating details · 65,630 ratings · 3,724 reviews

Meet Dexter, a polite wolf in sheep’s clothing...a monster who cringes at the site of blood...a serial killer whose one golden rule makes him immensely likable: “he only kills bad people.”

Dexter Morgan isn’t exactly the kind of man you’d bring home to Mom. Though he’s playful and has a wonderfully ironic sense of humor, Dexter’s one character flaw (his proclivity for murde...more

Hardcover, 1st Edition, 288 pages

Published July 20th 2004 by Doubleday

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May 17, 2008 Daniel rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Like so many others, I loved the Showtime series and wanted to check out the original source material. I was very disappointed indeed. Since a lot of other people seem to have liked it, it may just be a matter of taste, but...

The characters are two-dimensional cliches that can't tie their own shoelaces, except for the daringly deductive Dexter, who *can* tie his own shoelaces. Which makes him a genius. I recall seeing someone else comment that Darkly Dreaming Dexter needs to "show, don't tell."...more Like so many others, I loved the Showtime series and wanted to check out the original source material. I was very disappointed indeed. Since a lot of other people seem to have liked it, it may just be a matter of taste, but...

The characters are two-dimensional cliches that can't tie their own shoelaces, except for the daringly deductive Dexter, who *can* tie his own shoelaces. Which makes him a genius. I recall seeing someone else comment that Darkly Dreaming Dexter needs to "show, don't tell." Dexter's interior monologue *tells* the reader about his code, and how careful he is, yet with one exception he's clumsy and messy throughout the book. I found the authorial voice to not be "darkly humorous," but frequently silly and always snidely sarcastic. The interior monologue harps constantly on the same few themes, especially his lack of emotions and the crippling stupidity of every living being in Miami.

It quite fails to function as a mystery; at no time does anyone successfully piece together evidence or clues to get closer to catching the offscreen serial killer the book focuses on. The obvious exception is when Dexter the genius follows psychic visions and prophetic dreams ("intuition," presumably) to where the killer predicts they will meet. Any actual plot development happens at the very beginning and very end of the book, with the intervening chapters basically being nothing but red herrings and Dexter watching police be stupid. At one point Dexter's sister Deb, a police officer, comes to a correct conclusion before Dexter. He immediately tells her that she is right "for all the wrong reasons," which is blatantly untrue and (presumably) only there to make him sound smarter.

While I had a pretty good idea of how the end would turn out, having seen the first two seasons of the TV series, I was shocked at how little foreshadowing or fanfare there was of the big revelations. The deus ex machina leads Dexter to where he needs to go, things happen in a hurry, book ends with an epilogue -- half of which is written to be super-vague so as to build suspense about which characters lived or died.

For a moment, having finished, I was curious enough about the development of the only potentially interesting plot thread at the end of the book to consider reading the second. I think I'll just find a synopsis on the web to see if it's developed at all in future books.

On reflection, I am very impressed with the television show's producers' ability to pick out the nuggets of greatness buried in the book and make something so wonderful out of them.(less)

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Nov 03, 2011 Lou rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery-thriller, serial-killers

Getting in mind of Dexter is never boring his insight is funny and his technique of killing is masterful.Dexter talks of his beginnings, of his first kill, the day his dark passenger became the rider. Recollections of the past with his father Harry and his deadly advice, its a good fast read in the rambling mind of a sociopath Dexter.

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Nov 16, 2010 Stephen rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ebooks, audiobook, psychos, horror, crime, hardboiled-and-noir, mystery

I'm a BIG fan of the Dexter TV show on Showtime. This led to me being a bit hesitant to read the novels because I was worried about a serious case of disappointment. Michael C. Hall's portrayal of the title character is such an integral part of my enjoyment of the series that approached this book with trepidation, worried I wouldn't relate* as well to the novel's main character.

* a dangerous thought, I know, given Dexter's proclivities.

Well, turns out that my fears were groundless. The characte...more

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Oct 18, 2012 BarkLessWagMore rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook, thriller

Version: Unabridged
Publisher: Recorded Books
Narrated by: Author Jeff Lindsay

Darkly Dreaming Dexter introduces Dexter Morgan serial killer of serial killers. To the outside world he is a charming, attractive normal guy with a respectable job with the forensic department. But Dexter (for anyone who hasn’t watched the tv show) is constantly battling his “dark passenger” who dreams of death and can only be assuaged by brutal murder and clinical dismemberment. He was adopted as a young boy by a polic...more Version: Unabridged
Publisher: Recorded Books
Narrated by: Author Jeff Lindsay

Darkly Dreaming Dexter introduces Dexter Morgan serial killer of serial killers. To the outside world he is a charming, attractive normal guy with a respectable job with the forensic department. But Dexter (for anyone who hasn’t watched the tv show) is constantly battling his “dark passenger” who dreams of death and can only be assuaged by brutal murder and clinical dismemberment. He was adopted as a young boy by a policeman named Harry who saw Dexter’s darkness early on and was able to instill in him a strict code of rules to control his impulses and keep him safe. Now that Harry is dead, Dexter still hears Harry’s voice in his head and it almost always keeps him on track.

Without boring you with an overlong plot rehash I’ll keep it neat and tidy. There’s a serial killer on the loose who is chopping up women and leaving their bloodless body parts for Dexter and company to find. Dexter is intrigued by the killer’s mastery and finesse and makes it his business to track down the guy. But wait! This killer seems to know Dexter’s deepest, darkest secret and begins taunting him. The plot relies heavily on Dexter’s ability to sense the other killer and Dexter’s “dreams” of the murders. Whether you buy it or not will depend entirely on just how far you are willing to suspend your disbelief. I went with it. I’m easy sometimes and I really like Dexter.

I borrowed this audiobook from Overdrive and it was narrated by the author. While he does a decent job voicing Dexter’s calm, cool charm and wry sense of humor, he stumbles in a big way with Debra, Dexter’s put-upon stepsister who is desperately trying to get promoted and get off undercover “hooker duty” so she can do some actual police work. This Debra unpleasantly barks out every line with ear shattering impatience. As much as I enjoy her character because she is cranky and impatient, I cringed whenever she had something to say here. It wouldn’t have surprised me if she bit Dexter what with the way she was so overly snarly (she didn't). However, it’s not a guy reading a girl thing that I have a problem with here (for once) because Lindsay does LaGuerta’s voice in a smarmy, man-hungry and perfectly fitting way for the power hungry nitwit.

Though a story filled with murder and mayhem it surprisingly doesn't dwell on the gory details. Instead it gets into Dexter’s head, explaining how he feels when he gives in to his dark passenger (really freaking good). This is something the show is just unable to do and it helps one understand how his mind works. I enjoyed this story and this intimate look into Dexter’s head and will continue the series. My only nitpick was Dexter’s bad habit of repeating himself. Yeah, yeah so he’s unemotional, not human, follows a strict code and is always in control. I get it. I don’t need to be continually banged over the noggin with those facts. It got tiresome and I felt like the only one he was trying to convince was himself because he was so often NOT in control for most of this book. But other than that complaint, the characters are great and the story zips along at a pace that never loses or bores the crap out of me.
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Aug 03, 2007 Logan rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Those who love to root for the bad guy

Shelves: fiction, mystery-thriller

Mysteries and Thrillers are often hit-or-miss for me. I have had the good fortune of being recommended a lot of writings from the creme de la creme of this genre by my father, so grew up ingesting PD James, John le Carre, and Dennis Lehane with the pulp sci-fi that was my fare of choice. I have also, at times, been forced to read a James Patterson or John Grisham for lack of any other reading materials. This has given me a broad exposure to what could arguably be called the most popular genre in...more

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Aug 13, 2008 Shannon (Giraffe Days) rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, crime, 2008, psychological-thriller

Dexter is a serial killer, a killer who just can't help himself. He doesn't even see himself as human. But he does have something of a conscience and lives by the Code of Harry, his cop foster father, who understood his nature and sought to help Dexter control it somewhat when he was a teenager. Now a blood spatter analyst for Miami police, he's brought in on gruesome murder cases and a new serial killer in the city has Dexter feeling inspired, flattered and awestruck - and frightened that it's...more Dexter is a serial killer, a killer who just can't help himself. He doesn't even see himself as human. But he does have something of a conscience and lives by the Code of Harry, his cop foster father, who understood his nature and sought to help Dexter control it somewhat when he was a teenager. Now a blood spatter analyst for Miami police, he's brought in on gruesome murder cases and a new serial killer in the city has Dexter feeling inspired, flattered and awestruck - and frightened that it's really him, doing the killings in his sleep.

His sister Deborah is a cop trying to move her way up but reduced to posing as a hooker to catch curb crawlers, and what with Dexter's "hunches" about murderers, gets him to help her on the case. Yet he's ambivalent - he so admires this killer's work, does he really want to see it end? He'd rather play, and since the killer has been sending him messages through the way the dead bodies are displayed, he's drawn into a fascinating game with deadly consequences.

I have to say, Dexter is one of the most engaging and interesting - and understandable, perverse as it may be - anti-heroes I've ever read. He's not right in the head and he knows it, he spends a great deal of effort pretending to be human, and ordinary, yet because he only goes after sick bastards like child-molesting priests and the like, you can't help but appreciate his vigilante efforts - though what he does to his victims is far from a quick and easy death.

It's a combination of his macabre humour - this book is really quite funny - the characters and his observations of them, and his narrative voice: so effortless, so calm, seeing a perspective and an angle to people that non-sociopaths (is that the right word?) would not see so well. He thinks like a killer, yet still comes across as somewhat naive and innocent. He's not at all interested in sex or women, so his disguise as "boyfriend" shows this "innocence" well:

And if her uncertain, limping tone of voice, unlike any I had ever heard her use before, was a surprise, imagine how astonished I was by her costume. I believe the thing was called a peignoir; or possibly it was a negligee, since it certainly was negligible as far as the amount of fabric used in its construction was concerned. Whatever the correct name, she was certainly wearing it. And as bizarre as the idea was, I believe the costume was aimed at me. (p.154)

His childlike wonder and appreciation for the way the other killer is slicing up bodies and arranging them also gives him some kind of ... childlike quality. It's hard to find the right adjective for Dexter: he's a complicated character, because he's all grey, despite being very clearly a serial killer. There's no attempt to gloss over that, or excuse him. Yet was there ever a more fascinating and affable murderer? He's not even creepy - now that's an achievement! And because it's not in the least sexual, he's not creepy in that way either. On the contrary, even though you know he can't really function normally, you want him to be happy. He's a bit Batman-ish, in a nerdy way, the dark avenger or something silly like that. Regardless, he's likeable and even sympathetic; but more necessary to the reading experience: he's a wonderful narrator with a thing for alliteration - namely with the letter D; truly, he's very inventive.

I don't like mass market crime books, I loathe Patricia Cornwall, John Grisham is exceedingly dull, and I couldn't even finish P.D. James' The Lighthouse because I was so bored - the problem with your typical crime book is the lack of characterisation. There's plenty of that here, in fact, it's all about the characters. There's still plot, though, and a mystery, which you can figure out somewhat before Dexter does, but it all hinges on the characters. I thought the Epilogue was too rushed, and the relationship resolution between Dexter and Deborah too pat, but they're minor quibbles. I'm keen to read the next book, Dearly Devoted Dexter, and there's a third coming out in September.(less)

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Jul 02, 2008 notyourmonkey rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2008-read, fiction, mystery, library

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Dude. Best serial killer book I've read in a while. Funny, creepy, yet not horrifying in the way that American Psycho is. What can I say - I'm much more engaged by a book that is a rollicking good mystery combined with a creepy-funny narrative voice versus a meditation on American society in the 80s combined with a creepy-funny-creepy narrative voice.

I'll admit I first picked up this book because I want to watch the Showtime series, and I'm a book-before-movie kinda gal. (Everyone at work is wa...more

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Aug 14, 2011 Kim rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Kim by: Michael

Shelves: crime, black-humour, detective, horror, mystery, male-author, 2000s, 2004

Firstly I have never seen the show. Not once, not a single episode. Over the years I've been told to watch it countless times and then told I have to read the books. Well finally I decided to read one.

While it was a good story it always felt like something was missing. I prefer my crime books to have more truth about them. The whole plot point of the dreaming was honestly annoying. It felt like it was there just because the author couldn't think of a clever way of getting Dexter to the crime sce...more

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Jan 23, 2008 Liza H rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: done

I read this series of books because I was so taken by the Showtime series. And you know what? I liked the TV show better! The books are good, and it's fun to get "inside the mind" of Dexter, but because the plot of the book follows pretty closely to the first season of the TV show, it was hard not to make comparisons.

Spoilers below, so don't continue reading if you don't want to know what happens!

A few things that I thought the TV show did a lot better was the whole "flirting with another kille...more

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Aug 29, 2011 Stephen rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: tv-and-movies, books-read-in-2011

The first time that I read this book I was disappointed in it but that was probably not a fair assessment. This book was written two years before the series and the one book encompasses all of the action of the first season. Twelve hours of programming. The team of television writers had the opportunity to take an already interesting story and explore the possibilities more fully.

I feel that many of the novel's weaknesses were corrected in the television series and that the writers and actors d...more

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Nov 01, 2007 Lauryl rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: people who like thrillers who don't watch the show

Shelves: mystery-crime, fiction, pulp

Yeah, yeah, yeah...
so I picked this up because I saw the Showtime series. I admit, I have become a big fan of the show, which is pretty smart and complex, despite its kind of silly premise. AND it's gruesome, which is always good. The book, however, lacks the depth and character development of the show. I suppose that's one thing that television, as a medium, is actually really good at. The book feels a little flip, and a little silly, andeven though it's the first in a series, it doesn't feel l...more

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Jan 20, 2013 Amber rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2013

I wager that for people who read the books early on, or before the series, that this book would be more appealing. And while the book version isn't necessarily BAD, I have to say that the writers of the TV series have taken a good premise and interesting character and made it a fascinating series with a lovable character, a true anti-hero.

The characterization of every female in the story is frankly insulting: La Guerta is a trashy idiot hitting on Dexter; Rita is a stuttering simpleton; and Deb...more

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Aug 14, 2008 Maggie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: most-highly-recommended, 2008, audiobooks

Oh how I love darling droll Dexter. Dexter is fluent in sarcasm, which is the language on my home planet, so I really loved this. Can't wait to finish the series. Great writing, fun characters, lots of swearing and subtle wit, this book was written with me in mind, I think.

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Jun 17, 2012 Adam rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

"Feeling - what authentic human fun!"

"And then more quiet, silence so deep it almost drowned out the roar of the night music that pounded away in my secret self."

"What to wear? I could think of no guidelines on what we were wearing this season to a party forced on you to celebrate an unwanted engagement that might turn into a violent confrontation with a vengeful maniac. Clearly brown shoes were out, but beyond that nothing really seemed de rigueur."

"I'm not sure what I am. I just know there's...more

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Mar 12, 2009 Brandon Collinsworth rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: people who haven't actually watched the show

Like many people I read this book because I am a huge fan of the tv show. All my favorite characters were here and the story is basically the first season of the series.

I have seen movies that were just as good as the books, but here is a case where the show far outstrips the book. The characters are basically the same, but they are better in the show. Dexter is a show where you love the characters in spite of their major flaws. Here every character other than Dexter himself are very uninteresti...more

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Apr 07, 2009 Brooke rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2009, mystery

I simply love Showtime's Dexter. If Dexter the TV show were a book, I'd give it 5 stars. I've held off on reading the books that the show is based on for a while, because I didn't want anything to sully my Dexter-love. Was it possible they could favorably compare?

Luckily, Jeff Lindsay's first Dexter novel is pretty damn charming. Like The Princess Bride, the screen version by its very nature ends up missing a lot of the wonderfulness that's hidden in the narration. I loved the constant use of al...more

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Oct 13, 2007 Lori rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: everyone

Shelves: fricken-awesome

Oh Moon, glorious Moon --- Why did'nt I pick this up when it was first released is beyond me!

I love Dexter and his Dark Passenger. His sarcastic wit, his lizard brain, his fake girlfriend and actual love of little kids. His hobby-related career as a blood-splatter analyst by day, and his moonlighting as a killer of killers by night.

Whats not to love?? If you havent read this book (series) yet, you dont know what your missing! I highly recommend this to everyone.

I am ranking this my #2 favorite...more

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Sep 29, 2007 Rebecca rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: sociopaths, fans of the tv series

Shelves: mysterygroupselections, strangeshiznit

It really takes talent on the part of any author to take a character that should be unlikable and turn him into a character you like and more importantly, empathize with. Dexter is a sociopath that has urges to kill but thanks to help and love from his family he's channeled his homicidal rage towards the dregs of society (priests that molest children). I was suprised how much I liked this book and what an addictive character Dexter is. I can't wait to pick up more books in this series and tune i...more

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Mar 17, 2009 Laura rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery, horror

Darkly Dreaming Dexter is definitely not a typical "serial killer vs. police" novel. The protagonist, Dexter Morgan, works with the Miami P.D. analyzing blood splatter at crime scenes, and as a result he becomes involved in the city-wide search for a serial killer victimizing area prostitutes. The twist, of course, is that Dexter is a serial killer himself. Not the serial killer currently being hunted by the police, but a serial killer, nonetheless.

In general, I stay away from novels about seri...more Darkly Dreaming Dexter is definitely not a typical "serial killer vs. police" novel. The protagonist, Dexter Morgan, works with the Miami P.D. analyzing blood splatter at crime scenes, and as a result he becomes involved in the city-wide search for a serial killer victimizing area prostitutes. The twist, of course, is that Dexter is a serial killer himself. Not the serial killer currently being hunted by the police, but a serial killer, nonetheless.

In general, I stay away from novels about serial killers and anything that could be filed under "True Crime". Although I do read scary books, I consider myself a fan of "non-human" horror: I'll pick up "The Shining" while avoiding "Helter Skelter", mainly because of the level of human cruelty and gore that is usually involved. That said, I doubt it's possible to write a book about a serial killer - let alone a book about two serial killers - without some descriptions of grotesque violence. However the author, Jeff Lindsay, does keep the descriptions to a minimum and doesn't indulge in gratuitous descriptions of gore just for the shock effect.

In any case, in my opinion the reason to read "Dexter" is not the high-tension police chase or the body count, but Dexter's continuous inner-monologue. Lindsay does an excellent job of giving a voice to someone who does not see himself as a human being at all. Dexter is a self aware - and self described - monster with the intelligence to mimic human behavior, even when he doesn't understand it. He spends a great deal of time studying humans in order to "pass" as one himself. This gives him a strangely objective view of his own motivations and his honest descriptions of the inner places he falls short of being human are the most chilling parts of the book. Dexter might be a terrifying figure when he's holding a knife, but he is even scarier when he confesses to being "pretty sure" that he doesn't want the other serial killer to slaughter someone Dexter knows. Dexter is too self-aware to hide from himself that he identifies with the unknown killer and would love to join him and "play", while at the same time he is too sociopathic to find that admission disturbing. He just admits it to himself, without judgment, and moves on.

I will search out the other "Dexter" books by Jeff Lindsay, not because they are amazing examples of police procedurals, but because Dexter Morgan is one of the most unique characters I've ever come across.
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Jan 27, 2011 Alice rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: fans of the TV show, people sick of serial killer books from the "good guys'" side

Recommended to Alice by: a lot of people who read I Am Not a Serial Killer

Shelves: 2011, audio, library, mystery, thriller, humor

It's always difficult to listen to a book with a tight narrative. It makes me not want to leave my car, so I can keep listening.

I picked this one up based on reviewers' comparisons of it to Dan Wells' I Am Not a Serial Killer. While I can see where a superficial skim of the back blurb might bring about that conclusion, it seems shallow, to me. Yes, there are inevitable comparisons, as serial killers often share many traits. But John Wayne Cleaver and Dexter Morgan are two very different people.

W...more

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Apr 24, 2008 le-trombone rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction-mystery

It's probably impossible by now to not know that Dexter is a serial killer, but just in case you picked up this book without knowing it, the book opens with Dexter picking up his victim, showing him why Dexter picked him up (the evidence of his own killings is laid out before him), and the final killing, all clinically described.

Dexter Morgan is a serial killer who restricts himself to other serial killers. Because he works for the Miami police department as a blood spatter expert, this takes th...more

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Apr 18, 2008 Katharine rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-2007, read-2008

Darkly Dreaming Dexter is a 2004 novel by Jeff Lindsay. It has formed the basis of the Showtime television series Dexter.
The novel's protagonist, Dexter Morgan, is a young man who works for the Miami Police Department as a forensic blood spatter pattern analyst. In his spare time, Dexter is a serial killer with a catch: he only kills people, always murderers, he believes have escaped from judicial punishment.

Dexter also has an inner voice he refers to as the "Dark Passenger," who keeps prodding...more

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Apr 06, 2008 Sherry rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Well, I guess everyone has there dirty little secrets. Mine is that I really like this TV show, and when I saw the book I couldn't resist picking it up and reading it. I whipped through it in basically one sitting, about 3 hours, so you know it wasn't the deepest book. Still, it explained a lot about who Dexter is that they can't cram into a weekly 1-hour show. Dexter is the ultimate damaged kid who grows up into a sociopath and becomes a serial killer who only kills people who he knows have kil...more

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Jan 04, 2008 Mike rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: people

Recommended to Mike by: showtime

Well, I watched the TV show first which kind of removes the suspense from the mystery-suspense novel. But I had the book on my shelf for awhile and it needed to be moved from the unred to read pile. One of the biggest problems with reading a book after seeing the television show is that all of the characters are inextricably linked to their television counterparts. I found myself hating the Deb character and I really hated her in the show, but Dexter was amazing in the show and that made me like...more

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Mar 25, 2008 Ritz rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Israel, Kitty Wu, a quien le guste la serie y a quien le gusten los thrillers

Shelves: autor_l_m, horror_suspenso_terror_thrillers

Leí El Oscuro Pasajero como intermedio de Rant. Llegué al libro por la televisión.

Resulta que existe una serie llamada DEXTER , que ha sido un batacazo para Showtime y ¡yo la amo! Trata sobre un asesino en serie que sólo mata a asesinos en serie que el sistema no atrapa. Recomiendo altamente la serie que ya tiene su segunda temporada, es divina y tiene unas actuaciones supremas, comenzando por Michael C. Hall, el protagonista.

Resulta que la serie para televisión es la adaptación de una trilogía...more

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Nov 25, 2007 Matimate rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: detective, 2007

It is hard to say if it is better to read the book and then watch the TV or vice versa. My friend Dinofly recommended me the TV series Dexter as good detective story with hint of deviations, which could make my day little bit darker. The main character and narrator of the story is Dexter Morgan who tried to pass for ordinary guy. He had his job as forensic technician, nice girlfriend and loving sister, however there is one big BUT. Dexter is serial killer with style. He kills easily and with pre...more It is hard to say if it is better to read the book and then watch the TV or vice versa. My friend Dinofly recommended me the TV series Dexter as good detective story with hint of deviations, which could make my day little bit darker. The main character and narrator of the story is Dexter Morgan who tried to pass for ordinary guy. He had his job as forensic technician, nice girlfriend and loving sister, however there is one big BUT. Dexter is serial killer with style. He kills easily and with precise of surgeon and he likes to kill. His alter ego or darker friend called dark passenger is feeding his hunger for the blood. However it was not Dexter, who is the utter villain and evildoer of the book. Dexter was adopted as a small child by good and honest Miami cop Harry Morgan, who found the boy on the gory crime scene and rose him along his daughter. He spotted Dexter strangeness enough to train him to check his urges. I like the part where Henri was instructing little Dexter about killing of the evildoers who escaped the justice (homicidal paedophiles, angel of death aka certain nurse and such trash of the society). Debbie, Dexter's stepsister was slowly climbing up to the career ladder and she was constantly bullied by very dumb femme fatale LaGuerta. Rita, Dexter's girlfriend disguise for normal life, had history of domestic violence and she was absolutely not interested in intimate relationship as well as Dexter. Two of her kids were as strange as whole bunch. Yes, there is also the serial murdered who played deadly game with Dexter and who brought the surprise to the book. The killer made the object dart from his kills and bloodless bodies struck the horror trough Miami. I had strange feeling that the book is somehow too slow in its first half and then too rushed in the last fifty pages. The gore is nicely depicted and the twisted thoughts were very natural to some point. I think author had to do deep research in that matter. And one thing,to have a brother is not always a good thing, even if it is the only living relative of yours. (less)

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Sep 26, 2007 Scrappyia rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Yes

This book follows Dexter, a serial killing blood spatter analyst, on his adventures in killing those who 'deserve it'. He researches his victims, who usually consist of people who kill others for the "wrong" reasons. He, especially, doesn't like when the bad guys kill children so he'll stalk them and research them till he is a 100% sure they're guilty and then takes care of them for good. One can't help but root for Dexter as he takes down and destroys the worst of the worst.

This book, the firs...more

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Jan 02, 2013 Victoria rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: books-in-a-series, mystery-thriller, serial-killer

Oh! I REALLY enjoyed this book! My fiance and I just finished watching the first season of the television show on Showtime, and I was so excited to learn that it was a book first. It had so much of the cadence of the show - or, rather, I suppose it should be the other way around, but since I saw the show first, Dexter's inner narrative sounds like Michael C. Hall's voice to me... Anyways, the narrative presence is so strong... all in all making this a truly excellent book. And the differences be...more

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Dec 21, 2007 Shannon rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: those who haven't watched the tv series

Generally I'm of the mindset that books are better than books-turned-into-movies-and/or-tv-shows. By reading I can visualize so much more than by watching something on TV which can be flawed by an actor's or director's interpretation. That said, I much prefer Dexter the Showtime Original Series to Darkly Dreaming Dexter.
I watched the whole first season of Dexter and loved it. The storylines are intricate and interesting and the characters well-developed (although I do despise Rita). While shopp...more

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Apr 23, 2011 Lisa rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: books-i-own, 1-books, twisted-up-stuff, crime, adult, unexpected-disappointment, horror

What ruined this book for me was the ending. It was too out of the blue and very soap opera-ish. More so than the 'Luke, I am your faaaaatherrrr' drama. I liked where it was going before it ended, to say the least. It was fun to read, really well written, but the ending was a big '... seriously? You went for that?' kind of moment.

Also for anyone who says the TV series is better than the book... you couldn't be more right. The TV series managed to take everything good in this book, and the bad t...more

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About Jeff Lindsay

Jeff Lindsay is the pen name of an American crime writer, Jeffry P. Freundlich, who lives in Cape Coral, Florida with his wife, author Hilary Hemingway, daughter of Leicester Hemingway, Ernest Hemingway's brother.

Lindsay is best known for writing the Dexter series of novels. Many of his earlier published works include his wife as a co-author. Time Blender was written with Michael Dorn. He graduat...more

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Quotes from Darkly Dreaming Dexter

“I'm not sure what I am. I just know there's something dark in me. I hide it. I certainly don't talk about it, but it's there always, this Dark Passenger. And when he's driving, I feel alive, half sick with the thrill of complete wrongness. I don't fight him, I don't want to. He's all I've got. Nothing else could love me, not even... especially not me. Or is that just a lie the Dark Passenger tells me? Because lately there are these moments when I feel connected to something else... someone. It's like the mask is slipping and things... people... who never mattered before are suddenly starting to matter. It scares the hell out of me.” — 155 people liked it

“Weren't we all crazy in our sleep? What was sleep, after all, but the process by which we dumped our insanity into a dark subconscious pit and came out on the other side ready to eat cereal instead of our neighbor's children?” — 151 people liked it

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Darkly Dreaming Dexter (Dexter #1)

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