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Darkly Dreaming Dexter

(Dexter #1)

Jeff Lindsay (Goodreads Author)

3.88 · Rating details · 196,898 ratings · 6,554 reviews

Meet Dexter Morgan, a polite wolf in sheep's clothing. He's handsome and charming, but something in his past has made him abide by a different set of rules. He's a serial killer whose one golden rule makes him immensely likeable: he only kills bad people. And his job as a blood splatter expert for the Miami police department puts him in the perfect position to identify his ...more

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Paperback, Media Tie-In; Vintage Crime / Black Lizard, 288 pages

Published September 19th 2006 by Vintage Books (first published July 10th 2004)

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Aug 01, 2013 Jayson rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: genre-thriller, genre-horror, read-in-2012, genre-antihero, genre-mystery, genre-crime, 200-299-pp, author-american

(A-) 82% | Very Good
Notes: An economical, almost skeleton series introduction: claustrophobic and bustling, it limits facts to plot and never lags.

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May 02, 2008 Daniel rated it did not like it

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." 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. ...more

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Aug 31, 2017 PirateSteve rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Jarringly Jolly Jeff Lindsay has given his Rascally Rabid Readers a serial killer to cheer for.

Hellishly Haunted Harry knew early on that his young son had a personality disorder. e.g. sociopath/ psychopath/ up and coming serial killer.
With that in mind, Hollow Headed Harry figures if child rearing has given him a lemon.... make lemonade.
So Highly Helpful Harry steers his son on a course that he hopes will keep him from a lifetime of incarceration.
Fast forward to present day and Disturbingly ...more

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Apr 05, 2015 Ahmad Sharabiani rated it really liked it

Shelves: crime-mystery, fiction, united-states, 21th-century, horror

Darkly dreaming Dexter (Dexter, #1), c2004, Jeff Lindsay

Darkly Dreaming Dexter is a 2004 novel by Jeff Lindsay, the first in his series about serial killer Dexter Morgan. It formed the basis of the Showtime television series Dexter and won the 2005 Dilys Award and the 2007 Book to TV award.

The novel's protagonist, Dexter Morgan, works for the Miami-Dade Police Department as a forensic blood spatter analyst.

In his spare time, Dexter is a serial killer who kills murderers, rapists, child molester Darkly dreaming Dexter (Dexter, #1), c2004, Jeff Lindsay

Darkly Dreaming Dexter is a 2004 novel by Jeff Lindsay, the first in his series about serial killer Dexter Morgan. It formed the basis of the Showtime television series Dexter and won the 2005 Dilys Award and the 2007 Book to TV award.

The novel's protagonist, Dexter Morgan, works for the Miami-Dade Police Department as a forensic blood spatter analyst.

In his spare time, Dexter is a serial killer who kills murderers, rapists, child molesters and other undesirables that he believes the legal system has failed to stop.

Dexter's murders are directed by an inner voice that he refers to as "The Dark Passenger", which keeps prodding Dexter to satisfy his homicidal urges on a regular basis.

Once he has done so, the voice is placated for a while, but it always eventually comes back.

Flashbacks reveal that his foster father, an esteemed police detective named Harry Morgan, recognized early on that Dexter was a violent sociopath with an innate need to kill, and taught him how to kill people who had gotten away with horrific crimes as a way to channel his homicidal urges in a "positive" direction.

‏عنوانها: «تاریک رویاهای دکستر»؛ «دکستر قاتل خوابگرد»؛ نویسنده: جف لیندزی (جفری پی. لینزی)؛ تاریخ نخستین خوانش: روز دوم ماه اکتبر سال 2016میلادی

عنوان: تاریک رویاهای دکستر جلد یک؛ نویسنده: جف لیندزی (جفری پی لینزی)؛ مترجم: رضا جهان آبادی؛ رضا محمدیان؛ مشخصات نشر تهران، منتشران اندیشه، 1393، در 285ص، فروست مجموعه رمان های دکستر، شابک 9786009430697؛ موضوع: داستانهای نویسندگان امریکایی - سده 21م

عنوان: دکستر قاتل خوابگرد جلد یک؛ نویسنده: جف لیندسی (جفری پی لینزی)؛ مترجم: آراز بارسقیان؛ مشخصات نشر تهران، انتشارات میلکان، 1393، در 260ص، شابک: 9786007443392؛

روایتی است از زندگی «دکستر مورگان»، قاتلی زنجیره‌ ای، که در دایره ی جنایی «گلیس میامی»، با عنوان «کارشناس تحلیل آثار خون»؛ کار می‌کند؛ «هری مورگان» پلیس پیشین دایره‌ ی جنایی شهر «میامی»، و پدر خوانده‌ ی وی، با شناختی که از دوران نوجوانی «دکستر» به دست می‌آورد، و فوران نیاز او به کشتن را، مهار ناشدنی می‌یابد؛ با آموزش به او، و جهت دادن به قتل‌های وی، سعی می‌کند «دکستر» را به قاتل قاتلان، و متجاوزان، بدل کند؛ «دکستر» نیز، که خود را «موجودی سرد و بی‌روح» می‌داند، می‌خواهد: «از دل هرج و مرج، نظم را بیرون کشد»؛ اما ماجرا هنگامی پیچیده می‌شوند، که پلیس «میامی»، در پی قاتل قتل‌های سریالی است؛ قتلهایی که شباهت‌های بسیاری به قتل‌های «دکستر» دارند و ...؛

تاریخ بهنگام رسانی 19/11/1399هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی ...more

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Sep 08, 2017 Anne rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: thriller-suspense, mystery, read-in-2017

Ok, well. I'm coming at this from an entirely different angle than most of my friends because I've never seen the tv show (GASP! Amirite?). So, I have nothing to compare the book to...other than the book.
BUT.
Having said that, I only read this because I'd heard about the show and how faboo it supposedly was.

description

Also, one thing I should mention is that I rare to never read mystery/thrillers, so I don't know how this stacks up to the other popular stuff in this genre. Admittedly, I shy away from stuff ...more

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Oct 10, 2017 Kelly (and the Book Boar) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: black-as-mitchell-s-heart, favorites, like-this-or-we-cant-be-friends, mc-i-love-but-am-supposed-to-hate, liburrrrrry-book, read-in-2017, mommy-issues, smilings-my-favorite, crunken-love, or-just-watch-the-movie

Find all of my reviews at: http://52bookminimum.blogspot.com/

I am now so far behind in reviewing that all of my read-but-not-yet-reviewed selections can't fit on my home page. Bonus this go 'round is somehow I didn’t even manage to mark this one down as something I was reading at all (#failure).

But wait, you ain’t seen NUTTIN’ yet. Not only have I never read Dexter, but I have never seen an episode of the highly acclaimed television series either . . . .

Yeah yeah yeah . . . .

Since I ...more

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Apr 08, 2010 Stephen rated it liked it

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

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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May 30, 2010 Lou rated it it was amazing

Shelves: serial-killers, mystery-thriller

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.
...more

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May 24, 2012 Delee rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: reviewed, psycho-killer-quest-ce-que-cest, mystery, horror-medium-rare-not-too-bloody, own, ivonne-is-a-big-chicken, thriller, first-in-a-series, not-for-the-squeamish-reader

This review is brought to you by the letter D.

photo a145c5b8-e2a6-451c-b109-4d9f57e0cbd7_zps4f6d7c3b.jpg

Dexter is a delightfully demented and dynamic dude...

photo dff8a401-42f7-4765-a9e3-8911a808de73_zps514cb45e.jpg

Well now that is enough of that...

Dexter Morgan is a blood spatter pattern analyst for the Miami-Dade Police Department, but in his spare time he enjoys boating, eating donuts, spending time with his foster sister Deborah, playing with his girlfriend Rita's children...oh and killing people. Dexter lives by a code, "The Code of Harry". Before Harry Morgan -Dexter's foster father- died, he taught his ...more

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Dec 21, 2007 Liza H rated it really liked it

Shelves: done

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. 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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Dec 01, 2016 Brittany rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: zchallenge-2016, thriller, horror, fiction, mystery, 5-stars, action, psychological-thriller, reviews

I have wanted to read this book FOREVER! And I'm so glad that I finally did. I loved Dexter the tv show first, so it was great to be able to read what started it all. I have a high appreciation for both the book and the tv show. I can see why certain liberties were made with the tv show and how it worked with the overall feel of the story!

Dexter is a serial killer that happens to work for a police department as a blood splatter analyst; he also happens to kill other serial killers that slip thr ...more

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Oct 12, 2015 Mario rated it really liked it

I'm a very neat monster.

I'm really ashamed to say that it took me two weeks to read this book. Two weeks for a 280 pages book! I mean, yeah, the university has been kicking my ass, but still, that is no excuse.

This book is about Dexter, our friendly neighbourhood serial killer. Since I've seen the TV series, I knew even before I started this book that I was going to like it. And I did. It didn't blow my mind or anything, but it was still a pretty great book. It started off great, middle did drag ...more

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Jul 04, 2008 Shannon (Giraffe Days) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: crime, psychological-thriller, fiction, 2008

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 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. ...more

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Jun 15, 2007 Chloe rated it it was amazing

Recommends it for: Those who love to root for the bad guy

Shelves: mystery-crime-thriller, fiction

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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Sep 24, 2007 Lori rated it it was amazing

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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Mar 09, 2015 Edward Lorn rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Recommends it for: Thriller and serial killer fans

Recommended to Edward by: John

This is going to be a short review.

I've heard people say that the books are better than the series, but I don't agree. I think they are equally enjoyable, and given how much they branch away from each other come season two/book two, it's easy to call them completely different monsters. The show goes off the rails around season four, and the books become illogical after book two, but both the series are fun, to a point. The final season of the Showtime series was such a disappointment that it is ...more

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Dec 30, 2015 Mike rated it really liked it

I sill enjoyed reading Darkly Dreaming Dexter even though I knew what was gong to happen. Because I have watched most of the first season of Dexter on dvd. The good thing is I haven't watch any of the other seasons of Dexter on dvd. So the rest of the books in the series will be new to me. Will read one a month until I finish the series. Only seven more to go, looking forward to it. I gave Darkly Dreaming Dexter 4 stars. ...more

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Apr 15, 2015 Briar's Reviews rated it it was amazing

Shelves: crime-mystery-suspense, top-books

Anyone who was a fan of the Dexter series, Bones, CSI or NCIS should pick up this novel!

Darkly Dreaming Dexter is a fun, sarcastic crime novel. Instead of following a detective, this novel follows a serial killer, who is trying to catch another serial killer!

I decided to read this book after I watched some of the Dexter television series. Anyone who has watched the series, should know the first book is the first season of the show. The two are almost identical, minus a few changes to make the te ...more

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Sep 02, 2017 Vivian rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Recommended to Vivian by: PirateSteve

Shelves: library, suspense, thriller, 2017-odyssey

Anybody can be charming if they don't mind faking it, saying all the stupid, obvious, nauseating things that a conscience keeps most people from saying. Happily, I don't have a conscience. I say them.

And this is both charming and terrifying to read. Delightfully so. Just the right amount of shivers tingling up your spine. Mimicry is such a useful tool and Dexter is quite adept at it. Frankly, I find him refreshing and certainly less boring than most. The puzzles and tidiness, I do like them ...more

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Aug 08, 2011 Kim rated it liked it · review of another edition

Recommended to Kim by: Michael

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

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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Jun 02, 2015 Ashley rated it it was amazing

I binge watched Dexter on Netflix a couple years ago and was hoping I would love the books just as much as I loved the television series. As usual, I think I like the book (at least the first one) even better! You really get inside Dexter's head in the book since it is entirely told from his perspective with his mental commentary splashed throughout. He really does have quite the sense of humor. I'm glad I decided to try out the book, and I cannot wait to read the others as well. ...more

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Jun 11, 2009 Shelby *trains flying monkeys* rated it really liked it

Shelves: read-2006, serial-killer-dude

Book with a whole new idea. I actually rooted for the not so bad guy!

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Jul 12, 2007 Brooke rated it really liked it · review of another edition

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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Sep 21, 2013 Rubi rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: ebook, read-in-english, dexter, from-books-to-screen

Brilliant! What a character to adore: so fresh, crazy, ironic, scathing... I love Dexter!

I haven't seen the TV adaptation but if the book is like this, I can imagine it will be very good too...Maybe some day...
I have enjoyed a lot this first book. The way is written without separating the dialogues, the well-defined characters, their sarcastic names like "Sangre" or "LaGuerta" (what makes me think of "lagarta" in spanish eheh), the sentences in spanish, Dexter's thoughts and dreams...

It is a ver ...more

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Sep 12, 2012 Bark | Ladies Of Horror Fiction rated it really liked it · 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 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. ...more

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Nov 01, 2007 Lauryl rated it it was ok

Recommends it for: people who like thrillers who don't watch the show

Shelves: pulp, mystery-crime, fiction

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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Jul 02, 2008 notyourmonkey rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: genre-general-fiction, genre-crime-true-and-otherwise, 2008, belongsto-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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Sep 29, 2017 Amirography rated it really liked it

Shelves: by-the-bed-books, novels

A page-turner. I'm a bit hazy on the ending of this book. But I will read the sequels.
I rather enjoyed the book, the narration and the descriptions. Though many aspects of this book are non-scientific, it is enjoyable nonetheless. ...more

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Apr 14, 2018 Becky rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: humorous, reviewed, the_south, 2018, ebook_kindle, mystery-and-thrillers

OK, so I will just get this out of the way: I have NOT seen the show. I don't know a thing about it, except, of course, that Dexter is a murderer. So I had nothing to go on when I started this, which is the way that I like it.

Now that I've read it, I guess I can see why it was made into a show, but I admit that I was a bit let down by it. Not that it was a bad book... I basically read it straight through in two chunks (I had to pause in the middle for my bookclub book) and it was compelling eno ...more

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May 13, 2020 Baba rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: thrills-spills-kills-oh-my

Dexter, book No. 1.: The first Dexter book, from which the TV series is based, features the 'Ice-Box Killer', and introduces Dexter Morgan the blood spatter criminologist and part-time serial killer with a heart; his sister Deborah Morgan, a beat cop aspiring to be a detective; and the eclectic cast of characters serving at Miami PD. A lot like the TV series in places but also markedly different at times, and overall quite readable. 6 out of 12

...more

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About Jeff Lindsay

Jeff Lindsay

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Jeff Lindsay lives in 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. Several of his earlier published works include his wife as a co-author.

Jeff graduated from Middlebury College, Vermont, in 1975, and Celebration Mime Theatre's Clown School the same year. He received a doub ...more

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“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?” — 280 likes

“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.” — 262 likes

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