Darkly Dreaming Dexter - Hardcover

Lindsay, Jeff

3.9

206,085 ratings by Goodreads

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0752866753 ISBN 13: 9780752866758

Publisher: Orion, 2004

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Dexter Morgan isn't exactly the kind of man you'd bring home to your mum. At heart, he's the perfect gentleman - he is supportive of his sister Deb, a Miami cop; he has a shy girlfriend and is liked by her young children. In fact, Dex seems to lead a quiet, normal life bordering on the mundane. Despite the fact that he can't stand the sight of blood, he works as a blood-spatter analyst for the Miami police.

But Dexter also has a secret hobby: he is an accomplished serial killer. So far, he's killed 36 people and has never been caught because he knows exactly how to hide the evidence. And while that may lead some people to assume he's not such a nice guy - he tempers his insatiable hunger for brutality by only killing the bad guys.

However, Dexter's well-organised life is suddenly disrupted when a second, much more visible serial killer appears in Miami. Intrigued that the other killer favours a style similar to his own, Dexter soon realises that the mysterious new arrival is not simply invading his turf but offering him a direct invitation to 'come out and play'...

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Review:

Meet Dexter Morgan, the chief protagonist of Darkly Dreaming Dexter. He's a highly respected lab technician specialising in blood spatter for the Miami Dade Police Department. He's a handsome, though reluctant, ladies' man. He's polite, says all the right things, and rarely draws attention to himself. He's also a sociopathic serial killer whose "Dark Passenger" drives him to commit the occasional dismemberment. Mind you, Dexter's the good guy in this story.

Adopted at the age of four after an unnamed tragedy left him orphaned, Dexter's learned, with help from his pragmatic policeman father, to channel his "gift", killing only those who deal in death themselves. But when a new serial killer starts working in Miami, staging elaborately grisly scenes that are, to Dexter, an obvious attempt at communication from one monster to another, the eponymous protagonist finds himself at a loss. Should he help his policewoman sister Deborah earn a promotion to the Homicide desk by finding the fiend? Or should he locate this new killer himself, so he can express his admiration for the other's "art"? Or is it possible that psycho Dexter himself, admittedly not the most balanced of fellows, is finally going completely insane and committing these messy crimes himself?

Despite his penchant for vivisection, it's hard not to like Dexter as his coldly logical personality struggles to emulate emotions he doesn't feel and to keep up his appearance as a caring, unremarkable human being. Debut author Jeff Lindsay's plot is tense and absorbing, but it's the voice of Dexter and his reactions to the other characters that make this one of the most original and highly recommended serial killer stories in a very long time. --Benjamin Reese, Amazon.com

Review:

Lindsay applies the thumbscrew with witty relish and draws the reader in from the outset... Articulate and ghoulish, Dexter is one of a kind and his adventures never fail to entertain... Annoyingly clever. (Maxim Jakubowski THE GUARDIAN)

'A psychopath with a sense of irony and even a vestigal conscience is a novelty and so is this tasteless but witty, entertaining romp.' (Suzanna Yager SUNDAY TELEGRAPH)

'Stylish, polished and very readable. Lindsay rattles off his story and does the job as professionally as Dexter does his.' (Andrea Henry DAILY MIRROR)

'A sleek black comedy' (Philip Oakes LITERARY REVIEW)

'In this debut novel, Lindsay has created many things - a mesmerising plot, stomach-turning gore, a fantastic read and the ultimate paradox, a serial killer you just can't help but love. It's the stuff dark dreams are made of.' (DAILY RECORD)

'At last a serial killer with an innovative variation� With a nice leavening of wit and macabre horror, Lindsay has written a memorable debut.' (MANCHESTER CITY LIFE)

'Beautifully written, witty and amusing... An interesting read, which is funny as well as bizarre.' (TANGLED WEB Bernard Knight)

'Part thriller, part police procedural and part black comedy - but the overall read is more than the sum of its parts.' (SUNDAY MERCURY)

'The best spine chiller this month has to be DARKLY DREAMING DEXTER, an excellent debut from Jeff Lindsay... A refreshing voice in the serial killer genre, it's a treat.' (THE BOOKSELLER)

'Articulate and ghoulish, Dexter is one of a kind and his adventures never fail to entertain... Annoyingly clever.' (Maxim Jakubowski THE GUARDIAN)

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