Darkly Dreaming Dexter - Book Review

I recall, back in 2006, I was on a bit of a slasher binge-streak when I was reading Bret Easton Ellis' American Psycho. I had heard about a show coming out that was about a serial killer in Miami who eerily reminded me of Ted Bundy and was excited to see what it was all about. It would be a few years before I would see the show, but I remember desperately wanting to get my grubby mitts on this book. It took me a while, but I finally got to see what the fuss was all about. When I told people I was reading this, I was surprised by the fact that so many people didn't realize this series first started out as books. It's fairly rare when a person finds a story that is better told on film or TV in comparison to its written origins, but I think this one takes the cake. Looking back, it's hard to believe this is what started an entire television series and franchise.

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General Information

Darkly Dreaming Dexter is a mystery novel published in July 2004 and written by Jeff Lindsay. It holds a 3.8/5 star rating on Goodreads and a C grade on Entertainment Weekly. It is the sixth book by Lindsay, but the first entry in what would become an 8-book series. I was frankly surprised to see that Lindsay had written so many novels prior to this as I had always assumed Darkly Dreaming Dexter was his first book. In 2013, Lindsay wrote a five-issue comic book for Marvel Comics that further told Dexter's story, however Lindsay's franchise is now best known for its Showtime series, Dexter, which ran from 2006 to 2013 for eight seasons. According to Entertainment Tonight, Dexter will return for a final ninth season in the fall of 2021.

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Michael C. Hall absolutely kills it as Dexter in the Showtime adaptation

The Story

Dexter Morgan is a bloodstain pattern analyst for Miami-Dade Police Department's homicide division. When he's not busy solving crimes, he's actively engaged in targeting and butchering his own victims who are typically violent criminals. Dexter is neat and creepily good at hiding his true self from his colleagues at work, but his worlds begin to fold into one another when a new serial killer, the Tamiami Slasher, shows up and begins to leave a trail of bloodless body parts in its wake. This new killer is different than anything Dexter has encountered before, and his investigation into the murderer's identity leads him to unearthing things about his past that may change him forever.

Like American Psycho, the entirety of this takes place from Dexter's point of view, which offers a very interesting premise for readers as we get to see how Dexter views and interacts with his world as a highly-functioning sociopath. The idea that Dexter is also a forensic expert on bloodstains only enhances this premise as it makes him ideal for the kind of murder mysteries this book presents. Unfortunately, the story lacks much urgency and major points throughout it land dully as they're never fully expanded upon. Some of this comes from the fact that the story is entirely from Dexter's perspective, but I mainly lay the blame at the feet of the poor direction of where the story goes. Dexter never really does much deep investigation or forensic analysis. We certainly hear how great he is at catching killers (both officially and unofficially), but we don't get to see much of it actually happen. If the only point of view is uninterested in the plot, then it will eventually wear down the reader as well.

One of the things I arguably hated most about this book was the awful execution of its climax and falling action. Without going into spoilers, the book's climax ends abruptly and immediately leads into an epilogue that fails to explore any of the major conflict seen in that climax. It honestly felt like Lindsay got bored with his own book and just decided to end it prematurely. This tail-end crash exemplifies the poor pacing that can be found throughout this novel and essentially kills any of its momentum.

The Characters

Dexter offers the cool premise of looking at the world and people through the eyes of a killer, however this premise is squandered when all of the characters lack any depth or personality beyond a single trait. Doakes is the angry black man; Deborah wants to get out of vice; Rita has intimacy issues; and Angel is a medical examiner. Detective LaGuerta is the most developed supporting character, but even she is hilariously inept. I never cared about any of the characters, which caused me to be even more apathetic by the time the climax smashed into a brick wall. 

Dexter, himself, is not much better as there are times where he is seemingly omniscient, but too lazy to actively pursue the plot. There are entire segments of the book in which Dexter shows up at the right place and time merely because of hunches (aka the plot demanded it). Hunches are fine to an extent, but when they do the bulk of the heavy lifting, I start to question whether Dexter has psychic powers. Beyond his detective skills, Dexter is fairly boring and frequently just waits for clues to present themselves to him, rather than seeking them out. By the time we get to see any signs of character growth, it's quickly waved away so we can get back to the main story.

The Best of the Best: The unique premise for a serial killer that hunts other killers.

The Worst of the Worst: The lack of character development across the board.

Calhooey Score: 3/10 - Bad

Would I Recommend?

It's because of the poor character development and poorly paced plot that I honestly thought that this was Lindsay's first book, which is a harsh thing to say, but it surprises me that such a successful author could err in such ways. This work pales in comparison to its show in every way and I would only recommend it to those that absolutely adored Dexter and wanted to see how the franchise got its start. If you want a good book about the perspective of a serial killer, read American Psycho. If the premise of this novel sounds good, watch the show instead.

-------------------------------------------------Spoiler Comments-----------------------------------------------------

• It was interesting seeing that the book actually examines LaGuerta's infatuation with Dexter as compared to how the show simply drops that plotline completely.
• Why is Rita even in this? I guess they'll have to discuss the blowjob in the second book.
• Dexter immediately dismissing the fake killer that LaGuerta arrested really bothered me. For someone that really wants to know who the Tamiami Slasher is, Dexter didn't even go talk to the guy claiming to be the killer. I guess his psychic powers told him he wasn't the real deal so we don't need to worry about it either.
• I let out a massive sigh when Dexter was able to convince LaGuerta to split up and look for clues inside the shipping container yard. For someone that was fully ready to arrest him, this decision made no sense.
• She sure took her time wandering the yard on her own too. I had nearly forgotten she was there when she finally showed up.
• Also, I get wanting to shoot Dexter and Brian after overhearing that they're both psychopaths, but what did Deborah ever do to LaGuerta?
• I guess Brian peacefully left Dexter and Deborah with no consequences and shouldn't be considered a threat because Dexter says so.

----------------------------------------------------References--------------------------------------------------

*Amazon. (n.d.). Darkly Dreaming Dexter book cover image. Retrieved from: https://www.amazon.es/Darkly-Dreaming-Dexter-Jeff-Lindsay/dp/0848833031.

**Waddington, L. (2020, November 19). Dexter television series cover image. Flickering Myth. Retrieved from: https://www.flickeringmyth.com/2020/11/showtimes-dexter-revival-series-has-found-its-director/.