Dexter Is Delicious by Jeff Lindsay

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • Dexter Morgan’s neatly organized life as a blood spatter analyst for the Miami Police, devoted husband and father, and killer of only those who deserve it is turned upside down by the arrival of his new daughter, Lily Anne. • The Killer Character That Inspired the Hit Showtime Series Dexter Feeling surprisingly sunny and loving, he’s trying to suppress the influence of his Dark Passenger—the voice inside who guides his homicidal urges. But Dexter is summoned to investigate the disappearance of a seventeen-year-old girl who has been running with a bizarre group of goths who fancy themselves to be vampires. As Dexter gets closer to the truth of what happened to the missing girl, he realizes they are not really vampires, but cannibals. And most disturbing, these people have their eyes on Dexter ... and their mouths are watering.

I'm not a giant fan of the Dexter franchise, but it's always sparked my curiosity. I've watched a couple of episodes of the first season of the TV show and flipped through the first couple pages of some of the books. So, I wasn't sure how I would feel about this book, as most of the readers seem to be long term fans.

In short, this was a fun romp. The story was much more imaginative than your run-of-the-mill mystery series. The writing was mostly pedestrian, but with some entertaining turns of phrase (mostly alliteration).

The theme of family and the contrasts between families of choice and families of biology was not particularly subtle, but was interesting.

I've read a lot of reviews about the mysticism with which Lindsay imbues the “dark passenger,” but I felt kind of ambivalent to the idea that there was a separate entity in Dexter that wanted to kill. It worked as a metaphor. I would have disliked it as more than a metaphor, but Lindsay never really pushed that point.

All in all, this was an entertaining, quick read. It would be a top notch airport or beach book and was good enough that I wasn't embarrassed to be reading it during my commute. It's better than the vast majority of serial mystery books out there, but it doesn't reach the ranks of Great Literature of Our Times (nor does it strive to.)

Way different than the TV show, but I enjoyed this well enough.

Pros: lyrical writing, introspective, darkly fun

Cons: predictable

Dexter is astonished that upon the birth of his daughter his homicidal instincts desert him for more... human... ones. Suddenly he wants to be Dex-Daddy, hang up his knives and steer Astor and Cody away from the dark path.

But life intrudes in the form of his sister and a possible kidnapping/murder case involving cannibals. And a figure from his past starts to become cozy with his family, leaving Dexter disoriented.

This is a lighthearted novel that examines the darker side of life. Like the others in the series, it's light on the gore and heavy on the lyrical writing. Unlike the previous books, Dexter develops actual feelings. It's fun watching him reevaluate life and try to understand emotions he's only faked before.

While the story gets predictable towards the end there were some good twists I didn't see coming, like an unexpected request by Deborah.

One of the best of the series.

Such an improvement on the last 2 books. Probably one of my favorite installments since the first novel. So many life changing moments from all the characters framed in Dexters classic, cynical way. It's a great, interesting read.