The Book Report: Darkly Dreaming Dexter

When I did my best and worst in 2005 on books I got some pretty positive feedback on the idea of writing some book reviews since I read all the freaking time, and we've got a couple people already covering film and music really damn well. I think Chris, KW, and I tackle the television world fairly well. So, here I am with what I hope is the first of many book reviews. Hope you guys enjoy; if you don't, let me know and I will stop.

DARKLY DREAMING DEXTER (2005) by Jeff Lindsay

Dexter Morgan is a highly, respected lab technician specializing in blood splatter for the Miami Dade Police Department. He's got a unique view of the world of serial killers, and has helped the police catch many of the more notorious ones in the past. Why does he possess this high intellect on the subject? Probably because he's a serial killer himself. What seperates him from most though is that he is only killing other serial killers.

When a new serial killer pops up in the sunny city, Dexter is stuck in a weird situation when he realizes the killings pattern the exact same way he handles his business. Is this someone who knows his secret? Is Dexter's "Dark Passenger," as he calls his kill instinct, taking complete control of his body, and he's actually the one doing this and doesn't even know it?

It amazes me that the concept of a serial killer only killing his own kind isn't an old hat in storytelling. It's such a wild concept; it's also a very broad one that in the wrong writer's hands would blow up in his face. Screenwriter Billy Ray attempted this same type of story in the less than stellar film, "Suspect Zero," from a couple years back. Thankfully Lindsay is a better writer than that, and actually makes a ludicrous concept like this work pretty well.

It's a tough challenge to make us feel okay with what our main character is doing behind closed doors even if in a weird way it's for a good cause. But Lindsay doesn't even take the easy way out here. He doesn't present Dexter as a guy who thinks he's being patriotic or something. Dexter is a sick, sick boy who will kill no matter what; at least by focusing his targets on other killers, he's helping the world out a little bit while getting off at the same time. Lindsay makes it work. You really do kind of fall in love with the sick fuck by the end of the book which is the first in a new series; "Dearly Devoted Dexter" already came out just a few months ago making Lindsay a 2 book author in 2005.

Lindsay also does a good job where a lot of mystery writers fail by giving us a great rag tag group of characters that encompass Dexter's world. We get his sister, Deborah, who is a police officer trying her hardest to make the homicide squad and uses Dexter's "Holmes esque" gifts on occasion to help herself move up the ladder. His fellow lab techs are a melting pot of unique personalities and add a lot of comic relief to the story. They of course have not a clue what he's up to. The only one with knowledge is his father who has died a few years before the story starts at the hands of a deranged nurse when he was in the hospital for cancer treatment. The nurse became the first victim of Dexter's sadistic hobby.

This is by far one of the most original debut mystery novels, and it really does give a breath of fresh air to a genre that has been slowly killing itself (no pun intended). What few flaws the book possesses really don't bother you much; the creative hook of the novel rises far above them. If I had to point out some problems, the main one would be the resolution becomes a little too obvious about halfway in. But with as many mystery novels as I've read in my lifetime, I usually have them figured out pretty quick. So, maybe the occassional reader will be wowed by the punch at the end.

Linsay is a very gifted writer, and he has created a pretty cool world here. I'm looking forward to reading Dexter's further adventures; how he will keep him out of the suspect arena for very long will be interesting to discover along the way. I highly reccomend the book, and it's pretty short too (285 pgs.), so even if you're a slow reader you'll probably have it done in a couple of weeks.

Next Up: Stephen King's new one, "CELL."