Darkly Dreaming Dexter is a serial killer who kills serial killers

Jeff Lindsay’s Darkly Dreaming Dexter (2001) is a very twisted story about a serial killer who happens to be a forensic scientist with the Miami Police Department. This novel was the inspiration for the series Dexter which currently airs on Showtime.

The story begins with Dexter hiding outside a church where he is waiting on a priest. Dexter hides out in the priest’s car and kidnaps him when he gets inside. Then Dexter instructs the priest to drive out to a little deserted house in the middle of nowhere. As they pull into the old driveway, several graves can be seen behind the house. Dexter then leads the priest inside the house to find the bodies of several small children laid out on display.

At this point, you’re probably thinking that Dexter is a complete psychopath who likes to torment his victims. If so, you’re absolutely right, but there is a twist. You see, Dexter did not kill those kids – the priest did – and Dexter is there to show the priest what happens to people that hurt children. After the priest is killed, we learn that Dexter is the kind of serial killer who only kills other killers. Being that he works in the forensics unit of the Miami PD, he goes by the forensic evidence to determine guilt, regardless of what the courts decide.

The main plot of this story involves a series of brutal murders where the killer has been leaving clues to taunt the police investigators as well as Dexter. The officers investigating the case don’t really know how to handle the situation, while Dexter quietly admires the killer’s work as a form of art. Dexter also raises a few eyebrows when he lets the others in on his own idea of what might be motivating the other killer.

I thought this story was absolutely delicious. It’s written in the first person perspective, so a majority of the narrative comes right out of Dexter’s thoughts. He’s a completely emotionless and empty person who has learned how to be charming and friendly. In order to keep killing, he has to learn how to control his lack of emotions enough to fake them when needed. The way he approaches his reactions sort of reminded me of Spock or Data from Star Trek, and much of it is quite funny, though very dark.

The author did a great job of creating the Dexter character, but the other characters suffered for it. While Dexter is fully developed and rich with character traits and personality quirks, most of the other characters were a little too cookie cutter for this kind of story. For example, there are gorgeous female cops who seem oblivious of their beauty as well as inept leaders who can’t see a clue when it’s dropping blood on their boots. Despite some flaws, it’s the way that Dexter lets us into his mind that makes this novel worth reading.

I thought author Jeff Lindsay did a great job with his narration as well as his use of imagery to tell the story. It begins and ends with references to the moon, which is an obvious reference to The Wolf Man. This story deals a lot with schizophrenia and the driving forces that push people to do certain things, and I thought the subtle Wolf Man references were very clever. This is Lindsay’s debut novel and I am definitely interested in seeing what he will write next. I loved the alliteration in the title of this book, and it reflects one of the many nicknames that Dexter gives to himself throughout the story.

Darkly Dreaming Dexter is not a story for everyone because it is rather brutal, gory, and very twisted. If you can stomach this sort of thing, I think you might find it to be a delightful little book. The sequel, Dearly Dreaming Dexter, was published in 2005, and a third novel is to be released sometime later this year.