Customer Reviews
Great and Funny Book 
2008-06-09
Very Sarcastic (thats why I love this book), and make thing about the murder thing, HAHAHAHA (Unique hoobie by the way)
Entertaining 
2008-05-28
I never saw the TV series but I got the book just for fun. It's macabre, morbid, and in a very weird way, funny at the same time. If you live in Miami, or lived in Miami, the book has so many local references that it will make you feel you are there. Almost plausible that it could happen.
A very entertaining book.
For those who enjoy severed limbs 2008-05-19
Having seen the first season of the TV series before reading the book, it took away some of the suspense, but it was still a quick read, maybe too quick.
In Lindsay's book, Dexter is somewhat less charming to me than Michael C. Hall's portrayal. Sure, the author continually reminds us through his protaganist that Dexter indeed conveys charm to all around him, while still living under the shadow of his "Dark Passenger". Yet there's a real "American Psycho" feel to Dexter that comes across more strongly in the novel and can get a bit disturbing. I know it's not supposed to be taken too seriously but the graphic detail gets to be a bit much.
Lindsay does his best to create the setting of a steamy Miami, with aggressive motorists, diverse neighborhoods and police department politics all intertwined. The secondary characters are developed just enough, but in the TV series they are much more fully formed.
Maybe it's just me, but the Dexter novels, including this first one, wallow a bit too much in sadistic detail and not enough in the characters. Despite that I found the book hard to put down and it moved along nicely. Not sure if the subject matter qualifies as "light reading" though.
GO DEXTER!!! 
2008-05-18
I first started watching the series on Showtime and was hooked. I bought the first season DVD and all the books.
I am going to buy the second season DVD as well.
The show is VERY GOOD!! It keeps you on the edge of your seat. The character Dexter is likeable yet scarey. All the characters are very interesting.
I think Showtime did an awesome job in the cast.
"Blood. Sometimes it sets my teeth on edge, other times it helps me control the chaos." 2008-05-06
I usually don't read crime novels, but I'm a big fan of the Showtime series "Dexter," and I wanted to read the novel the show is based on. "Darkly Dreaming Dexter" is the first installment of Jeff Lindsay's series about Dexter Morgan, a serial killer with a conscience. Dexter routinely kills and dismembers people in and around Miami, but unlike other serial killers, Dexter has a strict moral code that he struggles to adhere to: Basically, he only kills bad guys. Dexter struggles to keep his dark side under wraps by working as a blood spatter analyst for the Miami Metro Police Department, hanging out with his foster sister, and even having a girlfriend. However, he always succumbs to his "Dark Passenger" and cannot suppress the urge to kill. When a new serial killer begins preying on Miami hookers, Dexter becomes intrigued by his new colleague and is intent on connecting with the murderer, even if it means exposing his own dark secrets.
This book was pretty good. Unlike most crime novels, which I usually think are very poorly written, "Darkly Dreaming Dexter" is composed of a blend of dark humor, intense drama, mystery and suspense, and good old-fashioned blood and gore. I was pleasantly surprised by how much content from the book was used in Season 1 of the television series "Dexter." There are some big differences between the book and the TV show, though. The "Tamiami Butcher" is referred to as the "Ice Truck Killer" in the TV show. The characters of Angel Batista, Vince Masuka, and James Doakes are relatively minor characters in the novel and are featured much more prominently in the television series. Migdia LaGuerta (who is called Maria LaGuerta in the show) is a supporting character in the novel, but is even nastier in the book that she is in the series, if you can believe that.
There are several other plot differences between the book and the novel, and overall, I think the television series is actually much better than the book. All of the characters are much more interesting in the show, and there are more intriguing subplots in the series as well. Also, I thought the ending of the book was extremely rushed, especially the part detailing the relationship Dexter has with the Tamiami Butcher. Hopefully that aspect of things is explored more in Lindsay's other novels, but I don't know if it is or not.
If you're a fan of the show "Dexter" or simply enjoy the crime novel genre, you'll probably find "Darkly Dreaming Dexter" to be an interesting read. However, don't feel like you absolutely need to read the novel if you're a fan of the Showtime series. This is one of those rare instances where the show is actually a lot better than the book.
The TV Show is Better 2008-07-04
If you are looking to read this book because you are hooked on the tv show, then you may be surprised. The book Dexter is a bit more cold and crazy, though still funny at times. What surprised me most is that the tv show was actually better than the book. I can't remember the last time (if ever) that I have come to that conclusion. The story is quite different, but a lot less things happen and before you know it. . . the book is over. I won't be giving away any spoilers, so you'll just have to find out for yourself. I would give the tv show a 5 star rating and the book a 4 star.
The one thing I really hated about the book were the constant repetitive ramblings about the fact he is a killer and why he even bothers to pretend. Over and over pages are wasted saying the same thing. By book #2 I am just skipping over these pages.
The Show is Better 2008-06-29
My day job happened to have a connection to the Dexter show - the sister of one of my coworkers worked on the set. My curiosity was already piqued by the premise of a serial killer turned vigilante, and I thought that as a show it would either be a marvelous achievement or a glorious disaster. Since it was on Showtime, and I don't get Showtime, I didn't get the chance to find out.
Eventually, Dexter came out on DVD and much to my relief the show was phenomenal. Dexter is every bit as charming and cold-blooded as you might expect from a sympathetic psychopath, and his occasional narrative aside serves to add both humor and horror to the events on screen. And those events are the political machinations of the Miami Police Department.
Dexter was raised by his foster father and former cop, Harry, to follow a particular code. This code regulates everything Dexter does, from how he dresses to whom he kills. Dexter's bloody murders are further complicated by his beard of a girlfriend, Rita, his half-sister Deborah, and his day job as a blood spatter analyst. Then one day a serial killer starts committing murders with an underlying message, a message meant only for Dexter. And then things get REALLY complicated...
The show is surprisingly true to the book. Every character is there just as I imagined them, except one: the main antagonist. In the television series, Dexter's antithesis is smart, conniving, believable, and capable of far worse than Dexter himself. In the book, he's a one-note ghoul who, in the span of five pages or so, expounds upon his entire background, his reason for killing and tempting Dexter, and their relationship.
And therein lay the problem. Darkly Dreaming Dexter tries to be both an ironic reflection of our fascination with serial killers and a murder mystery, but the mystery is severely lacking. Lindsay can only come up with "maybe Dexter's committing the murders in his sleep." It's telling that the producers of the television series discarded that notion right away, choosing instead to introduce the villain gradually.
The other problem is that the book escalates a conflict in Dexter's personal and professional life to such a level that it's something of a cheat; killing an antagonist off is easy, defeating them is hard. The end of Darkly Dreaming Dexter doesn't even give us closure with the other serial killer. He just gets away, leaving the reader with an unsatisfying conclusion and the creeping feeling that Dexter's personable façade has been completely discredited.
Nevertheless, Dexter is a marvelous read. As narrator, Dexter himself toys with language, using alliteration at it fancies him. As an author, Lindsay's writing skills are above par, and some of his descriptions are almost poetic.
Given the choice between the two though, I'll stick with television Dexter, thanks.
Dexter, the Show is Better, But Thank God for Inspiration 2008-06-24
I'm a bit of a Dexter fanatic. After watching just one episode of the Showtime hit, I was hooked, reeled in, and left wanting more and more. I adore the idea of a serial killer who not only kills bad guys (ala The Crow, etc.), but also ENJOYS and NEEDS to do this "work." It's rather twisted, yet seems just. How can that be?
Unfortunately or perhaps fortunately, I'm not sure, I watched the show before I read the books and I must say, Michael C. Hall's portrayal of Dexter is so amazing and wonderful, I found myself saying throughout the reading to Book Dexter, "Why can't you be like TV Dexter?" Even the plot lines, once again, on the show, they're fantastic, in depth, and gripping. In the book? Eh, not so much.
Still, I recommend this for any deeply devoted Dexter fan so you can see for yourself how this twisted good time started, but I have to be fair and recommend the show even more. It takes the book and kicks it up a few notches. It even slices and dices THOSE notches with ease and cleans up afterwards like a breeze.
The show is better. If you saw the show, don't bother. 2008-06-22
I don't know if I didn't really care for this book because I saw the series first, or that it isn't a great book. Usually I enjoy reading the book that a series or movie is based on AFTER I see it on screen. I think I enjoy it more because the book usually has more. This one does not.
I find the prose pedestrian and simplistic. The dialog is blase and the characters save for Dexter are one-dimensional props to move the plot (what there is of if) forward.
It is not a bad book. As a light summer read for sitting by the pool or at the beach, this would be fun. The pages fly by and what passes for a story is easy to keep track of.
If you haven't seen Dexter on Shotime, I suggest you do, but then avoid this book. If you haven't seen Dexter yet, start with the book. It will be much better for you.
At least a good TV series came out of this 
2008-06-13
I watched the first season of Dexter and couldn't wait to read the books that spawned it. I got the first two books out of the library and eagerly started reading number one. The sinking feeling came on page 8. Here's the passage that caused me to despair.
"No," he said.
"Yes," I said.
"Oh, no," he said.
"Oh, yes," I said.
He screamed, "NOOOO!"
Despite this I continued on. The prose is fairly average. The characters are painfully stupid. Dexter only seems smart because everyone around him apparently flunked out of elementary school. The commentary on Miami traffic is actually kind of funny. It did have occasional tense moments, only spoiled by the fact that I couldn't bring myself to care what happened to anyone, not even the main character. On an amusing note, there is inadvertant homoerotic banter between Dexter and Masuoka. If you must read the book, see if you can find it!
