Darkly Dreaming Dexter – Jeff Lindsay

Review by Alison

If you were a cop trying to solve a case involving a serial killer that stalks his prey, tortures them and then cuts them into little pieces and flings them into the bay, keeping a drop of blood of each victim as a trophy, you would want this person brought to justice or dead.

However, this novel is written the other way around, with the main character Dexter Morgan portrayed as the hero, the one doing the justice unto others. Yes, he is a serial killer but he is researched, knowledgeable and a slightly sadistic, funny guy that you like straight away.

Harry Morgan, his foster cop father, saw the darkness in Dexter when he adopted Dexter at a young age and helped him to control it and use it for “good”. Dexter follows “The Harry Code” which is, kill only those who deserve to die and never leave any evidence that can tie you to the crime. His foster sister Deborah is also a cop, just to make things a little more interesting.

Morgan feels alienated but works at fitting in. He has a girlfriend who is not interested in anything more than a platonic relationship and caring for her children, he works as a blood spatter analyst for Miami Metro Police and he keeps a social schedule. From the outside, Morgan is just an everyday normal, if not slightly boring, citizen but on the inside he is constantly ticking, trying to find his next victim for his dark passenger to play with.

The HBO version of Dexter is also really good, especially with this face!