Darkly Dreaming Dexter

Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay. 2004. Adult fiction. 288 pages.

It's almost like Jeff Lindsay took a bet. Someone said, "Hey, I'll give you 20 bucks if you can write a novel where the protagonist is a likable serial killer." And then Lindsay totally won that bet. I started watching the Showtime series "Dexter" and was so in love with the disturbing, dark tone that I checked the book out to compare.

This is one of the rare times that I can say I actually like the show better than the book, but that doesn't mean the book isn't good. In fact, it's pretty great. Dexter was profoundly damaged as a child, so damaged in fact that he is now a sociopath without human feelings. He is unable to keep from killing. However, he was also adopted by a good man, a Miami cop, who saw Dexter for what he was and taught him that he could indulge his urges and help society by only killing bad people. Dexter has no real emotions and fakes everything, including relationships with a girlfriend and a foster sister. He also works in forensics, which puts him in a perfect position to hide his true identity.

The book is very suspenseful, the story works well and it's delightfully uncomfortable to read a story where I can have so much sympathy for someone who revels in chopping people up. The TV series is pretty fantastic and disturbing, and much of it comes directly from the book. I look forward to reading the next in this series, and watching season 2.