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Book Review of Darkly Dreaming Dexter (Dexter, Bk 1)

Darkly Dreaming Dexter (Dexter, Bk 1)
algernon99 avatar reviewed on + 418 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2


Oh my goodness! For the last few months, I have been just marginally aware of a phenomenon called "Dexter." It was just a whisper in the back of my consciousness, a hint of something that I ought to know but don't know. So, as I browsed through the daily digest of the wish list and kept seeing this Darkly Dreaming Dexter book listed as someone's fondest wish to read... Well, I put it on my wish list.

A month or three later, there it was, in my mailbox. Wow.

I read the covers and thought, "Why would I want to read something about a guy who enjoys carving up serial killers?" Why indeed.

So I picked it up and began to read, just to satisfy myself that I wasn't going to like this so I could put it down and move on to something more appropriate. Ah, the best-laid plans....

I found myself in the mind of a handsome young creature who looks like a man, but isn't quite as human as he ought to be. He's quite charming, for a police-employed serial killer. How could I be comfortable in such an enviroment? Well, I couldn't be comfortable, but I could be interested, even fascinated.

I won't describe the story, but I have to tell you that even with my naturally sharp dislike for that which is immoral, evil, ...whatever... I was quite taken with Dexter. He's compelling, interesting, disturbing, logical, funny, and, well, scary.

I decided today, after finishing the book, to check and see what the phenomenon is. I found that there's a Showtime TV series about Dexter, and I watched a couple of brief clips online. It looks interesting, but as a poor underpaid college instructor, I can't afford cable TV, so I won't get to watch it. (I just learned about Monk this year--he's only on cable, too--and I have to watch him on the full-season DVDs we buy.)

So, my advice to you is to either get this book and read it and be discomfitted in a fun way or run screaming away as fast as you can. Both are good plans.