Darkly Dreaming Dexter: The GRIPPING thriller that's inspired the Showtime series DEXTER: ORIGINAL SIN and DEXTER: RESURRECTION

Dexter is a forensic blood splatter analyst for the Miami Police, who is secretly a sociopath. Dexter’s adoptive father, a policeman named Harry, realised very early that Dexter was a sociopath, but he didn’t discourage him. Instead, there is Harry’s Code he must apply, and Dexter must only kill criminals who are not convicted—the bad guys. It’s hinted that they die slowly and agonisingly. Through Dexter’s memories, we in fact learn that as Harry lay in hospital bed dying, he told his adoptive son that the nurse in charge was killing patients, and he gave Dexter ‘his blessing’ to kill her. That was Dexter’s first victim. Dexter does his best to pretend that he is just an ordinary person, so no suspicion falls on him. There are two women in his life. His sister, Deborah, is a cop trying to go up in the ranks. Dexter also has a girlfriend—Rita, who is a single mother and used to be abused by her former partner. Therefore, she is not interested in sex. She thinks Dexter is a gentleman and a very understanding person. But, in fact, he is not interested in sex at all, so the situation is perfect for him. Deborah and Rita don’t know about Dexter’s dark side. A serial killer then starts killing his victims in a way that intrigues Dexter, and he also starts leaving him messages hinting that he knows Dexter’s dark side. Soon he starts wondering if that person is himself, if somehow he is that serial killer and simply forgets what he’s been doing. Jeff Lindsay does a great job in this, as I started questioning myself if that was the case. It kept me wondering and confused. The story quickly became so addictive, and I couldn’t read it faster enough. Although there is a lot of telling instead of showing, in this case, I liked it, as it allowed me to understand the character’s personality and his peculiar observations. His sarcasm and wits are refreshing. This is a serial killer I was rooting for, and the writing is good. I particularly liked the fact that he knows that he is not right in the head.

I was a big fan of the first four seasons of the tv show Dexter but had never read any of the source material. I’ve had the books on my tbr pile for a while and decided to give them ago. I was pleasantly surprised and at the same time a little underwhelmed. Surprised as the tv show really stuck quite closely to the book. A little underwhelmed as I felt the book was a little short and I actually preferred the tv show! It’s like the tv show got a whole series for this story and the book feels like a 90 minute movie. I did enjoy it though. The dark humour is here as serial killer Dexter narrates the whole story and interacts with the “humans”. His sister Deb feels a little two dimensional here whereas she’s a really big character in the tv show. If I didn’t know, I would have guessed the the book was written after the tv show rather than the other way around. Maybe that’s more of a compliment to the tv show than a slight on the book. I was satisfied overall and had real fun spending time with Dexter. I look forward to reading the next one and , despite my criticisms, it was easily a 4 star read to me.

Sharp, witty and full of purpose, Dexter Morgan is a Miami-based blood spatter analyst, with a foster sister in the police force, a sweet, damaged but undaunted girlfriend, and all the charm of a classic movie icon dipped in Dior. He’s also (spoiler) a murderer. But he only kills bad people, so it’s hard not to root for him. His conscience, as well as the code of ethics gifted him by late foster father, Harry, dictates who needs to die. Whereupon, Dexter allows his ‘dark passenger’, the murderous, hack-happy side of himself, to take over. I love the TV series and this was my first foray into the books. How I loved it. Dexter is an endlessly fascinating character, meticulous, a student of human behaviour, he isn’t cold but he isn’t quite human either. And he’s funny. My, he’s funny. “There is something strange and disarming about looking at a homicide scene in the bright daylight of the Miami sun. It makes the most grotesque killings look antiseptic, staged. Like you’re in a new and daring section of Disney World. Dahmer Land. Come ride the refrigerator. Please hurl your lunch in the designated containers only.” 10% in, Chapter Three, Darkly Dreaming Dexter (Dexter #1) by Jeff Lindsay With a new serial killer in town, Dexter can’t help but marvel at the bloodlessness of the bodies the Miami police find, and it’s hard for him to believe that the murderer isn’t trying to communicate with him directly. Not to challenge or threaten him, it’s more like the killer is inviting him out to play. But with his dreamscape taking him to new and confusing places, is the killer with the precision cuts and the bloodless bodies Dexter himself? A dark, deadly delight. I must read the rest.

Ignore a lot of what you know from the tv series and it’s a decent read. Not too long and plot moves quickly so it’s decent enough

Fast delivery and book in great condition thank you

Darkly Dreaming Dexter is the first of a sequence of books about Miami serial killer Dexter Morgan, upon which the US series "Dexter" is based. I have seen the first season of Dexter and read the book on that basis. This isn't something I generally like doing (in this order) because if you see someone else's interpretation of a novel before you read it, it is liable to stick with you and effect your feelings about the book during the reading. This happened with Darkly Dreaming Dexter which is why I always try to read the book first. I really enjoyed the first season of Dexter and so I thought I'd enjoy it equally in written form, I've often wished that The Wire or Breaking Bad textually rich series original to the small screen had novelisations so suited are they to a literary form that they are visual novels. Dexter Morgan isn't any old serial killer hiding in the shadows, Dexter is the adopted son of a cop, who works in the forensic department of the local police, he has a girlfriend, named Rita, a sister named Debra, also a cop in the same force, and a Code, the Code given to him by his father Harry, who recognised that Dexter had a dark desire in him, a Dark Passenger, which couldn't be tamed, but might be controlled. Harry, a jaded cop who has seen too many people get away with murder, or be too lightly sentenced, instills in Dexter that he can kill, but he must only ever kill bad people. So that's the premise, and it's a good, original, one. The writing quality is solidly good, I particularly liked the opening paragraphs beginning with : Moon. Glorious Moon. Full fat, reddish, moon, the night as light as day, the moonlight flooding down across the land, and bringing joy, joy, joy. Bringing too the full throated call of the tropical night, the soft and wild voice of the wind roaring through the hairs on your arm, the hollow wail of starlight, the teeth grinding bellow of the moonlight off the water. Dexter may be a killer, but his voice is often a poetic one. What is amusing and perhaps disturbing is that there is a feature on the Kindle which shows which sections of the novel have been most highlighted. All Darkly, Dreaming Dexter's most highlighted are insights into the disconnect from normality experienced by the sociopath, so clearly there is a readership out there identifying with the character! I liked some of these asides, also used as voice over "If I had feelings I'd have them for Deb". Somehow Dexter does have feelings, he just doesn't realise it himself To begin with the novel more or less follows the series, but a huge deviation occurs at the midway point when, though the outcome is roughly the same, the road it takes to that outcome massively differs from on screen. Having had both versions, dare I say it that the series brought us to the conclusion in a much more believable way. I dare say I will read the rest of the Dexter novels in time as I did enjoy it and it was well written 8/10

Love the series and the books

Oh I did love this. I wanted to watch the tv show, but I haven't seen it yet, so I consoled myself with Book 1, and I'm glad I did because it's brilliant. Dexter has a unique, funny voice for a serial killer. His chidlhood trauma is hinted at throughout the book and revealed at the end. It has left him with a hunger to kill and a strange relationship with blood. Despite this, or because of it, he becomes a blood splatter analyst for the Miami police, helping to find killers. But Dexter has his own way of dealing with those who he believes have committed serious crimes. He was adpoted as a child and his father Harry, knew exactly what his son was and tried to steer him away from killing the innocent and only killing the guilty. Like a vigilante, Dexter uses Harry's code as his conscience, otherwise he'd kill just for the hell of it. Dexter often says he has no feelings, and yet he doesn't want to disappoint Harry, who is now dead, and he loves children. Probably because he has a child like quality himself. He know's he's not normal and has taught himself to blend in. Most humans are fooled by his mimickery of normal, but dogs can sniff him out instantly! In this book, another serial killer gets his attention. He is supposed to help the police and his sister Deb, a cop, catch this serial killer, but Dexter secretly admires his work and when he is given coded messages by the suspect, he loves the challenge and is not convined he wants to catch the killer. I loved the writing style and the plot and the characters, especially the crazy, funny monster that I should at least fear but I can't help wanting him to win. I can''t wait to read book 2.

"Darkly Dreaming Dexter" ist der brillante Auftaktroman, der uns den forensischen Analytiker und moralischen Serienmörder Dexter Morgan vorstellt. Der Roman ist packend, voller schwarzem Humor und erzählt aus Dexters unvergleichlich zynischer Perspektive. Er muss einen anderen Serienmörder, den "Ice Truck Killer", jagen, der eine unheimliche Verbindung zu Dexters eigener Vergangenheit zu haben scheint. Die Mischung aus mörderischer Spannung und Dexters trockenem Witz ist perfekt. Ein origineller, unvergesslicher Thriller, der die Regeln des Genres neu definiert hat!

Excelente libro que mezcla el suspenso y la comedia en usa sola obra. La narrativa te brinda una visión más profunda de la planteada en la serie de TV.

I never knew there were books and now here I am addicted . Great writing and a more in depth look into Dexter's psyche

Amazing. Dexter is so peak

Great book can’t get enough of it