Author: Jeff Lindsay
Genre: Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 18A
Publisher: DoubleDay
Release Date: September 18, 2007
Pages: 368
Source: Purchased Finished Copy
My Rating: 3*
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Synopsis
In his work as a Miami crime scene investigator, Dexter Morgan is accustomed to seeing evil deeds…particularly because, on occasion, he rather enjoys committing them himself. Guided by his Dark Passenger (the reptilian voice inside him), he lives his outwardly normal life adhering to one simple rule: he kills only very bad people. Dexter slides through life undetected, working as a blood spatter analyst for the Miami Police Department, helping his fiancée raise her two adorable (if somewhat…unique) children, and always planning his next jaunt as Dexter the Dark Avenger under the light of the full moon.But then everything changes. Dexter is called to a crime scene that seems routine: a gruesome double homicide at the university campus, which Dexter would normally investigate with gusto, before enjoying a savory lunch. And yet this scene feels terribly wrong. Dexter’s Dark Passenger senses something it recognizes, something utterly chilling, and the Passenger—mastermind of Dexter’s homicidal prowess—promptly goes into hiding.
With his Passenger on the run, Dexter is left to face this case all alone—not to mention his demanding sister (Sergeant Deborah), his frantic fiancée (Rita), and the most frightening wedding caterer ever to plan a menu. Equally unsettling, Dexter begins to realize that something very dark and very powerful has its sights set on him. Dexter is left in the dark, but he must summon his sharpest investigative instincts not only to pursue his enemy, but to locate and truly understand his Dark Passenger. To find him, Dexter has to research the questions he’s never dared ask: Who is the Dark Passenger, and where does he come from? It is nothing less than a search for Dexter’s own dark soul…fueled by a steady supply of fresh doughnuts.
Macabre, ironic, and wonderfully entertaining, Dexter in the Dark goes deeper into the psyche of one of the freshest protagonists in recent fiction. Jeff Lindsay’s glorious creativity is on full display in his most accomplished novel yet.
Quotes
I grabbed my handy blood-spatter kit and headed out the door with Vince Masuoka, who despite his small size had somehow grabbed two of the very valuable filled doughnuts-including he Bavarian cream with the chocolate frosting. "You have done a little too well, Mighty Hunter," I told him with a nod at his plundered loot.
"The gods of the forest have been good," he said, and took a large bite. "My people will not starve this season."
"No, but I will," I said.
He gave me his terrible phony smile, which looked like something he had learned to do by studying a government manual on facial expressions. "The ways of the jungle are hard, Grasshopper," he said.
"Yes, I know," I said. "First you must learn to think like a doughnut."
My Thoughts
This is my least favourite book in the Dexter series. There is something about Dexter being scared that just doesn't sit well with me. It makes him far too human, which really takes away his whole appeal. The reason that Dexter is so appealing to readers is that he is not like us. He is not bound by the same moral compass that binds the vast majority of our society. The fact that he exists on the fringes and fakes just enough to get by is what makes him so compelling.
All that makes Dexter who he is is missing in Dexter in the Dark as his Dark Passenger goes silent in the face of a truly terrifying foe. Dexter isn't top dog in this book. He isn't showing a mutual appreciation for another killers skill or work. This time, he is being well and truly hunted.
While there is plenty of action that happens in this book, there is more delving into Dexter's psyche. Dexter tries to keep one step ahead of his foe, but how can he do that when his sharpest instinct is no longer available to him. Of course we also watch Dexter juggle his ungrateful sister Deborah, his annoying fiancée Rita, and his two protegees in training Cody and Astor all while trying to save his own life.
