Review: Dexter by Design by Jeff Lindsay

Title: Dexter by Design (Dexter #4)
Author: Jeff Lindsay
Genre: Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 18A
Publisher: DoubleDay
Release Date: September 8, 2009
Pages:285
Source: Purchased Finished Copy
My Rating: 4*

[Goodreads | Amazon]

Synopsis
Dexter Morgan is back. After his surprisingly glorious honeymoon in Paris, life is almost normal for Dexter Morgan. Married life seems to agree with him: he's devoted to his bride, his stomach is full, and his homicidal hobbies seem nicely under control. But old habits die hard - and Dexter's work as a blood spatter analyst never fails to offer new temptations that appeal to his offbeat sense of justice...and his Dark Passenger still waits to hunt with him in the moonlight. Luckily for Dex, there's someone out there with particularly twisted tastes. Dexter may have never been a big fan of art - but the discovery of a corpse (artfully displayed as a sunbather relaxing on a beach chair) naturally piques his curiosity. Miami's finest soon realize they've got a terrifying new serial killer on the loose. And Dexter, of course, is back in business. From the most original voice in crime fiction, Dexter By Design is an enthralling, macabre and gruesomely entertaining thriller.

Quotes

Normally, I am Dexter on the Spot, at the center of all important action, and to have so much death and destruction all around me and not be a crucial part of it didn't seem right.  Two whole bodies, and me no more than an observer with the vapors, fainting on the outskirts of the drama like a Victorian maiden. 
          -pg 281

"Dexter," he said, in what I am sure was a very emotional tone of voice,"did you bring doughnuts?"  It was truly heart warming to realize that I had been missed, and if only I had a heart, I am sure it would have been warmed.
     "I no longer eat doughnuts," I told him.  "I only eat croissants."
     Vince blinked.  "How come?" he said.
     "Je suis Parisien," I said.
     He shook his head.  "Well, you should have brought doughnuts," he said.  "We got a really weird one out on South Beach this morning, and there's no place out there to get doughnuts."
     "Quel tragique," I said.
     "Are you gonna stay like this all day?" he said.  "'Cause this could be a really long one."
          -pgs 14-15

  

My Thoughts

There are very few things that actually creep me out.  I mean things that bother most people, I wouldn't even bat an eyelash at.  Take me to a horror movie where everyone is freaking out at the gore being depicted on screen and I don't even bat an eyelash.  Take me to a movie where the main characters are professing their undying love for one another while gazing into each others eyes and I am most likely to cover my eyes in horror.  Yes, I know it's weird,  but that is just the way I am.  Having said that this book had some scenes that just made me my skin crawl, Jennifer's Leg being just one of them.


In Dexter by Design we once again have the return of our favourite serial killer and his dark passenger.  Gone is the hapless Dexter that we saw in the previous book when confronted by something more sinister than himself.  We catch up with Dexter as he is on his honeymoon in Paris with the ever annoying Rita.  While he is unable to indulge in his favourite hobby during his vacation, he does find some rather interesting and disturbing performance art to pass the time.


Upon his return from Paris, Dexter is immediately confronted with some very, very different homicides that are a bit puzzling to him.  While once again trying to help his ever ungrateful and self-absorbed sister Deborah, Dexter ends up getting himself in a bit of hot water while finding out that not all objects in the mirror are as they appear.


This was a different, but enjoyable version of Dexter.  It was nice to see him back to his old self, but at the same time being kept on his toes and realizing that sometimes he is his own worst enemy.

Review: Tris & Izzie by Mette Ivie Harrison

Title: Tris & Izzie
Author: Mette Ivie Harrison
Genre: YA, Paranormal Romance
Rating: G
Publisher: EgmontUSA
Release Date: October 11, 2011
Pages: 272
Source: Digital ARC from NetGalley

[Goodreads | Amazon]

Synopsis

A modern retelling of the German fairytale "Tristan and Isolde", Tris and Izzie is about a young witch named Izzie who is dating Mark King, the captain of the basketball team and thinks her life is going swimmingly well. Until -- she makes a love potion for her best friend Brangane and then ends up taking it herself accidentally, and falling in love with Tristan, the new guy at school.

My Thoughts

     There was a reason that this book was up on NetGalley as an auto approve title.  I found it so completely unrealistic and without depth that I was unable to finish it.  This is the first book on my Did Not Finish shelf in 2011 and this bothers me.  

     I love the story of Tristan and Isolde.  I love the cover of the book and I even featured it as one of my Waiting on Wednesday picks back in May of this year.  I was really rooting for this book to live up to the expectations that I had for it.  It came no where near and I had to put it down after 50 pages.  I really don't like posting in-depth negative reviews so I am going to leave it there and allow others to read the book and decide for themselves.

Review: Dexter in the Dark

Title: Dexter in the Dark (Dexter #3)
Author: Jeff Lindsay
Genre: Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 18A
Publisher: DoubleDay
Release Date: September 18, 2007
Pages: 368
Source: Purchased Finished Copy
My Rating: 3*

[Goodreads | Amazon]

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.

Review: Dearly Devoted Dexter

Title: Dearly Devoted Dexter (Dexter #2)
Author: Jeff Lindsay
Genre: Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 18A
Publisher: DoubleDay
Release Date: August 19, 2005
Pages: 292
Source: Purchased Finished Copy
My Rating: 3*

[Goodreads | Amazon]

Synopsis
He's a charming monster...A macabre hero...A serial killer who only kills bad people

Dexter Morgan has been under considerable pressure. It's just not easy being an ethical serial killer—especially while trying to avoid the unshakable suspicions of the dangerous Sergeant Doakes (who believes Dexter is a homicidal maniac...which, of course, he is). In an attempt to throw Doakes off his trail, Dexter has had to slip deep into his foolproof disguise. While not working as a blood-spatter analyst for the Miami Police Department, he now spends nearly all his time with his cheerful girlfriend, Rita, and her two children, sipping light beer and slowly becoming the world's first serial couch potato. But how long can Dexter play Kick the Can instead of Slice the Slasher? How long before his Dark Passenger forces him to drop the charade and let his inner monster run free?

In trying times, opportunity knocks. A particularly nasty psychopath is cutting a trail through Miami—a man whose twisted technique leaves even Dexter speechless. As Dexter's dark appetite is revived, his sister, Deborah (a newly minted, tough-as-nails Miami detective) is drawn headlong into the case. It quickly becomes clear that it will take a monster to catch a monster—but it isn't until his archnemies is abducted that Dex can finally throw himself into the search for a new plaything. Unless, of course, his plaything finds him first...

Quotes

"What to wear? I could think of no guidelines on what we were wearing this season to a party forced on you to celebrate an unwanted engagement that might turn into a violent confrontation with a vengeful maniac. Clearly brown shoes were out, but beyond that nothing really seemed de rigueur."

"I am not shy about admitting my modest talents.  For example, I am happy to admit that I am better than average at clever remarks, and I also have a flair for getting people to like me.  But to be perfectly fair to myself, I am ever-ready to confess my shortcomings, too, and a quick round of soul-searching forced me to admit that I have never been any good at all at breathing water.  As I hung there from the seat belt, dazed and watching the water pour in and swirl around my head, this began to seem like a very large character flaw."

My Thoughts


My favourite serial killer is back once again.  By day he is continuing to work for the Miami Police department as a blood splatter analyst and of course by night, he is slashing his way through the dregs of the Miami society.  There are just a few problems in Dexter's happily ordered life of work and murder.  Sargent Doakes is on to him and someone may or may not want to kill him!  Whatever is Dexter to do?

As Doakes' constant presence begins to put a damper on Dexter's happy slashing fun, Dexter decides to sharpen his disguise.  While spending his evenings on Rita's couch drinking beer, he notices some familiar behaviour in her children.  Could they be more like him than anyone suspects?  Dexter quickly finds himself as a mentor to Cody and Astor as he tries to steer them on the right path.

Of course it's not all playing daddy and shaping the monsters of the future for Dexter.  His sister has once again become involved in a gruesome case.  It quickly becomes clear that Dexter's archnemisis Doakes has some connection to the case and the two must reluctantly work together to solve it.  Dexter may just be able to kill two birds with one stone.

Once again, this book is quite funny and had me laughing out loud.  Jeff Lindsey continues to develop Dexter's character and with each book a little more of himself is revealed.

Review: Darkly Dreaming Dexter

Title: Darkly Dreaming Dexter (Dexter #1)
Author: Jeff Lindsay
Genre: Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 18A
Publisher: DoubleDay
Release Date: August 10, 2004
Pages: 288
Source: Purchased Finished Copy
My Rating: 4*

[Goodreads | Amazon]

Synopsis

Meet Dexter Morgan, a polite wolf in sheep s clothing. He s handsome and charming, but something in his past has made him abide by a different set of rules. He s a serial killer whose one golden rule makes him immensely likeable: he only kills bad people. And his job as a blood splatter expert for the Miami police department puts him in the perfect position to identify his victims. But when a series of brutal murders bearing a striking similarity to his own style start turning up, Dexter is caught between being flattered and being frightened -- of himself or some other fiend.

Quotes

     "Sorry, Vince," I said.  "Debbie ate your cruller."
     "I wish," he said, with his sharp, imitation leer.  "Then I could eat her jelly roll.  You owe me a big doughnut, Dex," he said.
     "The only big one you'll ever have," Deborah said.
     "It's not the size of the doughnut, it's the skill of the baker," Vince told her.
     "Please," I said.  "You two are going to sprain a frontal lobe.  It's too early to be this clever."

My Thoughts:

Let me start by saying that when I started reading this series, I had not watched the TV show that they are based on. When TV shows or movies are based on a book or series of books, I always prefer to read the book before seeing the show or movie. I can honestly say that for this series, I enjoyed both.  


In Darkly Dreaming Dexter, we are introduced to our protagonist when he is at his happy slashing best.  We are given some background into who Dexter is and more importantly, why he is the way he is.  His adoptive father Harry is a cop who realizes when Dexter is a teenager that there is something different about him.  Dexter is a serial killer!  Realizing that he will never be able to change Dexter, Harry instead crafts a serial killer code that Dexter must live by.  Instead of running amok around the city of Miami, Dexter takes care of those who have escaped justice at the hands of the law.


How does Dexter get away with being a serial killer?  Well on top of being trained by a cop, Dexter himself is a blood splatter analyst with the police department.  Who better than to get away with murder than someone who spends his days investigating them?  Joined by his adopted sister Deborah, who is also a cop, Dexter begins investigating a pecuilar series of murders.  Sooner rather than later Dexter begins to feel a certain affinity with his fellow artist.


Dexter really is the best anti-hero I have ever read about.  I find myself, despite knowing that I probably shouldn't, always rooting for him.  That is what is really special about this character.  You know he is a killer.  You know killing is wrong, no matter the reason.  Somehow though, Jeff Lindsay has managed to create a character in Dexter that despite all of his perversion and murder, is just downright likeable.  Dexter's sometimes bumbling attempts to fit in and appear normal are a large part of his appeal.  He admits things in his inner monologue's that no one else would ever consider, and trust me, it's not just confined to the killing.


On it's own, the book is great. It is not laugh out loud funny, but gave me more than a few laughs with Dexter's dry sarcastic wit and macabre sense of humor.  The plot moved along well, and Jeff Lindsay really found the perfect balance between past/present; giving some very good insight into Dexter's character. I must say that I was surprised by the ending, and that is not something that happens often.

Review: The Night Circus

Title: The Night Circus
Author: Erin Morgenstern
Genre: Fiction & Literature
Rating: PG
Publisher: Doubleday Canada
Release Date: September 13, 2011
Pages: 387
Source: Finished Copy provided by Chapters Indigo

[Goodreads | Amazon]


Synopsis
The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night.

But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway—a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them, this is a game in which only one can be left standing, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will. Despite themselves, however, Celia and Marco tumble headfirst into love—a deep, magical love that makes the lights flicker and the room grow warm whenever they so much as brush hands.

True love or not, the game must play out, and the fates of everyone involved, from the cast of extraordinary circus per­formers to the patrons, hang in the balance, suspended as precariously as the daring acrobats overhead.

Written in rich, seductive prose, this spell-casting novel is a feast for the senses and the heart.

Quotes

"Well then," Chandresh says.  We are set as far as contortionists go.  That's a start."

"Shouldn't there be more than one?" Lainie asks.  "An entire tent, like one for the acrobats?"

"Nonsense," Chandresh replies.  "Better to have a single perfect diamond than  sack of flawed stones.  We'll make a showcase of her, put her in the courtyard or something."

The matter is considered settled for the moment, and throughout dessert and after-dinner drinks, the only subject discussed is the circus itself.

My Thoughts

     The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern is absolutely masterful and after having read it, I can say that it has been without a doubt my favourite book of 2011.  The Night Circus is one of those books that you come across very seldom and it's one of those books that leaves a lasting impression on the reader.  The kind that you find yourself picking up and reading more than once, and every time you do read it again, another facet of it's brilliance is revealed.

     The prose is lyrical and almost poetic and with that same sense of fluidity Erin Morgenstern has created a world that leaves the reader with a longing to experience it for themselves.  The book is a feast for the senses.  As you are reading you feel the silk of a dress worn by one of the performers, taste the food at one of the midnight dinners, or smell the caramel in the air as you walk from tent to tent exploring all of the delights that the circus has to offer.

     I personally don't understand the comparison to the Harry Potter series.  To me, the only thing that they share in common is that they are both written by extremely talented women, on paper, and they both deal with magic!  That's it.  To say that The Night Circus is the second coming of Harry Potter does a great disservice to both stories.  The Night Circus is not a series, but rather one stand alone book.  It is a richly written tale that uses the circus itself as a backdrop.  It is not a book about magic.  It is not a book about vanquishing the most evil wizard of all time.  The Night Circus, at the end of the day, is a love story.

     The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern is to me, much more than a book.  It is an experience to be savoured and treasured by all of those who read it.