Dearly Devoted Dexter: Dexter, Book 2

Book Info: Genre: Thriller/Police ProceduralReading Level: AdultRecommended for: twisted peopleTrigger Warnings: murder, torture, vivisectionMy Thoughts: This book opens with a scene that plays on our expectations of Dexter... and then turns them on their ear. I just love that! This book is filled with scenes like that, scenes that turn our expectations against us and make us look at things from a slightly different perspective.Watching Dexter's complete confusion over how to deal with Rita is always hilarious. However, I always wondered why no one ever mentioned that the ring was actually Kyle's and that Dexter would need to somehow retrieve it for him. That wasn't the only comment in the book that didn't really make sense. There is a scene toward the end where Dexter thinks to himself about the three remaining potential victims being unaware, and includes Acosta among them, although Acosta not only was aware but had fled. I was a bit surprised something like that would make it through the final editing process. However, these are very minor things, and with all the busyness, I'm sure a lot of people would not even noticed these minor, questionable situations.I remember back when I first read this book I was so excited to see where the series was going with the children. I still find this a really interesting idea, and was disappointed when the TV series did not include this. I suppose involving the children was just too much and not nearly "sexy" enough, but to me I much prefer the direction the story is going in the books over what I saw in the first four seasons of the TV show.If you have a really dark and twisted sense of humor, and like reading about rather dark and twisted vigilantes, then you definitely need to spend some time with Dexter Morgan.Series Information: Dexter Morgan seriesBook 1: Darkly Dreaming Dexter, review linked hereBook 2: Dearly Devoted DexterBook 3: Dexter in the DarkBook 4: Dexter by DesignBook 5: Dexter is DeliciousBook 6: Double DexterBook 7: Dexter's Final CutDisclosure: I purchased this book for myself. All opinions are my own.Synopsis: 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 archnemesis is abducted that Dex can finally throw himself into the search for a new plaything. Unless, of course, his plaything finds him first...

The Dexter books are what they are. You know what you're getting into if you have read any of them. I enjoy this when I'm in the mood for some light reading and a laugh. I know the subject matter is a bit gruesome but I LOVE this author's dark sense of humor. I can't tell you how many laughs I have had. And you know....the ones getting killed need killing!

I got my friends hooked on the show, and I'm rereading each book as I rewatch the season; we just finished season 2, and I finished the reread of Dearly Devoted Dexter. I keep reading about how this straddles fiction and satire, and I have to agree that's why I keep coming back. If Dexter didn't poke fun at all aspects of life, from driving in Miami to the mating rituals real human boys and girls go through, then I wouldn't be hooked - or at least not quite as hooked as I am. After all, the concept of a serial killer killing other serial killers has been done before, my favorite other example being The Punisher.It's Dexter's keen self-awareness that makes me feel, well, any sympathy for him. It makes me want to root for him, and in addition his wit often stems from that self-awareness. (For example, how at home he feels driving in Miami since everyone on the road seems homicidal as well.) I loved the detailed social commentary such as this, and how Jeff Lindsay manages to do it for the little details of life, as well as grander brush-strokes about life in general.I'd forgotten quite how disturbing this particular novel was. It finds Doakes following Dexter, and someone from Doakes' past following him and his former posse. And in a circular manner, it concerns Dexter and the police force following the fellow trailing Doakes and his friends. It's nice to see the Dark Passenger a little stumped, if only because, again, it makes him a little more relatable, but more importantly, doesn't make him seem too powerful. I like my characters, even the Dark Passenger, to have flaws and weaknesses.There are also some nice little setups in this novel. It sets up Doakes as a recurring character; as it was, he would have derailed Dexter completely in the beginning of the novel. By the end, he becomes a sustainable character, who will be a nice adversary for Dexter within the police force. It sets up Cody and Astor's true purpose within the series - and I love what Linday's done with them. (The TV series, and the writers have been very open about this from the beginning, has gone a completely different direction with the kids.) It's also set up Dexter's relationship with Rita - or should I say, in retrospect, it sets up for events in Dexter is Delicious. (I refuse to give out spoilers.)As I said in my review for Darkly Dreaming Dexter, I think Lindsay improves with each novel. Don't get me wrong, I love every single book in the series, but I think as the series goes on, Lindsay sharpens his wit, and perhaps even gets a stronger grasp of what situations to put Dexter in, and how to dig Dexter out of those holes.

This book ventured farther from the series, and saw Dexter in some uncomfortable situations. I love the stark contrast of some of the characters I grew to love on the show. Especially Cody and Astor and how that ties into their relationship with our favorite vigilante serial killer.