Darkly Dreaming Dexter
Jeff Lindsay
Doubleday – August 2004
304 pp.
Fiction - Suspense
Translation rights: Nicholas Ellison, Inc.
Rights sold to:
UK: Orion; BCA Book Club
Italy: RCS/Sonzogno
France: Seuil
Germany: Droemer
Holland: De Fontein
Japan: Sony
Spain: Urano
Portugal: Bertrand
Sweden: B. Wahlstrom
Israel: Matar
Iceland: JPV
Russia: AST
Finland: Like
New York Times Bestseller!
The word is out: the most devious debut of the summer is a hit!!
Book description:
Meet Dexter, a polite wolf in sheep’s clothing . . . a monster who cringes at the site of blood . . . a serial killer whose one golden rule makes him immensely likable: he only kills bad people.
Dexter Morgan isn’t exactly the kind of man you’d bring home to Mom. Though he’s playful and has a wonderfully ironic sense of humor, Dexter’s one character flaw (his proclivity for murder) can be off-putting. But at heart Dexter is the perfect gentleman, supportive of his sister, Deb, a Miami cop, and interested only in doing away with people who really deserve his special visit. Dex is quite good-looking but totally indifferent to (and, frankly, a bit puzzled by) the attentions paid to him by women. Despite the fact that he can’t stand the sight of blood, he works as a blood-spatter analyst for the Miami police department, a job that allows him to keep tabs on the latest crimes and keep an eye open for his next quarry.
Dexter’s well-organized life is suddenly disrupted when a second, much more visible serial killer appears in Miami. Dex is intrigued, even delighted, by the fact that the other killer appears to have a style reminiscent of his own. Yet he can’t help but feel that the mysterious new arrival is not merely invading his turf, but reaching out to him as well. This new killer seems to be doing more than copying Dexter—he seems to be saying, “Come out and play.” Dexter’s secret life makes for a lonely existence . . . even a lovable monster can be intrigued by the prospect of finding a friend.
Introducing one of the most witty and original narrators in years, Jeff Lindsay’s Darkly Dreaming Dexter is a fresh, surprising, and brilliantly executed novel that is sure to receive wide acclaim.
Quotes and reviews:
From Publishers Weekly
It’s been years since there’s been a thriller debut as original as this one by Lindsay, who takes a tired subgenre-the serial-killer novel-and makes it as fresh as dawn. Lindsay’s premise alone is worthy: narrator Dexter Morgan, a blood-spatter specialist for the Miami cops, is also a serial killer. But all his life, Dexter has followed the rules set down by his cop foster father (who knew of Dexter’s proclivities), to indulge his passion only by slaying other serial killers. What makes this novel zing, though, is the narration-humorous, self-deprecating, smart and sometimes lyrical, it’s a macabre fun ride ("I thought about the nice clothes that I always wore. Well of course I did. I took pride in being the best-dressed monster in Dade County"). The story opens with Dexter at play, kidnapping and killing a priest who has murdered a number of children, then moves on to the main plot, a series of gruesome killings of prostitutes by an unknown madman. Dexter’s foster sister is a Miami Vice Squad cop working on the killings, so Dexter decides to help her solve the case. This puts him in conflict with a dumb but ambitious female homicide detective as well as, soon enough, the killer himself, whose approach to serial killing mirrors Dexter’s own, uncomfortably so. Might Dexter himself be the culprit? The answer feels a bit contrived, but will surprise most readers, and it’s a minor flaw in a gripping, deliciously offbeat novel that announces the arrival of a notable new talent.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Bookmarks Magazine
“Demonology has a dastardly new darling,” writes The New York Times, a new Hannibal Lecter narrator with ghoulish, grisly intensity. Dexter’s unapologetic look at his own instincts, not to mention his likeable nature, charmed a couple of critics. Dexter is a wholly original twist on the serial killer novel, and if you can stand the blood and gore, it’s worth reading for the narrator’s voice and trick ending alone. Only The Times questions Dexter’s ingenuity (after all, who spells “Boo” out of truncated body parts?) and faults Lindsay for purple prose. But “[d]o credit Mr. Lindsay for certainly knowing what sells,” Maslin notes—so wait patiently for the sequel.
Copyright © 2004 Phillips & Nelson Media, Inc.
From Booklist
*Starred Review* After finishing this debut novel, readers will have only one thing to say: wow! This is a mystery about the efforts of the Miami police to capture a serial killer who cuts up the bodies of his victims. One police officer, Deborah Morgan, is hoping that her participation in the investigation will help her make the leap from Vice to Homicide. Meanwhile, her adopted brother, Dexter, a blood-spatter expert who works for the police department, feeds her information about the case that he hopes will help her. Oh, and did we say that Dexter narrates the novel? And did we mention that Dexter is also a serial killer? (But not the serial killer his sister is trying to catch.) Dexter, a likable fellow on the surface, firmly in touch with his own inhumanity, is one of the genre’s most original, compelling characters to appear in years. He makes a fascinating narrator, appealing, articulate, and ghoulish all at the same time. He is probably not the type of guy you could build a series around, but, oh boy, does he make an impression. Long after readers finish this gripping novel, they will still be thinking (or dreaming) about Dexter. David Pitt
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
“…a gripping, deliciously offbeat novel that announces the arrival
of a notable new talent.”
--Publishers Weekly, starred review
“Dexter Morgan is one of the most likable vigilante serial killers
in recent thriller literature.”
--New Yorker
“…a guilty pleasure few monster-addicts will be able to resist.”
--Kirkus Reviews
“After finishing, readers will have only one thing to say: wow!”
--Booklist, starred review
“Must Read of Summer 2004”
--Time Magazine
“Lindsay’s novel is daring and unexpectedly comedic.”
--USA Today
“Demonology has a dastardly new darling.”
--Janet Maslin, New York Times
“Darkly Dreaming Dexter is an original and darkly compelling novel.”
--Denver Post
• Debuted on the New York Times bestseller list
• #1 on Booksense Hardcover list
• Audio rights sold to Recorded Books.
• 6th printing.
About the author:
JEFF LINDSAY lives in South Florida with his wife and three daughters. He is currently finishing a second novel featuring Dexter.