Dearly Devoted Dexter - reread - Review
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.
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.