Title: Dearly Devoted Dexter
Author: Jeff Lindsay
Series: Dexter, #2
Genres: Mystery, Thriller
Publisher: Doubleday (Imprint of Random House)
Date Published: January 1st, 2005
Edition: eBook
Rating:
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…
My Review:
Dexter’s back, but a little bit tamed because, well…he has to be. He has Sergeant Doakes breathing down his neck and suspecting him of doing bad things (which, of course he is, but Doakes doesn’t need to know that). So Dexter has to use his cover with Rita and her family to a higher degree in order to get Doakes off his back. This means lots of boring nights sitting in front of the TV with a beer at Rita’s house instead of doing what he really wants to do.
Because of the predicament Dexter finds himself in, this book could be a little frustrating. Many times I found myself just wanting to scream at Doakes to leave poor Dexter alone. What’s wrong with me? lol Leave Dexter alone so he can go kill people. Right. I’m twisted. But, that goes to show you how well Jeff Lindsay manages to make the reader sympathize with Dexter.
But, even deep under cover Dexter is a wonderful character and the darkly sarcastic humor from the first book is still in full force going into book two. So that kept me a happy camper for the most part.
One thing I will say though, aside from Dexter being on the down-low, is that this one didn’t have so much mystery going on as just suspense. The bad guy the cops are hunting is pretty much known from the start and it’s just about finding him because he’s a slippery one. I liked how the first one was more of a mystery so I missed that a bit. It still managed to be entertaining though but I liked that aspect of the first book.
So overall still a good series, I’ll be jumping into the next one as soon as I can get it from my library. But the first one was still the best. I did watch one episode of the TV series after finishing this book and I’m actually liking the books more. I know I’m in the minority here and it could be because I picked up the books first, I don’t know. But either way I’m just going to hold off continuing the TV show until I’ve read all seven books. Then maybe I can enjoy the TV show more and not get their story-lines mixed up.
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