What can one say about yet again another serial killer novel. Authors are desperately trying to put a new spin on a very old and tired formula. However, Jeff Lindsay may have succeeded in making his a bit more offbeat than the vast majority.
Dexter Morgan is a blood splatter analyst on the Miami PD. He is also a very disturbed man who just so happens to be a serial killer. However, his victims are serial killers themselves whether they are priests who kill children or mentally deranged janitors, Dexter finds them and kills them with great enjoyment. He now appears to be up against a killer who murders women leaving their cut up and bloodless bodies in neat little packages for the police to find. However, the killer is onto Dexter in that Dexter is finding clues in his kitchen and car indicating the killer knows who he is. To make matters worse, Dexter is not sure if, while he supposedly dreams, he is in fact killing. Needless to say, he tries to help his sister get ahead in the police department by giving her insight into the killing- things that only another killer would know.
There is a sense of originality with Dexter being a 'lovable serial killer'. He is an original creation and a unique voice in crime fiction. The good idea, however, eventually begins to wear as thin as the uneven plot. Stereotypes abound and in spite of the uniqueness of the main protagonist, the other characters are routine creations. The conclusion is highly unrealistic and comes virtually out of nowhere. However, the length of the story is manageable and the book well edited.