Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay

[snugglekitty]

This recommendation from 7j was amazing. It blew me away. It was funny, it was profound, it was touching, it was witty, it was eerie, and it was very, very real. Far from your average, run-of-the-mill mystery, this one features a serial killer as the protagonist. It's not good enough that there are sequels - I want to get it back out of the library and read it AGAIN.

My favorite parts were Dexter's memories of his father, and his musings on his own psyche and sanity. ("I don't pretend to understand what it is about Dexter and blood. Just thinking of it sets my teeth on edge -- and yet, I have, after all, made it my career, my study, and part of my real work. Clearly some very deep things are going on, but I find it a little hard to stay interested. I am what I am, and isn't it a lovely night to dissect a child killer?" p 22) Five stars; one of the best books I've read all year.

ETA: I don't feel I said enough, here. This isn't really a book about serial killing. It's about how strange and funny people are, and how they want to see good in each other, and the dark sides we all carry around and try to hide. If you can get past the ick, anyone would get something out of this book.

Comments

[lady-anemone.livejournal.com]

A little bit. I'm more worried about how violence towards women is portrayed in the show. It was very lightly done in the book, but TV tends not to be that way, and it can push my buttons.

[clonetwin.livejournal.com]

Hmm... I don't don't believe there is much violence towards women shown on screen. But then, I don't know what your threshold is for that.

[lady-anemone.livejournal.com]

It's the on screen stuff that I'm worried about, sexual violence particularly. So maybe it would be okay.