Darkly Dreaming Dexter  (English, Paperback, Lindsay Jeff)

Darkly Dreaming Dexter is the first book in the Dexter series. This series is centered on a character named Dexter, who is a serial killer.

Summary Of The Book

Dexter Morgan works in the forensics lab of the Miami-Dade police department. He dislikes the sight of blood, but he works as an analyst of blood spatter patterns in crime scenes. He has an unusual hobby, he kills people who are guilty of murder and other offenses but are outside the reach of law.

He grew up with a foster family, the Morgans. Harry Morgan, a police detective, recognized early on the sociopathic tendencies of his foster child.

Trying to minimize the effects of these violent ideas, he trained Dexter to target his hidden dark urges on people who were guilty of crimes. He also taught him how to commit murder without leaving any clues that could be traced back to him. Dexter follows his foster father’s principles and calls these, The Code of Harry.

His sister Deborah also works in the Miami-Dade Police department, in the Vice squad. But, she really wants to work in the Homicide division. As the plot unfolds in Darkly Dreaming Dexter, she gets an opportunity to fulfill her dream. A series of murders occurs in the city. Prostitutes are being targeted by a serial killer whose style resembles Dexter’s. The Tamiami Slasher begins to menace the city streets, and Deborah gets involved in the investigation.

Initially, Dexter is intrigued by the killer’s style and his intelligence. But, The Code of Harry compels him to help his sister track down the killer. However, he soon realizes that the killer seems to know him and his secret. He sends personal messages to Dexter, baiting him.

As Darkly Dreaming Dexter progresses towards the climax, Dexter becomes involved deeper in the investigation. But, the investigation soon turns more personal as the killer kidnaps Deborah. Dexter has to find him quickly and try and stop him from making Deborah his next victim.

The book won the 2005 Dilys Award.

About Jeff Lindsay

Jeff Lindsay is the pen name of American writer Jeffry P. Freundlich.

He is the author of Tropical Depression: A Novel of Suspense, Time Blender, Dexter by Design, Dearly Devoted Dexter and other novels.

Jeff Lindsay was born in Miami, Florida, in 1952. Although he is most famous for his Dexter series of novels about a sociopath who kills guilty people who have escaped justice, he has written other books. His writing career began in the 1990s, with novels like Tropical Depression and Dream Land. In fact, his Darkly Dreaming Dexter was dropped from the list of nominees for the Edgar Awards Best First Novel category when it became known that he had previously published novels in the 1990s under another pen name, Jeffrey P. Lindsay. Dexter has been successfully adapted for television and has been aired for several seasons beginning from 2006. He is married to Hilary Hemingway, who is also an author.