Finished: “Darkly Dreaming Dexter” by Jeff Lindsay

Finished: Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay, 2007, 9780385518338.

A pretty good novel which is no surprise considering the predecessors. This is the third Dexter novel and takes quite a turn from the others. Previously, Dexter had always happily gone about his psychopathic and murderous ways. Since Dexter has no feelings he does not consider himself human. The only quivers or pleasure and joy he receives are in anticipation of and committing murder. But he follows the training of his foster father and is always careful to shield this from everyone.

Dexter has always had a constant companion however. Dexter's Dark Passenger is an interior voice that has guided his actions and his perceptions towards killing. Dexter has let the Dark Passenger take over at those times and guide him along. Dexter considers himself a chauffeur for the Passenger and Dexter enjoys the work. Lindsay never explained the Passenger much before and I always took the “him” to be part of Dexter's psychotic brain.

When Dexter is called to a crime scene at a local university his Dark Passenger has a recoiling fit and flees Dexter's head upon seeing the bodies. Dexter is adrift without his the Dark Passenger and in fear of whatever scared it away. He also starts to wonder what or where the Passenger came from.

Anyway. A well done story by Lindsay that follows the previous storyline of Dexter’s upcoming nuptials-by-error with Tina his girlfriend. Dexter has only been dating Tina as a beard to hide his insanity and he has no feelings for her. The only interest he has in the situation is her two children. Horribly abused by Tina’s first husband both children are budding sociopaths themselves. The book ending wedding ties in very well with Dexter’s novel long predicament of his sorely missed Dark Passenger.