The Dark Passenger Returns

"It is a far darker thing I have done -
and loved every minute of it."

So not only has the new season of Dexter just started on Showtime but there's a new Dexter book too. And both in the month of October, which is a very good month to enjoy the antics of a serial killer!

My sister introduced me to Dexter by loaning me the first two books of the series a few years ago. And my husband and I have been keeping up with the show on Showtime. We've always enjoyed the trials and tribulations of Dexter Morgan, serial killer with a code of "morality" he follows. And I really like that the show and the books diverge and tell their own stories. If you're a fan of Dexter like I am, that means twice as many adventures to enjoy!

In Double Dexter by Jeff Lindsay, Dexter is at play when someone witnesses him enjoying his favorite pastime. As he tries to track down his Witness, a brutal cop killer is on the loose and Dexter's Boat of Domestic Bliss is knocked off course when house hunting goes awry, Rita's home cooked meals are a distant memory (creating a very cranky Dexter) and Rita has been acting awfully strange.

It's amazing how the mundane ins and outs of a serial killer's life can be so fascinating. But Jeff Lindsay's writing makes it interesting. It's full of cranky sarcasm which I truly enjoyed, as Dexter works through his relationships; such as trying to figure out Rita, navigating the preteen emotions of Astor and his sister, Deborah, who is starting to become more independent and realizing that maybe it wasn't so bad to have her depend on him so much.

There were times when I felt like a word quota needed to be reached the way Dexter would over analyze things but just as I was about to declare myself bored, the story would pick up and I could not stop reading until I found out what happened next. And there were also moments where I was catching on to events before Dexter. But a domesticated serial killer who is thrown off his game by the Witness he can't track down... it's no surprise that he was slow to catch on and I found I didn't mind that. As much as I enjoy the cool, calculating Dexter (the way he would call upon his Dark Passenger gave me chills) I liked that he was at the mercy of his Witness. So even though everything worked out in the end, it was all by chance, not at all meticulously planned as Dexter likes and it was fun watching him adapt and roll with the punches.

"Life really was a wicked, awful, unjust thing, and that was just exactly as it should be." I'm glad you see things the way I do, Dexter, because this is why I enjoy reading about your adventures.



Now I see these on some blogs so I guess I might as well write this too: I received a galley copy of Double Dexter from Doubleday. I'm not getting paid for this but who cares, I got a free book!