Dexter Is Delicious – Novel Review
- September 13th, 2010
- Posted in Books/Novels . Reviews
- By Rob
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TITLE: Dexter Is Delicious
AUTHOR: Jeff Lindsay
PUBLISHER: Doubleday
RELEASED: September 7
By Rob Siebert
Editor, Fanboy Wonder
Dexter Morgan, America’s most beloved serial killer who only kills those who deserve it, is back for a fifth novel.
But don’t let the title and the hype fool you. This is NOT the Showtime version of Dexter. This is NOT the Michael C. Hall Dexter. The TV version was based on Jeff Lindsay’s first novel, Darkly Dreaming Dexter. But the status quo in the books is different from that of the TV show. Without giving too much away, certain characters that have died on the screen are still alive on the page. A few of them also know Dexter’s secret. Jeff Lindsay has taken his creation in a slightly different direction than the hit television show it inspired.
And that’s not necessarily a good thing.
Delicious begins a few hours after the birth of Dexter’s daughter, Lily Anne. As a father, Dexter begins to experience traces of actual human emotion, as opposed to the fake smile he puts on for almost everyone else. Dark and Disturbed Dexter starts to become Delightful Daddy Dexter. He vows never to kill again, in attempt to better himself for his daughter.
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But who should pop up but a cult of vampire cannibals. That’s right, vampire cannibals. An odd choice for a Dexter story, and not exactly an original idea (there are a few Twilight references in the book). But it’s intriguing on some levels. The cult has kidnapped two teenage girls, enraging Dexter’s cop sister Deborah. She drags him along as she attempts to find the culprit.
Plus, someone from Dexter’s past has resurfaced. Readers of the previous novels will recognize him, and the threat he poses to Dexter and his family.
Despite an intriguing premise, Delicious is a step down from its predecessors. The plot threads involving Deborah and the person from Dexter’s past are mostly predictable. When the identity of the cult leader is revealed, it’s a surprise, but not a great one.
The most disappointing part of this book is Dexter himself. He spends most of it squirming during uncomfortable situations, or being dragged placed by Deborah. In a sense this is fitting, as he’s trying to renounce his murderous ways for good. But at the same time, this man is a cunning strategist who has evaded capture by police and forensics investigators for years. Why does parenthood turn him into such a panty waste so quickly? Couldn’t he deliberate about it a bit? This man has built his life around one thing: murder. Is the transition to being a family man really that easy?
Also, while some critics find Dexter’s “witty” narrative charming, I find it contrived at times. That’s not always the case here, but because the character has lost his edge in this book, it becomes irritating.
The most interesting and proactive character in this book is Deborah, who unlike Dexter, is ballsier than ever. This book changes her world heavily, which thankfully means she’ll continually be almost as interesting as Dexter, if not more.
It’s a bit sad that Dexter’s creator has trouble conveying things in writing that Michael C. Hall can convey with a look or a vocal tone. You’d think a book with vampire cannibals would have satisfied the blood lust I had coming into this book. I really wanted to see more of Dexter’s brand of justice. But while I’ll come back for book 6, book 5 was hardly delicious.
RATING: 5.5/10
Front page image from waterstones.com.
I have really enjoyed reading the Dexter books. Lindsay, I thought, at least, was finding his legs. I thought book 4 was superb. So, my anticipation for book 5 was pretty high. That being said, I was increasingly disappointed in the novel. I know of no police department on earth that would have permitted Dexter to go traveling all over hell and creation with his sister, the Sarge. Can you imagine a Chief’s response when learning that Dexter, THE BLOOD SPLATTER SPECIALIST, is our running around with his baby sis, the cop, with a gun, while no one, literally no one, knows where they are and what they’re up to. There was just so much contrivance in the plot that the parody of it all passed me by and all I could feel was sadness that such a smart novelist had to resort to tricks to finish the book. The last straw was Deb’s collection of cell phones before rushing in to save the day. Absurd. Absolutely absurd. I don’t think of myself as any great shakes intellectually, but I predicted very turn. The coven can only be run by a woman, really! Now who in the novel was creepy enough to do that? The brother! Please. The guy who came in with the shot gun had a hood on. Can you please tell me why except that he is Brian waiting to save the day. And lastly. Dexter, in this book, was made into a milk toast without redeeming qualities. Lindsay actually succeeded in making him boring. Almost impossible to do. Like you, I’ll read #6 but I’ll likely read some reviews before I do.
I thought of the contrived nature of Dex being dragged away from his job by Deb too. But that’s more or less been the case in all the books.
Weird. Book 5 is my favorite.
I found it far more amusing than novel 2 or 3.
(Book 2 as very close runner-up)
It seems a lot of problems arise from comparing this book to the show. I haven’t seen the show to prevent it from creating a problem with my reading. Book 5 has so much more in his relationships, and how he is working to keep true to himself. While he also deals with his first true experience with emotion. Not the blood lust of the earlier books, but more character development.