And just like that I’ve started a new series. Dexter might seem familiar to some of you. Probably because you watched the TV series. But, how many of you knew it is based off of a book series? I learned that when I went to the library and now I have started to read the series. Let me tell you about the first book – Darkly Dreaming Dexter.
Darkly Dreaming Dexter Summary
How to summarise this book? Darkly Dreaming Dexter is the first book in the series written by Jeff Lindsay. It is from the point of view of our main character, Dexter Morgan. Dexter is a serial killer, but not your usual one. He doesn’t target the innocent. His targets are other serial killers. The world knows Dexter as this charming man who works for a crime lab as a blood splatter analyst. His sister is in the Miami Dade police department, working in Vice with goals to get into Homicide. Our story begins with Dexter targeting his newest victim, a priest who has murdered several children. Then he goes to work and finds himself at a strange crime scene. The victim was chopped up, each piece individually wrapped with care. That’s not weird to Dexter, but what is weird is that there is absolutely no blood.
Another Serial Killer
The killer continues their killing spree, targeting only prostitutes. As the case continues Dexter starts having strange dreams. He is drawn to certain places and just seems to know what to find. His sister, whom he is helping with the case to try and help her get into Homicide, starts to wonder what’s going on and she’s not alone. Some of the cops seem interested too. Although the main detective seems more interested in Dexter than in what he knows about the case. Even Dexter begins to wonder if he is cracking and is actually the killer. When the case is solved, after a lot of craziness, Dexter could never have predicted the wrap up, or the consequences it would have on his relationship with his sister.
What I Liked
The story was a complete page turner. There were many times I only put the book down because I had to go to work. The mystery was intriguing and I love a good murder mystery. Because we are getting the story from Dexter’s point of view we are in his head throughout the story and I found that interesting. The way he thought of things, even conversed with himself and tried to keep himself from losing his mind – as the reader I was right there with him. The suspense was spot on. It checked all the boxes in that regard.
Not a Fan
Now, most crime stories have swearing and I can usually look past it. However, the number of times the writer used God’s name in vain bothered me. There were sentences and I just didn’t want to read that over and over. Sometimes I was able to change the word or sentence in my head, but it really took me out of the story. The other thing that bothered me was that the women were all portrayed as stupid. The main detective made stupid mistakes. Dexter’s sister didn’t try to figure things out herself but just wanted Dexter to solve it and get her the credit. I really hope it’s not like that in the rest of the books.
Darkly Dreaming Dexter Rating
I gave this book a 4 star review. For the most part it was a very intriguing read and I was enjoying the story. The main things that kept me from fully enjoying it were the language and the portrayal of women. Don’t get me wrong, there are women who are stupid. I don’t care that the author writes a woman to be dumb. Heck, I’ve written female characters in some of my novel ideas to be dumb and unlikable. But the fact that it was every woman was what bothered me. Maybe that’s just how Dexter views women, but I guess I’ll find out.
Coming Soon
So, I will let you all know what’s going on this Friday and Saturday. Those following me on social media will have seen that I posted a story with a large stack of books. This idea is not my own. I got it from YouTube and watching some BookTubers. This week I will be attempting the reading for 24hrs challenge. I will be using the timer method. This means I’ll start a timer when I start reading and pause the timer when I stop until I reach 24 hours. As much as I would love to try it for 24 hours straight, I know that I’ll be taking a break on Friday because some of us are going out for my friend’s birthday. My hope and goal is to read 5 books in that time. I will update throughout those two days on my Instagram stories. If you want to follow along go to the main page of my blog. At the bottom of the page you’ll see two icons, one for Facebook and one for Instagram. Click on them to get directed to my social and then you can follow and stay up to date.
Next Blog
The next blog will be on Saturday after my challenge is done. There I will share my experience of taking part in this challenge. I might take longer breaks in between books to write out the reviews so that they are ready to post next week. The last thing I would want to do is mix up my stories. But, I am very excited for this challenge. Plus I’m hoping it will help me make some ground on my reading challenge for the year. I’m so close to being halfway to my goal and I’m running out of time. We are already in September! So, let’s see how much of a boost this 24 hour reading challenge gets me. Anything can happen if I try.
