Jennifer

Okay, I think I may officially be hooked on this Dexter (vs. the Showtime Dexter). The overall story line has some pretty drastic differences, and they are quickly becoming plot lines I want to get to the conclusions of! I originally began watching with Season 5, and went back and watched 1-4 after. So the next book should be where I initially came in - very excited about this! :)

I want to compare these plot differences so much! But I don't want to include any spoilers in my review. I can say that this Dexter's sense of humor is only getting better with time, and I have to catch myself from literally laughing out loud when I'm listening to my audiobooks in public! In fact, his sarcastic, smart-ass attitude is SO exaggerated I'm having a hard time imagining him looking anything like Michael C. Hall! Yes, it's safe to say that this Dexter has officially established himself in my mind as a separate entity and I love it!

Dark humor, comedy, sarcasm, and a great story are all here. If you can laugh at the dark humor, this series is for you!!!

Well, I'm certainly growing to like this Dexter (as opposed to the one I know and love from Showtime). He's like the TV Dexter "squared." Funnier, darker, yet more clueless at the same tine. Even some of the peripheral characters are more intensified. Can't say much more without ruining a few surprises if you've only seen the show up to now. But the differences sure are entertaining!

This one got a lot of terrible reviews, and I can see why. The book itself has a VERY abstract plot, and there is a lot of abstract writing mingling with Dexter daily life. One needs to approach this book with an open mind. I personally didn't mind the change in writing style, and I think I understand the author's intent when you consider the entire series as a whole. You have to build that background! But it's risky to change your style like that and then just swap back.

However, I will say that there were some surprising plot twists here that never made it to Showtime! Like, interesting enough that I'm officially riveted - waiting to see how this will pan out! I just can't say anything more without risking a spoiler or two!

So I guess it's official! Falling for this Dexter as well!

Okay, this (if you can imagine) had this "feel good" feel to it after I was done.

That being said, the climax part was really UBER cheesy, and really quite "un-Dexter-like." I'd have to say that this one, out of all six, had me feeling the largest range of emotions as I listened to it. Anticipation, fear, happy, relieved, the whole spectrum is there. And I love this Dexter even more now, I think, than Showtime's Dexter. Although it's messing with my head a bit, knowing the series is about to start it's next season, and the relationships (particularly that between Dexter and his sister, Deborah) are so very different between the books and the show.

I can say that I'm DEFINITELY looking for the next Dexter by Jeff Lindsay now! :)

I took a bit of a break from the series for a few months, because they were starting to feel repetitive to me. I'm glad I did! Roarke and Eve seem "fresh" yet "familiar" to me. And I was anxious to see what kind of trouble they could get into now....

First, the sex scenes are getting more glossed over, which is really a bit more true-to-life, anyway, don't you think? Eve & Roarke have been married for almost 2 years now. In the last several books the sex scenes were frequent, and really rather harsh and raw. C'mon... NO woman wants it like that ALL the time, and not many men out there would even want to keep up that pace for that long. So this is more like it :) Yeah, they are still in love, yeah, the sex is still super hot, and yeah, they like to bang each other on a fairly regular basis. But we, the audience, are really just catching their afterglows now.

Something I DON'T like, that I thought was just a one-time thing that happened a few books back, and has now become something of a norm at least once in every book since, is how Eve has stopped having nightmares (that part is a good thing....) but that her dreams are now becoming somewhat prophetic.

Really? Eve? A psychic? NOT! I can appreciate the subconscious working the facts out during sleeptime (good grief, does she EVER stop working?), but there have been more than one occasion where something very small will happen or be said in her dreams that is not based on her investigation to date, and is more prophetic. Seems a bit on the campy side for our practical-no-nonsense Lieutenant....

*POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT*

I may have had too much expectation with this one. If you've been reading my reviews of all the books in this series, you will know that i was particularly looking forward to this book, as Season 5 of the television show is the Season I began discovering Dexter. So far, i could see how each season was LOOSELY related to each book.

I guess i expected to meet the Trinity killer in this book. Instead I am presented with a Dexter who suddenly sees life through new eyes after the birth of his baby girl, Lilianne. So the book becomes mostly Dexter's internal struggle to want to give up his "hobby" and be the best Dad he can be, as well as an upstanding citizen.

This isn't exactly the type of sentiment I've come to expect from Dear Old Dutiful Dexter!

As far as peformance goes, Nick Landrum is apparently no longer narrating these books, the author himself is reading them. He doesn't do a *bad* job, per se, but he's not as good as Landrum. He needs to be a bit more sinister and a bit more animated. And, it has to be said, his "characters" are awful.

That's alright, I am confident Double Dexter (Book 6) will redeem itself!

I read (listened to) this book several years ago. Normally I wouldn't dream of writing a review for a book I read so long ago, as I wouldn't trust my memory to accurately convey anything other than maybe a general feeling.

But this is the kind of book that gets in your head, and doesn't leave. Ever. I have read dozens of James Patterson novels. To be perfectly honest, most of them have run together, melded, and overlapped in my head so that I could hardly tell you what's what, or even which ones I have or haven't read! (He cranks them out so quickly!) But this one? I remember VERY clearly, and recommend it to anyone who enjoys psychological thrillers.

It's such a unique story with such an unusual approach, I am hesitant to even try to describe the plot. I think I will simply say that it's a tale about deception, infidelity, obsession, and having to endure the ultimate punishment for one's own actions.

This installment of the series takes a different approach. In "Creation," we are brought back to a case Eve worked on LONG before we, as readers, ever met her. So we are getting more of a glimpse into her past, and not just the ugly parts we've already heard over and over again. This time we get to hear about her training, her mentoring, and some of the experiences she had that lead her to her well-earned Lieutenant's badge. You know, some of the GOOD times!

I gave it four stars because, well, this one creeped me out moreso than the others. On another day, I might have given it five stars just BECAUSE it creeped me out more. Either way, it's a valuable addition to the series and the characters we have all grown to love so much!

Well, there's always a theme to these books. After some 30 books, though, a theme would be necessary for any of us to keep them all straight!

This one is centered around religion, faith, and the church. The plot turns out to be a bit TOO convoluted for my taste. (Don't worry - no spoilers here!) One of the things I have always loved about this series is that, with the exception of a few futuristic devices, and the sheer volume of drama that befalls our heroine, it's 100% believeable!

But in the end our plot, plan, and motive tuns out to be extremely intricate and somewhat forced, really. Generally speaking, people just aren't that complicated! And their motives are usually less so.

Didin't stop me from squeezing in every minute I could to finish it, though...

The "half" books tend to delve into the more "impractical" story lines, and this one is no different. In this one, Dallas is forced to investigate a "vampire." She, of course, doesn't believe for one second that the guy really IS a vampire, but those around her, Roarke, Peabody, Trueheart, etc., all get caught up in the hype of it all.