Darkly Dreaming Dexter

Dexter, Book 1

By: Jeff Lindsay

Narrated by: Jeff Lindsay

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • The “dark comedy with a creative twist” (Miami Herald) that introduced America’s favorite serial killer—the character that inspired the latest Showtime hit series Dexter: Resurrection.


“A macabre tour-de-force.”—The New York Times Book Review

Meet Dexter Morgan, a polite wolf in sheep’s clothing. He’s handsome and charming, but something in his past has made him abide by a different set of rules. He’s a serial killer whose one golden rule makes him immensely likeable: he only kills bad people.

And his job as a blood splatter expert for the Miami police department puts him in the perfect position to identify his victims. But when a series of brutal murders bearing a striking similarity to his own style start turning up, Dexter is caught between being flattered and being frightened–of himself or some other fiend.

Look for all of Jeff Lindsay’s deliciously twisted Dexter novels:
DARKLY DREAMING DEXTER • DEARLY DEVOTED DEXTER • DEXTER IN THE DARK • DEXTER BY DESIGN • DEXTER IS DELICIOUS • DOUBLE DEXTER • DEXTER’S FINAL CUT • DEXTER IS DEAD

Critic reviews

"A macabre tour-de-force." —The New York Times Book Review“A dark comedy with a creative twist.”—The Miami Herald“Dark and devious. . . . . Daring and unexpectedly comedic.” —USA Today"Maybe the first serial killer who unabashedly solicits our love." —Entertainment Weekly"With chills like these, you can skip the air-conditioning." —Time"One of the most likeable vigilante serial killers in recent thriller literature." —The New Yorker“Demonology has a dastardly new darling.” —The New York Times “Just when you think (hope?) that the tired and rarely credible device of the serial killer next door has hit a wall, along comes a writer like Jeff Lindsay to prove you wrong. . . . So enjoyable.” —Chicago Tribune“Mordantly funny.” —The New York Post“A fresh, inventive slice of crime fiction that turns the axis of good and evil . . . upside down. A psychological thriller in the best sense of the genre.” —The Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, FL)“A memorable debut with a hero who really ought to be in a mental institution, but is too much fun to lock up.” —The Rocky Mountain News (Denver, CO)“Dexter’s captivating, first-person account is a genuinely exciting read.” —Time Out (NY)“This ghoulish, fascinating tale . . . will grip readers and make a lasting impression.” —The Philadelphia Inquirer“Entertaining. . . . Dexter is a fascinating character, though he’s not the kind of guy you’d like to invite to dinner.” —Chicago Sun-Times"Fun, terrifically fresh. . . . It's thrilling to watch Dexter struggle between everyday vanilla reality and the compelling, kaleidoscopic thrall of his own bloody fantasies." —Linda Marotta, Fangoria“Totally captivating. . . . Totally original. The characters are beautifully drawn, particularly Dexter, who is tremendously likeable, his hobby not withstanding.” —The St. Petersburg Times (FL)“Lindsay gets high marks for originality, atmosphere, vibrant action scenes and having the brass to write this in the first place.” —Tulsa World“Jeff Lindsay sure does it right with Darkly Dreaming Dexter.” —Cleveland Plain Dealer“Newcomer Jeff Lindsay has created a unique hero. . . . Intriguing.” —Mystery Scene“In creating a singularly unique killer, Lindsay also manages to create a few sleepless nights for the reader.” —Anniston Star (Anniston, AL)

If tits were brains she would be a genius

I hope to get a chance to use that phrase some day.

I was following someone who gave this five stars. It is important to try and follow others with the same taste has yours, but I have to disagree with my leader here. Not at one point did I think this was a bad book, and I thought it might be great when I started it. It is certainly a unique character.

The longer I read, the more flaws started to appear. My first problem came at chapter nine. What seem to be a fairly straight (but weird) story, headed into the realms of paranormal. This cheapened the story and gave the author several easy outs. I like paranormal in my Jim Butcher or Simon R. Green books, but there they don't use it for easy solutions and it fits into the rest of the story. Jeff Lindsey makes Miami seem like a small town with just a couple of streets. More then once Dexter is driving around and he comes unto a crime seen involving the criminal he is trying to find. More then once he comes up with a solution to a problem, yet he even admits, that he does not know how he would come up with that clue. It seems he just happen to dream the right dream or have a feeling or etc. The book becomes very predictable. I knew what was going to happen to his sister many chapters before it happened. I knew the ending, before it happened. What makes it worse is JL slowly draws these things out. You hear in his voice, (I am going to surprise you, I am going to have a gotcha moment.) and then he does exactly what you expect. Expect several times to hear the main character say, I should have felt so and so, but I felt the opposite. That gets old after a while.

I did give it five stars, it is not a bad book, it just is not a real good book.

Who doesn't love Dexter?

I won't re-hash the story line of the book, the synopsis and other reviews that do that quite well. I'm a big Dexter fan and have read the books as well as seen every episode of the show multiple times. The story is great so no worries there, the main point of my review is the narration, just so you know what you're getting in to. I did read reviews prior to purchasing the audible but they were so mixed I had to try it myself. Initially I thought Jeff Lindsay was doing an ok job, up until about 30 min in to the book. Then it just really hit home how robotic he was making Dexter sound. I get it, Dexter likes everything precise but that doesn't equate robot to me. Also, his Deb voice is as annoying as the Deb character in the TV show.

Look, Lindsay isn't HORRIBLE but I did find it distracting and it made me turn the book off in favor of other things more often than I cared to. I got thru it but I'll think more than twice about getting another.

Love the book, the author

i like that Jeff sounded like the TV Dexter and unlike the TV I get to know more about Dexter and how he thinks. The book is always better of course. I am looking forward to getting the other series books.

Love it

I’ve been a huge fan of Dexter for a while. I decided to read the books after watching the last season on HBO.
Far different than the TV series which is nice because I don’t know what’s going to happen.

The narrator reads too slow for me, but not a big deal. The story was still really good, and he did a great job with different characters’ voices.

Delightfully Dexter

I'm a fan of the cable series but having the original story read by the author is just over the top wonderful. Bravo!