Now, I’ve been a fan of Jeff Lindsay’s Dexter series for a long time, one of the few who probably likes the books more than the t.v. show, but Double Dexter did not live up to my expectations. I’m getting a little disappointed with Lindsay. While his last book, Dexter is Delicious, was very creative Dexter in the Dark and this newest book have been far from what I’ve come to expect from Lindsay.
Dexter has been convincingly continuing his normal-life with his normal family and perfect in every way baby Lily Anne. Until someone catches him with his “dark Dexter” showing, standing over the body of his most recent — and deserving — playmate. A morally uptight forty-something sees Dexter at play and begins to think there is no justice in the world and that’s never going to change, so he sets out to be the new dark avenger. With Dexter as his first victim.
The plot continues from there in stereotypical Lindsay style, and there does seem to be a lack of originality in this book. While the first killer introduced in the novel is a very unique character, the game played between Dexter and his double feels like something we’ve seen before. Of course, there are the never-ending reminders about the craziness of Miami traffic and the super-intelligence of our hero Dexter. I do have to admit that it seems as though Dexter is loosing his keen senses a little. There are very obvious clues which go totally overlooked, and I became a little disappointed in Dexter’s dark side.
If you’ve read the series from the beginning there’s no reason to skip this book. It is a decent edition and well worth the read, continuing nicely with the rest of the series. However, if this is your first introduction to Dexter in print I would recommend you start at the beginning and go from there. Don’t pick up this book and expect to be wowed unless you’re already an avid Lindsay reader.
