Dexter is Delicious (2010)

Another fabulous episode of life with Dexter by Jeff Lindsay. The blessed event has arrived and Dexter is now a daddy. This should be just the thing to banish the Dark Passenger and polish the new world that Dexter has created for himself with a house, wife, and children. Out of nowhere, his brother returns, seemingly sincere to be a part of this family. Can he be trusted? And will the bad guys stop doing bad things and distracting Dexter? We want Dexter to be able to enjoy his family but on the other hand, would he be as interesting a character?

I stood up. I just needed to move around, try to calm down, collect my thoughts, tame these weird and wild and brand-new emotions, before they carried me away on a flood tide of stupidity. I walked into the kitchen, where the dishwasher was already whirring away at the dinner dishes. Past the refrigerator, its ice-maker clicking. I walked into the back hall by the washer and dryer. All around me, through the whole house, everything was clean and functional, all the machinery of domestic bliss, in its place and ready to do exactly what it was supposed to do - all of it but me. I was not made to fit under the counter of this or any other house. I was made for moonlight gleaming off a very sharp knife and the soothing ratchet of duct tape purring off the roll and the muffled horror of the wicked in their neat and careful bods as they met their unmaker -

I doubt I would spoil the story by saying that Dexter decides he must keep the world safe for his Lily Ann. Yay!

My rating for this book: ++++

Dexter by Design (2009)

Jeff Lindsay keeps the Dexter story going with another in his series. Dexter is now married and has a baby along with his wife's other two children, Astor and Cody. Astor and Cody have had a violent childhood and Dexter sees that they are related to him almost deeper than by blood. He sees that he will need to "train" them as he was trained by his adopted father, Harry.

Harry's daughter, Deb, is a detective in the same police department where Dexter serves as a blood spatter specialist. She knows about his Dark Passenger and has used Dexter's unique talent to help her solve cases and advance in her career. She gets Dexter to help on a case and they find their way to the door of a suspect. Almost as soon as she identifies herself, the resident pulls out a knife and stabs her. Dexter mistakes the other resident as the stabber and holds him until help arrives. Unfortunately, this is not the stabber and the confusion allows the real one to escape.

While Deb lays in the hospital recovering from her blood loss, her boyfriend, Chutsky, helps Dexter track down the suspect as far away as Cuba. Unfortunately, the suspect is busy tracking down Dexter and his family. What a fool.

I love this series but be warned. It is not for everyone. The book's characters are echoed in the series on Showtime but the story lines are different.

My rating for this book: ++++

"Dexter" series

I have been a fan of the "Dexter" series on Showtime for a while now and came across one of Jeff Lindsay's books at a used book store and couldn't resist. For fans of the series, I highly recommend reading the books. There is enough difference between the events that reading the books gives you more Dexter deliciousness.

Dexter is a monster -- no one will deny that, not even himself. At the age of three he was found inside a cargo container sitting in a pool of his mother's blood. She had been hacked up by drug dealers and left with her sons three days before. The police officer adopted Dexter and helped him deal with his pathology by focusing his need to kill on targets that deserve it. By keeping to "the code" Dexter is able to hide his actions and feed the beast. Ironically, he works as a blood spatter specialist in the same Miami police department as the daughter of his adopted parents. Indeed it is here that he finds his victims and the skill to ensure that they deserve a death sentence.

These books are not for the squeamish and faint hearted. They are brutal and full of language but one cannot help but want to continue reading the series and watching the episodes on TV.

My rating for this series: ++++

What I Saw and How I Lied (2008)

When I was a teenager I had a crush on an adult family friend. I thought he was dashing even though I knew he drank entirely too much (he eventually died of liver failure). In Judy Blundell's National Book Award winner, Evie develops a crush on a man who may be having a relationship with her mother. He dies at sea during a hurricane and her parents are suspected of causing his death.

This book takes place mostly in Palm Beach, Florida shortly after the end of World War II. Her stepfather, Joe, takes her mother, Beverly, and Evie by car to Florida for a break. Evie is a prime witness to many adult events such as fights between her parents and between her mother and stepfather's mother, Glad. She is also aware of feelings of antisemitism around her even though one of the major reasons for the war, she thought, was to save the Jews. So why does everyone hate them now?

On the verge of becoming an adult, she tries to participate in the games she sees played around her. She dresses up in her mother's glamorous dresses and wears her makeup and perfume. She flirts with Peter, another guest at the hotel they stay at and he responds by taking her and her mother out for drives to stores and movie theaters. But why did her mother always have to come?

There is a movie genre called "noir", French for "black", where detectives track down murderers and adulterers. There are always dark shadows and the actors use low, deep voices. This book reminded me of these movies. It was dark (even though it took place in Florida) and it seemed the camera angle was always aimed up at the adults as if Evie were shooting the movie and the adults were talking over her head.

I'm not sure who might read this book (notice I didn't say enjoy). I read it because it was an award winner and I almost had to push through it. It's a precautionary story about jumping into grown-up business too early so I would recommend it to readers who appreciate books with serious topics and a maybe not-so-happy ending.

My rating for this book: +++