Dexter is Delicious

December 20, 2010
Authors are often poor narrators of their work—happily this is not the case with Jeff Lindsay, who brings a perfect performance to the narration of his latest novel starring Dexter, the charismatic, sociopathic serial killer. Life for Dexter has taken a major turn. He is now the father of a new baby daughter, Lily Anne, and this extraordinary event has him putting away his knives and duct tape and vowing to extinguish the dark murderous flame that has flared inside him for so long. But some vows are easier kept than others, and when he becomes involved in the investigation of a possible cult of cannibals, it's just possible that he will be drawn back to being the dark Dexter of old. Lindsay's wry reading proves that he knows Dexter and his world better than anyone. With a clear, controlled voice, he pulls the listener into the story, keeping the tone light even when describing the grisliest scenes, but he's more than capable of conveying danger and suspense. With material that alternates dizzyingly between the disturbing and humorous, listeners will cringe and chuckle from beginning to end. A Doubleday hardcover.

Who better than author Jeff Lindsay to delve into the wicked, twisted psyche of Dexter Morgan? The Miami Police blood spatter analyst is also a serial killer. (He kills only those who deserve to die.) In Lindsay's voice the listener hears the diabolical delight Dexter takes in murdering his victims. Lindsay is also a master at evoking the chilling menace of Dexter's emotionless inner conversations, which many are familiar with from the popular Showtime series. In this story Dexter is hot on the trail of vampires and cannibals who are wreaking various forms of havoc and kidnapping people. While Dexter attends to his "Dark Passenger" side, he stumbles upon one grisly crime scene after another, which add up to grim ritualistic behavior. Dexter is also coping with new fatherhood, a development that creates an emotional disconnect from the dark impulses at his core. Lindsay, who resides--at least while writing--in Dexter's demented head, performs with appropriately gruesome irony from beginning to end. A.W. (c) AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine