Decidedly Different Direction

Not long ago, I read the first book in the series that inspired the TV series Dexter. I've now finished the second book, Dearly Devoted Dexter. This is the point where the books and the show part ways; after a first season that followed the first novel rather closely, the plot of this second book is a separate story. On the one hand, that's a bit of a shame, since the second season of Dexter was, in my opinion, the show's finest. But I think it's better still to get to read something different and surprising.

This novel has the Miami police on the hunt for a criminal who isn't technically a murderer -- though you could easily argue he's much worse. He abducts his victims and then performs multiple amputations on them over a period of days or weeks, ultimately leaving them alive as legless, armless, tongueless husks. It's actually a really disturbing notion, more visceral than anything the TV series has attempted to portray.

There are a few elements from the show that were clearly inspired by this book, though not adapted precisely. Deb does begin a romantic relationship with a visiting Washington agent -- though he's not at all like Keith Carradine's character Lundy. Doakes is suspicious of Dexter and stalking him relentlessly -- though the subplot doesn't take the same course as it did on the series. One of Dexter's signatures on the show, dumping his victims in the ocean, has its origins in this book -- and is the disposal method of a different killer Dexter is hunting.

Still, the bulk of the novel feels like all new material, and is better for it. Author Jeff Lindsay still doesn't like to dwell too much on fleshing out characters (as opposed to advancing plot), but the people do seem a little sharper, a bit less like ciphers, than they did his first time out. Interestingly, he spends a fair amount of time on Rita's children, Astor and Cody, and serves up a very compelling and unexpected subplot I'm interested to see carried on into the next book.

Overall, I would still hold that the series is the superior incarnation of Dexter. But this novel is still an improvement over the first, and I find that to be more than enough. I rate book two a B+.