Dexter by Design by Jeff Lindsay

Dexter Morgan is a serial killer, but also works as a blood spatter expert for the Miami-Dade police force. In fact, he's something of a META serial killer, as he only preys on other serial killers, making him a nominal "good guy" serial killer. Dexter's killing is driven by an inner force he calls his "Dark Passenger", a part of him that makes him kill. But it also makes him and his life more interesting, as he discovered in the last novel "Dexter in the Dark", where his Dark Passenger fled and left him completely normal, and completely boring.

Now married to Rita, Dexter is on Honeymoon in Paris when he and Rita find an art exhibition that shocks her and interests his Dark Passenger- showing people excising the flesh from their own bones, leaving the bones pristine and white. While this shocks most people, Dexter is amused by it and his Dark Passenger finds it quite interesting and thrilling.

But when he gets home and settles into married life, he feels that his human mask is finally complete. No one would now suspect him of being a serial killer, and he's free to raise his two Dexters-in-training, Rita's kids, Cody and Ashley, who want to try out their new skills and urges on their own. But when an unknown person starts murdering people and leaving them around the city posed in ways that both mimic and subvert the popular tourist ads for Florida, Dexter's Dark Passenger sits up and takes notice.

And whoever did it is sending his "recreated" ads to the agencies that do the same sort of ads. But does he have a grudge against Florida, or just the people who promote it? And when Dexter's sister Deb ends up in the hospital fighting for her life in intensive care after being knifed by one of the people they were going to question, Dexter is on the case to find the killer or killers and bring them to his own sort of justice.

But at the same time, he has to civilize Cody and get him to adopt the same kind of protective camouflage that Dexter wears every day and has made his own. And solving the case involves a trip to Cuba with Norm Chutsky, former FBI man and Deborah's boyfriend. But when the villain kidnaps Rita, Cody and Ashley, can Dexter save his wife and new kids from a killer without giving away what he is to the FBI? Dexter's new case may have him cutting close to the bone, but then again, that's how he likes it...

I love Dexter Morgan. Yes, he's a serial killer and he supposedly cares for nothing and no one. But that's a lie. He cares for his sister, he even, in some small way, cares for Rita- and he cares for Cody and Ashley even more now that he knows that they are nascent serial killers just like he is. He has nothing against kids- in fact, he seems to like and want to protect kids- maybe so they won't end up like he did. But he deserves his true killing strength for other serial killers. Luckily, because of his job, he runs into plenty of those in Miami, Florida. Enough to keep his Dark Passenger satisfied.

We don't know how often Dexter feeds his Dark Passenger. Every few weeks? Every month? He mentions something about the phases of the moon in Darkly Dreaming Dexter, but he's able to take time off after his wedding for two weeks in Paris with Rita without it affecting him much and, just as luckily, he's presented with a new prey just as soon as he gets back or not that long afterwards. And this foe twists the images of Florida as a place for sun and fun into images that turn those assertions completely on their head- making them images of horror.

But I also liked who he was paired with in this adventure. Usually, Dexter is on his own when he goes to hunt down the serial killers that plague the city. Now, he's partnered with Deb's new partner, Chutsky, her boyfriend, the FBI and even Cody and Ashley to finally take down the killer. How Dexter reacts with each, either hiding who he is or attempting to protect the kids, was something I really enjoyed. And seeing Dexter matching wits with the killer is always a delight.

This version of Dexter is quite different than the one from the Television show. TV Dexter is more human, and less chilling, and due to the distaste of some TV viewers, he neither let his brother kill Laguerta, his boss nor have they pursued the "Children as serial killers" that book Dexter deals with. But this story has a greater urgency because of that, and while I like both stories, I like book Dexter more (although I felt that the subplot of the third book, where serial killers hold part of the essence of the God Baal, could be eliminated and I wouldn't mind at all). He's more dangerous, and more Other, than TV Dexter, and it makes him a more compelling figure.

I highly recommend this series, which will turn all your preconceived ideas of what makes a hero and turn them completely on their head. Yes, he's a serial killer, and has very few emotions, but he's not so dark and horrible as he believes himself to be, and manages to be heroic and fight evil while being what most modern people would call evil. But it's surprising how fast you come to root for him to succeed, to kill the serial killer while escaping punishment himself. And I certainly want to read the next installment, about modern day cannibals, called "Dexter Tastes Delicious". I can't wait to read more.