Friday, November 4, 2011

Double Dexter by Jeff Lindsay

Darkly dreaming, dashingly devious Dexter is back and finding himself in a load of trouble. Someone witnessed him at play and is now making his life hell. Much like Dexter, this Shadow has decided it his moral duty to punish the wicked, copying Dexter's trade step by step. Worse of all, he's not picking up his mess. Instead, he's leaving it in plain sight and pinning evidence of Dexter's dark delights on the scene. This is all the ammunition needed to send Doakes gunning for Dexter's head once and for all. But Dexter's not one to give up so easily. Question is, how do you defeat an enemy who's seemingly one step ahead of you?

There are several complaints with Lindsay's Dexter in every novel in the series. From the outlandish paranormal Dark Passenger to the fact that Dexter never carries out the final deed himself. That's not to say the TV series is without its flaws - why is LaGuerta still alive, for instance - but the flaws (in my eyes, anyway) of the novel series always bothers me more. Like Doakes. How is he still around after he's been de-limbed, de-tongued and pretty much a walking spud with hooks for hands? And while Astor and Cody are lovely little monsters, how is it that Astor's going through all the typical growing girl stages while Cody hasn't even aged - still with this three-word sentences? I'm not asking for Shakespeare here, but the kid's gotta come out of his shell sometime.

Without giving too many details away, there are a few things that pulled my strings of annoyance. Rita's suspicions and how quickly they are ratified. The odd coincidence of Camilla Figg's  relationship to the plot. Astor's typical teenage girl act, even though she's supposedly a Dexter-in-training (a little too human, isn't it?).

A few nice touches include the fact that Dexter is not following a kindred spirit as his Shadow doesn't trigger any warnings from the Dark Passenger. The idea of someone mimicking Dexter while stalking him is also bold - Dexter's been stalked before Dexter by Design, but this is quite another level. In fact, next to Dr. Danco, Shadow is the sort of bad guy I wouldn't mind seeing adapted on the TV show. Doakes's probable departure also raises my hopes for the future, though not in the way that would've made me smile.

Double Dexter is available at Amazon and Barnes and Noble for Kindle and Nook, respectively. Until next time, keep on huntin'.


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