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Jeff Lindsay is a hoot --- no other term quite fits. "Talented" and "original" would be accurate, but not adequate. There are many writers capable of creating a maniacal serial killer; Thomas Harris and Patricia Highsmith even made their respective creations credible anti-heroes. Lindsay, and his newly minted series of Dexter Morgan novels (of which the recently published DEARLY DEVOTED DEXTER is but the second), takes things a step further, however. Dexter has all the urges of his dark-souled peers, and yet he is able to channel them into a constructive endeavor, one that contemporaneously culls his competition and protects the flock. And talk about putting the fox in charge of guarding the henhouse. Dexter is a blood splatter analyst for the Miami-Dade County Police Department. He accordingly has an inside track when it comes to learning of a new murderer on the street --- one who can be a new victim.
Dexter is both appalled and thrilled when a new murderer, nicknamed Dr. Danco, begins working the street. While possessing a grudging admiration for Danco's work, Dexter nonetheless is compelled to take him off the board. But there's more than bloodlust motivating Dexter. Dexter has a foster sister, Deborah, who happens to be a newly appointed Miami homicide detective and is dating a federal agent named Kyle Chatsky. When Chatsky is selected as Danco's next victim, it is up to Dexter to save the day, and Deborah's boyfriend.
Ah, but every great hero (if we want to stretch the definition of that term) has an adversary who is of equal, if not greater, talent, and Dexter is no exception. In his case, it is the redoubtable Sergeant Doakes of the Miami Police Department. Doakes's instincts tell him that Dexter is a murderer himself and has devoted his career to catching him in the act, thus forcing Dexter to hide in plain sight with his girlfriend Rita and her children. Dexter's bloodlust is growing, though, and he needs the release that only a cold-blooded murder can bring. He is therefore drawn into a game of cat-and-mouse with Doakes, as each man waits for the other to make a move.
Meanwhile, Danco is still at large and Chatsky is in danger. And as for Dexter and Rita --- well, the unexpected happens. And no one is more surprised than Dexter.
DEARLY DEVOTED DEXTER, as with its predecessor DARKLY DREAMING DEXTER, is a multileveled novel filled with grim humor and dark characterization, riding on a finely articulated story that excites, stimulates, and entertains. This is a series that, depending on the whim of its creator, has the steam to run for decades. Jump on board now.
--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
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