ridel reviewed Dexter in the dark by Jeffry P. Lindsay
Review of 'Dexter in the dark' on 'Goodreads'
2 stars
Disappointing - Dexter's third outing is unique to the novels and as an unabashed fan of the TV show, that should be a good thing. The police procedural is actually decent, with hints here and there that the reader can use to follow along. However, this deep dive into the Dark Passenger (as foreshadowed by the back cover) never really takes off. It's quite a shame - the first half of the book is gripping and it's nice to see Dexter knocked off his game. But his introspective narrative tips over the edge to "whininess", the plot just happens to the passive Dexter, and the payoff at the end just wasn't there.
Specifically, the jump into the supernatural was not appreciated, and lost me as a fan of the series. I completely understand why this was never adapted for TV, as I don't know what Jeff Lindsay was thinking at …
Disappointing - Dexter's third outing is unique to the novels and as an unabashed fan of the TV show, that should be a good thing. The police procedural is actually decent, with hints here and there that the reader can use to follow along. However, this deep dive into the Dark Passenger (as foreshadowed by the back cover) never really takes off. It's quite a shame - the first half of the book is gripping and it's nice to see Dexter knocked off his game. But his introspective narrative tips over the edge to "whininess", the plot just happens to the passive Dexter, and the payoff at the end just wasn't there.
Specifically, the jump into the supernatural was not appreciated, and lost me as a fan of the series. I completely understand why this was never adapted for TV, as I don't know what Jeff Lindsay was thinking at all. The Dark Passenger was always written like a metaphor... as if Dexter's primal, lizard brain had insight that his conscious civilized personality did not. That Dexter treated it like a different entity just helped highlight what a broken person he was... but instead, this novel decided to make it actually some sort of ancient, supernatural spirit that has been around throughout history. Seriously...?
Moreover, the entire primary plot was poorly explained: this cult just magically has the reach it does, with many more unnamed members and an entire island where they sacrificed and then moved dead bodies to place all over Miami. The primary member isn't even named, much less given any sort of personality, and the various cultists are effectively window dressing. Everything culminates in Dexter doing nothing at all, getting captured... twice! Because of some sort of supernatural music in his head. And he's rescued because his kids save him, and their Dark Passengers are immune despite allegedly all coming from the same root evil...? None of it makes sense.
Oh and there's absolutely no payoff. You have no idea why Dexter's passenger disappeared, and it just magically shows up again at the end. There's no deeper world building, and there's no explanation for the whole Dark Passenger disappearance subplot.
