Dexter in the Dark

by Jeffry P. Lindsay, Jeff Lindsay

English language

Published June 14, 2007

ISBN:: 978-0-7528-8160-7

(18 reviews)

Is evil alive ...? Dr Jerry Halpern is trying to find out, studying for his PhD on the subject. Dexter Morgan, meanwhile, has a few wicked things of his own to contend with - not least, planning his wedding to Rita to complete his nice-guy disguise. But when a student of Halpern's is found burnt, molested and headless - seemingly sacrificed to an ancient god - and Dex is brought in as forensic analyst to help investigate, he realises he could be dealing with someone a whole lot more sinister than he is. Soon it seems the dark passenger in Dexter's head has gone into hiding. And when something creeps out your friendly neighbourhood serial killer, you know it's serious ... As Halpern and Dexter are stalked by death, it looks like it's getting personal - especially as Dex now has a family to protect. Gradually, Dexter realises his stepchildren …

9 editions

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 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.

Michael @ Knowledge Lost reviewed Dexter in the dark by Jeffry P. Lindsay

Review of 'Dexter in the dark' on 'Goodreads'

2 stars

Dexter in the Dark is the first of Jeff Lindsay’s “Dexter” series not narrated exclusively in the first-person point of view. Along with Dexter’s first-person narration, the novel also includes third person narrations from two other points of view. One is a person called the Watcher, a member of the cult that follows and observes Dexter. I found Dexter in the Dark a return to form for Lindsay, the feel and the primary case just seems more suited to a Dexter style book, which is nice considering Dearly Devoted Dexter lacked it a bit.

pophyn reviewed Dexter in the dark by Jeffry P. Lindsay

Review of 'Dexter in the dark' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

So far, book 2 is my favorite Dexter book. This one added some elements to Dexter's universe that I'm not thrilled with (but won't list as they are spoilery). Weird because they are generally my cuppa tea, but here I would rather they were absent. Still, the writing remains top notch, the elements don't ruin things totally, and the book was a fun read. But I truly hope Lindsay drops this new direction and gets back to basic Dexter. I'm also very glad the TV series hasn't adopted this element.