Dexter is Dead

by Jeff Lindsay
286 pgs  (Dexter series #8)

"Jeff Lindsay isn't really going to kill Dexter Morgan, is he?"That was my panicked first thought when I saw the title of what I knew was the last book in his series. i knew Dexter didn't die at the end of the television series (but if he had, it would have been an improvement over the way that ended). But I really didn't want to believe that it would happen. Ive really enjoyed the Dexter books. He's a fantastic character. And while the television series suffered as it progressed, the books never did. I could have happily read many more books featuring the Miami-Dade Police Department's blood-splatter analyst who has a darkside he lets out when someone really needs to die. But I resigned myself to the idea of this being the last book. But still...he wasn't really going to die was he?

The book picks up a short tie after Dexter's Final Cut ended. Dexter is in jail, ironically, for murders that he didn't commit. Detective Anderson has done everything in his power to frame Dexter for the murders, and Deb, his sister, has abandoned him and left him to rot there in jail. It's Dexter's brother Brian who comes to Dexter's rescue. But it's a short-lived rescue, since the money he used to pay for the highest-profile attorney in Miami to represent Dexter, was stolen from a man named Raul, a Mexican drug kingpin. It's out of the frying pan and into the fire. Now Dexter has to find a way to prove his innocence (for the murders he's accused of), deal with Detective Anderson, and keep Brian and himself safe from the Cartel.

I'll admit that the plot of this one leaves a little to be desired. There might have been a little bit of a fatigue factor involved for Lindsay. But needing to know what happens at the end, and whether Dexter does in fact die, or is only presumed to be killed, or maybe it's just his "dark passenger" that dies, I had a tough time putting the book down.

Goodbye darkly-dreaming, dearly-devoted, dastardly-devious Dexter. It was an exciting and enjoyable ride.

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆