The Culture

When I am not reading science fiction, the most likely kind of book you will find me with is serial killer fiction, the Straw Men by Michael Marshall being a good example of the kind of book I like. Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay is the basis for the Dexter TV show, the first season of which was shown on non-satellite TV in the UK at the start of this year. I liked the premise of the show – a serial killer working for the Miami PD who spends his off duty time disposing of criminals who are otherwise evading detection or conviction – and so started watching the series. However, though I tried to like it, I found the story too slow and too drawn out to hold my interest and gave up on the series halfway through its run.

But I did like the premise and so when I saw the book in my local library, I decided to give it a go. As I hoped, the book is much better paced than the series and also focuses less on some of the other characters, such as Rita, Doakes and Angel whose characters, in the series, are given their own subplots in order to spin the book out into a 13 part series. The book itself was good without being great but good enough that I will try the next in the series to see how the character develops after his experiences in this book.