I feel it somewhat serendipitous that I got this audio book for my road trip this past weekend. Serendipitous because it is getting oh-so-close to National Novel Writing Month, and I do plan on participating this year (and completing it!), and I found Lindsay’s writing style to be SO detailed that it inspired me on how I need to write for NaNo.

Lindsay can take a scene — something simple like Dexter and his sister Deb driving in traffic — and describe every passing vehicle, every facial expression, curse word, etc., to the point where you feel like you are in the car yourself.

Experiencing this as an audio book rather than reading it myself made it a much more enjoyable experience. As there are many grisly scenes in this story, it had an almost summer camp-like feel of being around a bonfire, listening to a scary tale.

Fans of the TV show (I among them) should take note: this is book 2 in the Dexter series and bears almost no resemblance to season 2 of the Showtime series. The only common thread was the Doakes plot – although even that doesn’t end the same way. I’ll try and refrain from spoilers, because I myself am only on season 4 of the TV series, but the killer the Miami police force tracks throughout this novel is someone from Doakes’ past who has an ax to grind – or should we say, a very sharp surgical knife?

Entertaining and action-packed, this second Dexter novel has me wanting to run out and get the third one – in audio book format, as well. The character of Dexter is so witty and quirky that you can’t help but like him, even though he’s a twisted psychopath with daddy issues. If you watch the show, you won’t spoil anything by reading this (I don’t think) and if you don’t watch the show, then you will be tempted to tune in after you finish.

Although I think you could read this book out of sequence, it’s better to start with the first one (“Darkly Dreaming Dexter” – they all have this alliteration in the title) to get the background on why Dexter is the way he is.

Grab a copy this month – a great read for Halloween month!