Jeff Lindsay’s Dexter is a series first published in 2004 by Jeff Lindsay. The horror series follows forensic analyst/serial killer Dexter Morgan.
Dexter Morgan seems to be a decent man. When he first appears, the attractive and charming guy is a member of the Miami Police Department, where he works as a forensic blood splatter expert.
But in reality, Dexter is a serial killer with a passion for blood. Luckily for Miami, Dexter is a nice killer, as he only targets evil guys.
Dexter Morgan’s passion began as a child. His foster father, Harry Morgan, was a police investigator. It didn’t take him long to figure out who Dexter was and what dark ambitions he harbored.
As a forensic specialist, Dexter has access to crime sites, which helps him find his next targets. And as a forensic specialist, Dexter understands how to conceal his forensic evidence. This allows him to work anonymously.
Dexter keeps getting away with murders because he is very smart and capable of identifying other killers. That doesn’t make him invincible, though.
The Dexter series Books in order
Dexter
- Darkly Dreaming Dexter (2004)
- Dearly Devoted Dexter (2005)
- Dexter in the Dark (2006)
- Dexter By Design (2008)
- Dexter Is Delicious (2010)
- Double Dexter (2011)
- Dexter’s Final Cut (2012)
- Dexter Is Dead (2015)
Dexter Down Under
The Billy Knight Thrillers
A Riley Wolfe Novel
Standalone Novel
A Graphic Novel Dexter
Similar authors
- Stephen King’s Bill Hodges Trilogy features retired detective Bill Hodges. In every book, he deals with new murder cases, without dialing down the nail-biting suspense.
- Thomas Harris’s Hannibal Lecter series revolves around the genius serial killer Hannibal “the Cannibal” Lecter. See also: Hannibal Lecter Books in Order and Thomas Harris Books in Order.
- Tess Gerritsen’s Rizzoli & Isles series follows detective Thomas Moore and Jane Rizzoli. They investigate a killer who targets lone women.
See also: Jo Nesbo’s Harry Hole Books in Order.
Most recommended books
- Darkly Dreaming Dexter (Dexter, #1) (3.89 Goodreads score)
- Dearly Devoted Dexter (Dexter, #2) (3.86 Goodreads score)
- Double Dexter (Dexter, #6) (3.82 Goodreads score)
- Dexter Is Delicious (Dexter, #5) (3.80 Goodreads score)
- Dexter By Design (Dexter, #4) (3.75 Goodreads score)
Awards
Darkly Dreaming Dexter won the 2005 Dilys Award presented by the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association. The series also won the 2007 Book to TV award.
Latest releases in the series
Dexter Is Dead is the eighth and final book in the series of Dexter Novels, published in 2015.
Movies based on the books
The novel is the basis for a TV series on the cable network Showtime. Whereas the first season largely followed the plot of the original book, subsequent seasons featured original storylines not directly based on subsequent “Dexter” novels.
Book summaries
Darkly Dreaming Dexter (2004)
Meet Dexter Morgan, a polite wolf in sheep’s clothing. He’s handsome and charming, but something in his past has made him abide by a different set of rules. He’s a serial killer whose one golden rule makes him immensely likable: he only kills bad people. • The Killer Character That Inspired the Hit Showtime Series DexterAnd his job as a blood splatter expert for the Miami police department puts him in the perfect position to identify his victims. But when a series of brutal murders bearing a striking similarity to his own style start turning up, Dexter is caught between being flattered and being frightened–of himself or some other fiend.
Dearly Devoted Dexter (2005)
To avoid suspicion, Dexter’s had to slip deep into his disguise: spending time with his girlfriend and her kids, slowly becoming the world’s first serial-killing couch potato. Then a particularly nasty psychopath starts cutting a trail through Miami — a killer whose twisted techniques leave even Dexter speechless. When his sister Deborah, a tough-as-nails cop, is drawn into the case, it becomes clear that Dexter will have to come out of hiding and hunt the monster down. Unless, of course, the killer finds him first. . .
Dexter in the Dark (2006)
Dexter’s Dark Passenger—the mastermind of his homicidal prowess—immediately senses something chillingly recognizable and goes into hiding. Dexter is alone for the first time in his life, and he realizes he’s being hunted by a truly sinister adversary. Meanwhile, he’s planning a wedding and trying to learn how to be a stepfather to his fiancé’s two kids—who might just have dark tendencies themselves. Macabre, ironic, and wonderfully entertaining, Dexter in the Dark goes deeper into the psyche of one of the freshest protagonists in fiction.
Dexter By Design (2008)
After his surprisingly glorious honeymoon in Paris, life is almost normal for Dexter Morgan. Married life seems to agree with him: he’s devoted to his bride, his stomach is full, and his homicidal hobbies are nicely under control. But old habits die hard—and Dexter’s work as a blood spatter analyst never fails to offer new temptations that appeal to his offbeat sense of justice. Not to mention that his Dark Passenger still waits to hunt with him in the moonlight. The discovery of a corpse (artfully displayed as a sunbather relaxing on a Miami beach chair) naturally piques Dexter’s curiosity and Miami’s finest realize they’ve got a terrifying new serial killer on the loose. And Dexter, of course, is back in business.
Dexter Is Delicious (2010)
Feeling surprisingly sunny and loving, he’s trying to suppress the influence of his Dark Passenger—the voice inside who guides his homicidal urges. But Dexter is summoned to investigate the disappearance of a seventeen-year-old girl who has been running with a bizarre group of goths who fancy themselves to be vampires. As Dexter gets closer to the truth of what happened to the missing girl, he realizes they are not really vampires, but cannibals. And most disturbing, these people have their eyes on Dexter … and their mouths are watering.
Double Dexter (2011)
Dexter is displeased. Like any self-respecting, totally decent, soundly homicidal guy, Dexter Morgan takes great pride in his work and is careful to remain anonymous. So he is, naturally, upset to discover that someone has identified him and—worst of all—is now turning his own methods against him. The situation soon becomes more complicated when a brutal cop killer begins targeting Miami’s police detectives—leaving behind bodies that are battered beyond recognition—and stoking the department’s worst fears. As his colleagues grow more paranoid of the psychotic killer in their midst, Dexter’s position is increasingly perilous. He is running out of time to track down this copycat and deliver his usual special justice before his dark hobby is revealed to the world.
Dexter’s Final Cut (2012)
Mega-star Robert Chase is famous for losing himself in his characters. When he and a group of actors descend to the Miami Police Department for “research,” Chase becomes fixated on Dexter Morgan, the blood spatter analyst with a sweet tooth and seemingly average life. Chase shadows Dexter’s every move, trying to learn what makes him tick. However, Dexter’s favorite pastime of hunting down the worst killers who’ve escaped legal prosecution—and introducing them to his special brand of justice—presents, well, a bit of a problem. It’s a secret best kept out of the spotlight if Dexter wants to stay out of the electric chair, but even Dexter isn’t immune to the call of fame…
Dexter Is Dead (2015)
Dexter Morgan—blood-spatter analyst, husband, father, the serial killer—knew that he couldn’t burn the candle at both ends forever, and now, his dark deeds have finally ensnared him. • The Killer Character That Inspired the Hit Showtime Series DexterHe is in prison on multiple homicide charges, although, ironically, he did not commit any of the murders of which he is accused. He’s lost everything: his wife, kids, career, and the loyalty of his sister. Now his sole, small shot at redemption may come from his brother, Brian, a homicidal maniac who makes Dexter look like the angel in the family. By helping Brian through some serious trouble of his own making, Dexter sees a potential path to proving himself innocent. But the stakes are truly deadly. And, with nothing left to hold him back, Dexter hurtles into an epic showdown … which may be his last.
Dexter Down Under (2014)
Dexter returns in a blood-soaked Australian adventure written by his creator, Jeff Lindsay! Dexter Morgan isn’t just Miami’s No. 1 forensic blood-spatter expert – he’s also a serial killer who targets other killers! But when Dexter travels Down Under on the trail of a new murderer, he quickly learns that sharks aren’t Australia’s only deadly predator. Who is setting up illegal hunting safaris in the Outback, and are they targeting more than a big game? Dexter investigates as only he can, but soon discovers that he isn’t the hunter – he’s the prey! Now Dexter is trapped in a private preserve where humans are in the crosshairs. Will this one end with a bang?
Tropical Depression (1994)
When a hostage situation turns deadly, Billy Knight loses everything—his wife, his daughter, and his career in law enforcement. Devastated, he heads to Key West to put down his gun and pick up a rod and reel as a fishing boat captain. But former co-worker Roscoe McAuley isn’t ready to let Billy rest. When Roscoe tells Billy that his son was the victim of premeditated murder during the riots following the Rodney King trial, Billy sends him away. When Roscoe himself turns up dead a few weeks later, however, Billy can’t keep from getting sucked back into Los Angeles, and the streets that took so much from him. Billy’s investigations into the death of a former cop, and his son, will take him up to the highest echelons of the LAPD, finding corruption at every level. It puts him on a collision course with the law, with his past, with his former fellow officers, and with the dark aftermath of the civil rights movement—in a case with more dangerous blind curves than Mulholland Drive.
Red Tide (2015)
Ex-cop Billy Knight wants to ride out Key West’s slow season with the occasional fishing charter and the frequent beer. But when he discovers a dead body floating in the gulf, Billy gets drawn into a deadly plot of dark superstition and profound evil. Along with his gun-happy friend Nicky, and Anna, a resilient and mysterious survivor of her own horrors, Billy sets out to right the wrongs the police won’t—putting himself in mortal peril along the way.
Just Watch Me (2019)
A masterful thief plots an impossible crime—stealing the Iranian Crown Jewels. From the author of the wildly successful Dexter series comes a new, mesmerizing bad guy we can root for Riley Wolfe. He’s a master thief, an expert at disguise, and not averse to violence when it’s needed. It’s no accident, though, that Riley targets the wealthiest 0.1 percent and is willing to kill them when they’re in his way: he despises the degenerate and immoral rich and loves stealing their undeserved and unearned valuables. In this series launch, Riley aims for an extraordinary target in a heist that will make history. Riley will try to steal the Crown Jewels of Iran. Yes, these jewels are worth billions, but the true attraction for grabbing them comes down to one simple fact: it can’t be done. Stealing these jewels is absolutely impossible. The collection is guarded by space-age electronics and two teams of heavily armed mercenaries. No one could even think of getting past the airtight security and hope to get away alive, let alone with even a single diamond from the Imperial Collection. No one but Riley Wolfe. He’s always liked a challenge. But this challenge may be more than even he can handle. Aside from the impenetrable security, Riley is also pursued by a brilliant and relentless cop who is barely a step behind him. With the aid of his sometime ally, a beautiful woman who is a master art forger, Riley Wolfe goes for the prize that will either make him a legend—or, more likely, leave him dead.
Fool Me Twice (2020)
Pulling off an impossible crime is the only way he can stay alive. Stealing a Faberge egg. Surviving a double cross. And pulling off the most incredible robbery ever, for the world’s most demanding—and dangerous—collector. This will be the challenge of thief extraordinaire Riley Wolfe’s life. Held prisoner by a top-dog international arms dealer, and a top-notch art collector, Riley has to steal artwork. Small problem—it’s a fresco, “The Liberation of St. Peter.” A slightly larger problem—it’s in the Vatican. And, it’s a literal wall. Riley has no choice: agree or die. But when his captor turns him loose, he finds even more dangerous criminals waiting to ensnare him, threatening his life and the life of the woman he loves. The threat is clear. Riley knows they both have only one way out. With wicked dialogue, tons of explosive twists, and cinema-worthy scenes, Jeff Lindsay’s Fool Me Twice is a wildly entertaining caper starring an antihero you’ll root for, Riley Wolfe.
Dreamland (1995)
For the past eight years, Hilary Hemingway and her husband Jeffery P. Lindsay have researched the UFO enigma. They sat in on abductees’ hypnosis sessions, traveled to crop circles, and reviewed their findings with the Department of Defense. The startling result is Dreamland: A Novel of the UFO Cover-Up, a fictionalized account of very real and frightening events surrounding an Air Force base in the Nevada desert. Known only as “Area 51” or “Dreamland”, it is so secret it doesn’t appear on any map.
Dreamchild (1998)
Max is not your usual five-year-old boy. Unable to speak, shy, and strange, he was conceived while his mother was the victim of an alien abduction. Max is a unique being: a hybrid of human and alien. He carries the fate of all mankind in his tiny hands. And now that the government has discovered his powerful connection to the aliens, will Max survive long enough to fulfill his purpose–for either side?
Dexter (2013)
But now, the deeply damaged Dexter must face two of his worst nightmares: his high school reunion, and a former classmate with a secret that could destroy him! And as if that weren’t enough, Dexter and his detective sister Deborah are on a hot new case – that ends in flames! Dexter may have met his match…but did he help create him? Determined to prove how sneaky he really is, Dexter infiltrates his rival’s lair…but has he actually stepped into a trap? The bodies are piling up under the hot Miami sun -and Dexter might be next!
