

But when a new serial killer starts working in Miami, staging elaborately grisly scenes that are, to Dexter, an obvious attempt at communication from one monster to another, the eponymous protagonist finds himself at a loss. Adopted at the age of four after an unnamed tragedy left him orphaned, Dexter's learned, with help from his pragmatic policeman father, to channel his "gift," killing only those who deal in death themselves.

Mind you, Dexter's the good guy in this story. He's also a sociopathic serial killer whose "Dark Passenger" drives him to commit the occasional dismemberment. He's polite, says all the right things, and rarely calls attention to himself. He's a handsome, though reluctant, ladies' man. He's a highly respected lab technician specializing in blood spatter for the Miami Dade Police Department.
