History Literature / Dexter

* HowUnscientific: The second and third books abandon the true-crime/psychological thriller format and explain that Dexter kills because he's possessed by a [[EldritchAbomination demon called the Dark Passenger]]. This is referenced in the television series in a metaphorical sense, rather than implying that Dexter is possessed by a literal dark entity. This deviation from the original narrative is a positive example of ExecutiveMeddling since it would have placed the show in the SciFiGhetto.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: In the first book, [[spoiler:while driving after the Tamiami Slasher's ice truck, Dexter narrates, "He was in full hunting mode, and I was merely tagging along behind like an unwanted little brother."]] Interesting choice of simile, Dexter...

* KilledOffForReal: [[spoiler:Rita.]]

* ''Dexter's Final Cut'' (due out Aug 2013)

* BriefcaseFullOfMoney: The Aldovars try to bribe Deborah with one, seeking information about their daughter's kidnapper.
* ChekhovsGun: The fact that a coven is lead by a woman is brought up a couple of times. [[spoiler:This is to clue in the reader (and eventually, Dexter) that the real leader of the cannibals isn't Fang's owner, but the wife of the commissioner.]]



* TooDumbToLive: Deke[[spoiler:, Debra's new partner;]] it's definitely bad to be one in a Dexter book. Deborah too shows some emotional GenreBlindness that almost gets everyone killed.
* WhamLine: Samantha telling Dexter [[spoiler:she wants to be eaten.]] Of course, from the way things proceed, and the Foreshadowing of making Dexter [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial repeat "I kept thought it was the drugs", "Drugs will do that to you" etc.]], her confession becomes almost obvious.
* WhatIfTheBabyIsLikeMe: Of course, it's too early to tell how [[strike:Harrison]] Lilly Anne's going to turn out...

* DumbBlonde: Deke[[spoiler:, Deb's new partner,]] is thought to be this.


* MyBiologicalClockIsTicking: Deborah wants a family, after seeing Dexter with his. [[spoiler:She gets her child at the end of ''Dexter is Delicious'', but not a whole family - Kyle Chutsky leaves her, after failing to come to their rescue, feeling like a failure.]]
* JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope: Deborah asks Dexter to kill someone. [[spoiler:Twice. The first time he doesn't succeed due to circumstances out of his hand (sort of). The second, he finally gets around to do it, even if he was reluctant at first.]]

* MamaBear: Even Rita, the mildest-mannered woman in Miami, can turn into a MamaBear when someone's threatening her babies directly.

* BabiesMakeEverythingBetter: Once Dexter's daughter, Lily Anne is born, he wants nothing more than to be around her, basking in the warm glow of new fatherhood. He even makes the dark passenger go away for a fair bit of time, and wonders if the new-and-improved non-murderous Dex-Daddy is here to stay.

* JackTheRipoff: The premise of ''Double Dexter'', where someone witnesses one of Dexter's kills and starts copying him.
* JerkAss: Once again, Doakes, overlaps with JerkAssHasAPoint sometimes.
* JurisdictionFriction: Between Miami-Dade and Broward counties' respective police departments, in dealing with the ice truck killer's victims.

* MoodDissonance: Jokes mixed with homicide.
* MultipleNarrativeModes: The first two novels are written entirely in the first-person, from Dexter's POV. Round three mixes it up when the reader gets intermittent third-person visits from Dex's stalker.

* NeurodiversityIsSupernatural: ''Dexter in the Dark'' reveals that all sociopaths are really possessed by the children of {{Satan}}.
* ObliviousYoungerSibling: Rita, if not enough that [[spoiler:her children are monsters-in-the-making and]] her husband kills [[spoiler:and will teach her children to do that, too]], while she's playing MamaBear [[AndThatsTerrible and constantly shouting out how bad are the killers she sees on TV]], now [[spoiler:she's basically living with ''four'' monsters under her roof (Brian included), feeding their lies, out of which at least one (Brian) doesn't see her more than a bug that he can squash if he thinks it would improve or make more fun his relation with Dexter or the kids.]]
* NewChildLeftBehind: [[spoiler:Deborah is pregnant by her long-time boyfriend, Kyle Chutsky. However, he didn't know this, and leaves Deborah after he believes he failed her at the end of the fifth book.]]
* OnlySaneMan: Ironically, Dexter. When he isn't busy doing or talking about what he does he often questions how he gets dragged into half of the things that happen to him.
** Doakes too. He's the only one in the entire police department who even vaguely suspects that Dexter is different than everyone else. Dexter himself wonders why this is the case.
* ThePollyanna: Dexter sarcastically describes himself as this.
* PurpleProse: In particular the Devastatingly Daft Diction abusing a certain Device, of which the titles are only the beginning.
--->"Moon. Glorious moon. Full, Fat, Reddish moon, the night as light as day, the moonlight flooding down across the land and bringing joy, joy, joy."
* ParentWithNewParamour: Rita, and Dexter's a big improvement over her ex. In a subversion of PapaWolf, Dexter realizes that the abuse that the children suffered at the hands of their father [[spoiler: has them so disturbed that Dexter sees that they need to be trained, as Harry trained him, to only kill those who deserve it.]]
** It only appears to be true with [[spoiler: Cody, who actually kills someone who was threatening Dexter and Astor at the end of ''Dexter in the Dark''. Astor still seems to be genuinely showing emotions, and even Dexter says she might just be going along with it because she's so close to Cody]].
* PrettyWoman: Played with; Deb starts the series being used in prostitution stings, much to her disgust.
* PrisonRape: [=LaGuerta=] threatens this to an uncooperative guard.
* SecretIdentity: Used. [[spoiler: Until Deborah finds out.]]
* ShockingVoiceIdentityReveal: [[spoiler:Brian as Dexter's savior]] from the vampire-cannibals in ''Dexter is Delicious''.
* SociopathicHero: Well, yeah.

* SpiderSense: Dexter's Dark Passenger acts like this to him, warning him of danger (usually from other predators).
* StatusQuoIsGod: Averted most of the time regarding the story's evolution, played straight regarding Dexter's actions. [[spoiler:After the third book, he gets back to normal relations with his Dark Passenger. After the fifth, he seems to have forgotten his struggles to become "human" and "not a killer" and goes out to give Deb "a shower present".]]
* TheStoic: Doakes and, to a lesser extent, Debra. Dexter himself, as he claims to feel no emotion.
** Doakes practically radiates waves of seething hatred at Dexter, especially [[spoiler: after he gets his hands, feet, and tongue lopped off.]]
* SupremeChef: Dexter heaps praise on Rita's cooking.
* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: Dexter keeps saying the he doesn't expect the world to be a fair place. [[OverlyLongGag And he keeps saying, and he keeps saying...]] until he admits ''he doesn't like the world not being a fair place'', and that it should be.

* TortureTechnician: Dr. Danco, the main villain of the second book.
* UnreliableNarrator: Dexter. He seems to be more human than he lets on (maybe) but he is still less emotional than in the TV show.
* VigilanteMan: Sometimes, Dexter's targets/victims slip through the cracks in the legal system. Let's just say there is a lot of overlap when it comes to Dexter and all the AntiHero related tropes.

* WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity: With the Dark Passenger, comes the need to kill, but also the "power" to be somewhat beyond the human status and those silly things called human emotions.
* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: [[spoiler:Dexter, himself.]]

* BigBad: In order, The Tamiami Slasher, [[DeadlyDoctor Doctor]] [[TortureTechnician Danco]], [[EldritchAbomination IT]], [[MadArtist Brandon Weiss]] and [[spoiler:Alana Acosta.]]

* ChewToy: Doakes, though whether he gets it worse in the books or in the show is up for debate, as the books have him end up [[spoiler: with his feet, hands and tongue chopped off by a very vengeful sociopathic surgeon.]]
** And poor, poor Deborah.

* ClusterFBomb: Deb's language is no prettier than her TV counterpart's. Doakes, in addition, [[spoiler:has "Fuck you" as a macro on his voice simulator after losing his tongue. And "[[CatchPhrase I'm watching you, motherfucker"]].]]
* DeadlyDoctor: The main antagonist in the second book.
* DrivesLikeCrazy: According to our AntiHero, ''everyone else in South Florida''. Depending on when you drive, this may be TruthInTelevision.

* EvenEvilHasStandards: Taken very literally, i.e., "The Code."
* FairCop: Deb, primarily. Deconstructed, as it just means she gets to dress up like a hooker for stings.
* TheFamilyThatSlaysTogether: The book series has Dexter training Cody and Astor in the ways of serial killer killing.[[spoiler: Uncle Brian turns up and gives Cody and Astor a lesson in the fifth book. At this rate, even Deborah may be joining any time soon]].
* FirstPersonSmartass: More so than the TV series, arguably.
* FunnyAneurysm: In ''Dexter In the Dark'', the titular character takes his stepchildren to a crime scene. His sister Deborah asks his "What the hell is that?", and he responds "They are known as children. They are often the byproduct of marriage, which may be why you are unfamiliar with them". Deborah becomes a single mom in ''Double Dexter''.
* GenreBlind: Deborah, to an extent Dexter lampshades once that "she hasn't watched much TV".
* GenreSavvy: Dexter often wonders how he gets suckered into half of the things that happen to him ([[spoiler: marriage, expensive caterers, cases, etc.]]) but he is far from DangerouslyGenreSavvy.
* GenreShift: The third book suddenly moves the story from psychological crime into supernatural fantasy, and the fourth switches it back just as suddenly.
* HandsomeLech: Invoked by Dexter. [[spoiler: When Brian turns up in the fifth book he's also like this, but Dexter considers him a big fake]]. There's also Deke.
* HeCleansUpNicely: Dexter's explanation of why [=LaGuerta=] comes on to him.
* HorribleJudgeOfCharacter: Rita, even worse than in the show. Her first husband is a violent drug addict, but she puts up with him for the kids' sake. She then gets married again, to Dexter, who is an even bigger monster, and finally, has complete confidence in possibly the biggest monster of them all, [[spoiler:Brian, the ice truck killer, who is Dexter's brother,]] to the point where she feels safe in entrusting her children to him. To top it all off, has absolutely no idea that her children are turning out to be exactly like Dexter [[spoiler:and Brian]], little monsters in their own right.
* HowUnscientific: The second and third books abandon the true-crime/psychological thriller format and explain that Dexter kills because he's possessed by a [[EldritchAbomination demon called the Dark Passenger]]. This is referenced in the television series in a metaphorical sense, rather than implying that Dexter is possessed by a literal dark entity. This deviation from the original narrative is a positive example of ExecutiveMeddling since it would have placed the show in the SciFiGhetto.
** Not that it seems to matter, since the fourth book shoves it into a corner with barely a passing mention, and it's likely to go unexplored from here on out.
* ImAHumanitarian: The bad guys in the fifth book are like this. [[spoiler: The main victim actually wants to be eaten because her father told her fairy stories about princesses being eaten by ogres, including playfully chewing on her arm. Deke, however, doesn't.]]
* INeedToGoIronMyDog: Some of Dexter's excuses sound like this when he's leaving in the middle of the night "to take some papers from the office", but Rita takes these as GoingToTheStore stories. Bonus points for the kids actually realising [[spoiler:(and gleeing at)]] what he's up to.
* InformedAbility: Like stated in the series folder, on Dexter saying the police is powerless and stupid at times, but less noticeable here, because the books expands on his close to supernatural abilities at "hunches" and other things he just doesn't show in the series.
** Deke's DumbBlonde status is PlayedForLaughs, but he hasn't really proven he's stupid, not more than the average Joe.

* AbandonedPlayground: Buccaneer Land in ''Dexter is Delicious'' is an abandoned pirate-themed amusement park. [[spoiler:It's the hideout of Alana Acosta and her coven of vampire cannibals.]]
* AddedAlliterativeAppeal: See PurpleProse.
* AndIMustScream: The Yodelling Potato
* AllPartOfTheShow: The climax of ''Dexter By Design''.
* AuthorTract

* BroughtDownToNormal: In ''Dexter in the Dark'', the Dark Passenger leaves Dexter for a while, leaving him emotional and a lot less intuitive.
* CanonDisContinuity: Averted. The fourth book does mention Moloch in passing.

* FunnyAneurysm: In ''Dexter In the Dark'', the titular character takes his stepchildren to a crime scene. His sister Deborah asks his "What the hell is that?", and he responds "They are known as children. They are often the byproduct of marriage, which may be why you are unfamiliar with them". Deborah becomes a single mom in ''Literature/Double Dexter''.

* In ''Literature/Dexter In the Dark'', the titular character takes his stepchildren to a crime scene. His sister Deborah asks his "What the hell is that?", and he responds "They are known as children. They are often the byproduct of marriage, which may be why you are unfamiliar with them". Deborah becomes a single mom in ''Literature/Double Dexter''.

** Deconstructed even worse in the 4th and 5th book, in which he consecutively [[spoiler:asks Dexter to kill a perp.]]

* {{Yandere}}: [[spoiler:Lila will do anything to make Dexter love her.]]

It centers on Dexter Morgan, a blood-spatter analyst in the Miami Metro Police Department. Dexter moonlights as a serial killer in his spare time, which he keeps a secret from his friends and coworkers. His late father Harry taught him to hunt [[SerialKillerKiller only other serial killers]] and how to dodge the law, allowing him to cope with his homocidal urges.

[[redirect:{{Dexter}}]]