Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Dexter/Castle/Fail

I finished RATTLE HIS BONES by Carola Dunn. It is pleasant to visit the gentle world of this author's works, the 1920s London. Verging on fluffy, this is a nice series. The kind you can recommend to young adults or grandmothers.

Next up, taking a sharp turn from historical mystery and going to the deep, dark side. I received DEXTER BY DESIGN by Jeff Lindsay. This is 4th of 4 in series featuring Dexter Morgan, a blood spatter technician for Miami Dade Police Department, and sociopathic serial killer in Florida. If you've not read this series, don't be put off by the main character being a serial killer. No really. And don't be put off by the Showtime series which has veered completely differently from the books. I started this series before the tv one and I just can't watch the show. (they've done great casting but once you've experienced the original....) However, if you stick to reading, this is a really humorous set of books; very dark black humor. Yes, Dexter is a serial killer but he only kills people who deserve it, like a priest who molests boys. He has learned to fit in by watching humans; he is a sociopath therefore doesn't know what it is like to really *be* human. Here's a description of book four:
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…and 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.
For some reason, this book is being released months earlier in the UK (February 2009) than in the US (September 2009), hence I have it now. I've enjoyed them so much in the past, it has to jump the reading queue. The author has been wrapped up in the tv show so it has been since 2007 that a book of his has been released so I'm a little eager. Here's the UK's publisher's page: http://www.orionbooks.co.uk/HB-40330/Dexter-by-Design.htm. Not everyone's cuppa, but I like it. Okay, I'm being very restrained here, I'm actually jumping up and down inside that I have this to read. :)
I watched Castle last night, a new show on ABC. It has potential. Nathan Fillion is always fun to watch and you can tell he's just reveling in being a bad boy superstar mystery writer getting involved in the work of a straight-laced by-the-book female cop who happens to be good looking and resisting him. For mystery addicts, they had the Castle character (a sort of name-play on Stephen King I think) playing poker with real-life mystery writers James Patterson and Stephen J. Cannell. I'll tune in next week. Tonight, nothing on to watch except a taping of Redeye so I can read. Yay!!
Today's Blog/Website of the Day is a site that I'm only putting the G-rated link for but there is a naughtier version available. This site is humorous in the Darwin Awards , slap-your-forehead what-were-they-thinking kind of way: http://failblog.org/tag/g-rated/. Sometimes you just have to shake your head and laugh at the stupidity of the world in which we live.
Go forth and be stupid for the amusement of others! The Internet needs content!
Much love,
PK the Bookeemonster

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