Dearly Devoted Dexter

How it reads

Dearly Devoted Dexter is thriller (serial-killer thriller, specifically), and its dominant mood is dark. It goes to difficult places and doesn't look away. It moves fast: plot-driven and hard to put down, the kind of book that carries you along even when you're tired.

It's set in a big city setting, in the present day, told in the first person by a single narrator. Its central concerns are justice, identity and secrets. In weight it sits in the middle: substantial without being heavy going.

It's a later book in a series — you'll usually want to start earlier. The ending resolves happily. At 292 pages it's a quick read. It's well known, the kind of book most keen readers have heard of.