David Slaton
thriller
Series · thriller
Dexter
The Dexter series by Jeff Lindsay has 8 known books (8 published) and is best read in publication order, starting with Darkly Dreaming Dexter (2004). The latest book with a fully recorded publication date is Dexter Is Dead.
- Books
- 8 known books (8 novels)
- Published
- 8
- First published
- 2004
- Status
- completed
- Shelved under
- Thriller
- Last checked
Start here: Darkly Dreaming Dexter (2004) — then read straight through in publication order.
Reading order
The date order of published books and any announced future entries — the default way to read the series.
- Book 1:
Darkly Dreaming Dexter
Darkly Dreaming Dexter is the book that started it all: the first entry in Jeff Lindsay's Dexter series, published in July 2004 at 304 pages. It's followed here by Dearly Devoted Dexter, in a series that would run to eight books through 2015.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Darkly Dreaming Dexter - Book 2:
Dearly Devoted Dexter
Dearly Devoted Dexter is the second book in Jeff Lindsay's Dexter series, published in July 2005 at 310 pages. It follows Darkly Dreaming Dexter and precedes Dexter in the Dark.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Dearly Devoted Dexter - Book 3:
Dexter in the Dark
Dexter in the Dark is the third entry in Jeff Lindsay's Dexter series, published in September 2007 at 320 pages. It follows Dearly Devoted Dexter and precedes Dexter by Design.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Dexter in the Dark - Book 4:
Dexter by Design
Dexter by Design is the fourth book in Jeff Lindsay's Dexter series, published in September 2009 at 336 pages. It follows Dexter in the Dark and precedes Dexter Is Delicious.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Dexter by Design - Book 5:
Dexter Is Delicious
Dexter Is Delicious is the fifth entry in Jeff Lindsay's Dexter series, published in September 2010 at 350 pages. It follows Dexter by Design and precedes Double Dexter.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Dexter Is Delicious - Book 6:
Double Dexter
Double Dexter is the sixth book in Jeff Lindsay's Dexter series, published in October 2011 at 337 pages. It follows Dexter Is Delicious and precedes Dexter's Final Cut.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Double Dexter - Book 7:
Dexter's Final Cut
Dexter's Final Cut is the seventh entry in Jeff Lindsay's Dexter series, published in September 2013 at 368 pages. It follows Double Dexter and precedes the series' closing volume, Dexter Is Dead.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Dexter's Final Cut - Book 8:
Dexter Is Dead
Dexter Is Dead closes Jeff Lindsay's eight-book Dexter series, published in July 2015 at 304 pages. It follows Dexter's Final Cut as the final entry in a series that ran from 2004.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Dexter Is Dead
About the Dexter series
Dexter Morgan is a blood-spatter analyst for the Miami-Dade Police Department — cheerful colleague, doting boyfriend, devoted brother. He is also a serial killer. Orphaned in traumatic circumstances and adopted by policeman Harry Morgan, who recognized what the boy would become, Dexter was raised on the "Code of Harry": if the Dark Passenger inside him must kill, it will kill only those who deserve it — the murderers, predators and monsters the justice system misses. Jeff Lindsay's novels are narrated by Dexter himself in one of crime fiction's great comic voices: alliterative, vain, coolly puzzled by human emotion, and very funny about the logistics of being a monster with a day job.
Across eight books, Lindsay tests the Code from every angle. Darkly Dreaming Dexter (2004) pits him against the Ice-Truck Killer, an artist in blood whose work Dexter can't help admiring; later books push into stranger territory than the TV series ever did — a supernatural rival predator in Dexter in the Dark, cannibals in Dexter Is Delicious, a Hollywood production shadowing Miami Metro in Dexter's Final Cut — while Dexter marries Rita, helps raise three children (two of them showing his own dark symptoms), and spars with his suspicious foster sister Deborah. The saga closes definitively with Dexter Is Dead (2015). The first novel inspired Showtime's Dexter, but the books chart their own darker, weirder, wittier course.
Frequently asked questions
How many Dexter books are there?
Eight, from Darkly Dreaming Dexter (2004) to Dexter Is Dead (2015). The series is complete.
What order should I read the Dexter books in?
Publication order, starting with Darkly Dreaming Dexter — the novels form one continuous story ending with Dexter Is Dead.
Are the Dexter books the same as the TV show?
Only the first book. Season 1 adapts Darkly Dreaming Dexter closely, but from book 2 the novels and the show diverge into entirely different storylines and endings.
Do the Dexter books have an ending?
Yes — Jeff Lindsay finished the series definitively with Dexter Is Dead (2015), an ending unrelated to any of the television finales.
If you like the Dexter series
Reading order last verified .