DEXTER IS DEAD is being presented as the final installment in the canon of Dexter Morgan, the vessel of the Dark Passenger residing inside of him. Dexter has been the instrument --- and the gleeful one, to be sure --- by which the Passenger’s thirst for death has been quenched over the course of seven books, which were the inspiration for a somewhat related, though by no means slavishly adapted, television series that ended its own run recently. If this eighth volume is indeed the last, author Jeff Lindsay has brought his “A” game to this farewell, wrapping things up in fine fashion.

The book picks up immediately where DEXTER’S FINAL CUT left off. Dexter is accused of multiple murders (which, in a bit of irony, the highly successful serial killer did not commit) that include the deaths of his wife and his girlfriend, among others. The story opens with Dexter residing as an involuntary guest of the Miami-Dade County bed and breakfast facility, known as the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center. Thanks to Detective Anderson, his longtime nemesis, Dexter seems all but certain to languish in the maximum security area of the processing center.

"If this eighth volume is indeed the last, author Jeff Lindsay has brought his 'A' game to this farewell, wrapping things up in fine fashion."

Help arrives, though, in the form of an attorney ex machina who obtains Dexter’s release in short order. The unexpected legal assistance comes courtesy of Brian, his biological brother and murderous soul mate, who has recently come into a great deal of cash and is all too happy to assist Dexter in his hour of need. Anderson is not about to go away, and has not been above manufacturing evidence to make sure that Dexter takes the fall for the murders that he most obviously (but has not, in this case) committed. As if Anderson’s breath down Dexter’s neck is not enough, his newly established association with his brother has resulted in a second party coming after both Dexter and Brian.

I don’t want to give away the who or what of the new pursuer, but let’s just say that he or she is much more threatening than the police. Separately, Dexter and Brian are a dangerous force of nature; but put them together, moving in the same direction, and you might as well step out of the way. When that second party decides to up the ante by endangering the one thing in Dexter’s life that he cares about aside from himself, you can expect a wide and bloody swath to be cut through Miami and beyond. If Dexter is going down, he will take plenty of people with him.

I’m not going to guess if DEXTER IS DEAD is the last in the series or possibly the beginning of a well-deserved interlude. To say the least, we’ve been here before, where a popular character in fiction ostensibly joins the Choir Invisible only to come back again, with everyone from Sherlock Holmes to Easy Rawlins with Superman in between singing baritone before returning to the land of the living. If this book does indeed mark the end, Dexter goes out well, playing against type for good reason; if not, we’ll look forward to the next installment at some point. Either way, you will want to read DEXTER IS DEAD, whether you are a longtime fan of the series or a casual visitor.