Dexter by Design

After a honeymoon that includes a trip to Paris to see an exhibit of self-mutilating art, Dexter—a blood-spatter expert for the Miami PD and a serial killer who hunts killers who have evaded justice—teams up with his sister, a Miami PD sergeant, to search for a killer with a taste for gruesome postmortem artistic displays. Nick Landrum delivers a solid reading that evokes the exterior plainness of Dexter while also revealing his sinister inner self. He makes the paradox of Dexter's personality believable, conveying the character's quotidian normalcy and the brooding and deliberate murderous instinct simmering below the surface. Distinct and consistent character voices keep the production enjoyable. A Doubleday hardcover (Reviews, June 29). (Sept.)