I really liked the first few seasons of Dexter. I had an even greater appreciation for the novels that spawned the series — and that never veered off into the silliness and absurdity of the last two seasons of the Showtime series.
So I was intrigued when I saw that the author of Dexter had started a series of novels featuring his latest creation - master burglar Riley Wolfe.
The books — Just Watch Me and Fool Me Twice - are written with the same breezy conversational tone that was perfectly woven into the internal monologues that were part of the Dexter storytelling method. The author does a fine job of setting up impossible situations and then letting Wolfe work his way out of (or into) them.
Enjoyed both. But I have a slight problem. In didn’t care that Dexter killed. His victims deserved the dark justice he levied. There was a purpose. A code.
But when Wolfe kills, he does so primarily to advance his criminal pursuits. Justice is replaced by pointless greed. I have a hard time getting behind that. Jeff Lindsay, the author, does seem to recognize this as a legitimate issue and tangles with it superfluously at the end of one of the books, but it’s a major flaw in the character.
But what about Tony Soprano I hear you say. Even Tony had a reason beyond pure greed for the murders he committed or sanctioned. Having Wolfe murder a character simply because he or she was in the way of Wolfe setting up some convoluted heist seems wrong. And when Wolfe suffers no more remorse or thought than you or I would for swatting a fly? That compounds it.
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