THRILLERS

Dearly Devoted Dexter

By Jeff Lindsay (Doubleday, $22.95). Grade: A

Dexter Morgan is a serial killer. He dices up people slowly in order to calm the beast within, which Dexter refers to as the "Dark Passenger." What makes Dexter more than a run-of-the-mill serial killer is that he only kills people who truly deserve it.

For instance, as this second in the deliriously demented Dexter series begins, Dexter is shutting down the life of a murderous pedophile. Dexter realizes that the man couldn't have been acting alone in his craven pursuits, and it doesn't take Dex long to discover the identity of the other deeply deserving deviant. Before he can give the man his just desserts, a police detective named Doakes, who works with Dexter's sister Deborah, decides to keep an eye on Dexter.

This unwanted development keeps Dex from his appointed rounds, and to throw Doakes off the trail, Dexter begins spending time with his single-mother girlfriend and her two children. Since Dexter doesn't feel emotions, including love, it comes as a surprise to him to discover that he has become engaged. On the bright side, the only people Dex cares about are kids, so it may not be such a bad situation.

Meanwhile, a truly sick vivisectionist has shown up in Miami, and Deborah's on the case with Doakes. This madman appears to be from Doakes' past as a sniper in El Salvador. Dexter finds himself dragooned into searching for a man nicknamed Dr. Danko after the inventor of the Veggo-matic; appropriate, as this guy turns people into vegetables.

It quickly becomes apparent that the dark doctor has an interest in disassembling Doakes, and Dexter may be the only one who can save him from a fate worse than death. Deborah's new boyfriend, Kyle Chutsky, also has fallen into the doctor's hands and runs the risk of becoming significantly less than whole.

You'd be hard pressed to find a book as gruesome and side-splittingly hilarious as the Dexter tales. You hate to see them end, and can only look forward to the next. What will it be titled? Disturbingly Domesticated Dexter, perhaps?

Peter Mergendahl

MYSTERY

Cold Granite

By Stuart MacBride (St. Martin's Minotaur, $24.95).Grade: A

Tartan Noir has a fresh new voice with an Aberdeen brogue in Stuart MacBride, whose first mystery, Cold Granite, bids well to keep up with Ian Rankin and Denise Mina.

In the hands of these writers, among the most accomplished on the mystery scene today, poor Scotland teems with violence and murder, mixed with plenty of atmosphere and angst. And there's lots of rain, which becomes such a fixture in Cold Granite that it's almost one of the characters.

MacBride has written a solid police procedural about Det. Sgt. Logan MacRae, just back to the job after a long and difficult recovery from stab wounds received at the hands of a murder suspect. Cold Granite is never as dark and dangerous as the work of Mina and Rankin, although MacBride's Aberdeen is just as cold and dreary, and the crimes committed there every bit as horrific.

Children are being kidnapped and murdered, and the public is up in arms. A schizophrenic who collects dead animal carcasses off the streets for the city has been stockpiling them at his home, and the resulting mess attracts the attention of the authorities, who soon have police constables digging through it. And there's a leak from the police to a newspaper reporter who's giving away critical information in ongoing investigations.

No sooner is one crime solved than another comes up to keep you turning the pages, and through it all, the police procedural gains a warmth and camaraderie that tougher and more cynical novels lack. I'm already looking forward to the next installment in the career of Det. Sgt. MacRae.

Jane Dickinson

UNREAL WORLDS

Inside Job

By Connie Willis (Subterranean Press, $35). Grade: A

Connie Willis has won eight Hugo Awards and six Nebulas, more than any other author, yet the Greeley author has been relatively quiet since the 2001 publication of Passage, her novel about near-death experiences. It's a pretty safe bet that she'll be the favorite on the award ballots again this year with Inside Job, a light-hearted novella that looks at another outré subject: channeling.

Rob, the protagonist, struggles to make ends meet while he publishes The Jaundiced Eye, a magazine that debunks frauds who bilk the public pretending to practice psychic arts. But the struggle seems worth it when Kildy, a beautiful young actress, gives up show business to work for him.

As the story opens, Kildy has come up with tickets to view "Auriana and the Wisdom of Isus." Auriana invites the public to witness her as she channels a centuries-dead Egyptian philosopher who will help members of her audience live their lives in harmony. The tickets are only $750 a pop.

Rob has exposed phony mediums, clairvoyants and psychic surgeons, but it's really difficult to prove a channeler is bogus. When a person claims to become a 5,000-year-old Egyptian, it's hard to catch her in a lie.

Things turn really strange after Auriana goes into a trance and begins her show. Suddenly, she breaks off from the trite "wisdom" of Isus and begins quoting H. L. Menken with the words, "This hokum is even worse than the pretentious bombast you hear in the Chautauqua." From there, Auriana insults her audience and herself, all the time using Menken's language.

All of the Menken comments and ideas seem to be accurate. Could it be that Auriana, who fraudulently claimed to channel an ancient Egyptian, is unwittingly and genuinely the conduit for the spirit of the most acerbic American journalist of the past century?

What follows is a light, fun and humorous love story that celebrates the unique talent of one of Colorado's finest stylists.

Mark Graham

CHILDREN

Otto Goes to School

By Todd Parr (Megan Tingley Books, $9.99, ages 2 - 5) Grade: B+

School is almost back in session for thousands of children, and Otto, the multicolored dog that can walk on two hind legs, goes with them in this silly, brightly illustrated look at the first day.

Like many preschoolers, Otto is tickled about his first day of school: He dresses himself - with a few mistakes ("Silly Otto!")- eats his favorite breakfast of people food and gets on the bus.

Once there, he gets a little worried about all of the other dogs and cats, until he sees his friends Cool Kitty and Noodle Poodle in class. And then the learning begins. He learns to be careful when wagging his tail, to share his toys and wait for his turn at the bathroom, which is the lone tree in the schoolyard. And he learns that shoes are for wearing instead of chewing.

Of course, back at home, Otto rolls in a puddle and tracks mud in his house. "Otto still has a few things to learn!"

Parr and Otto write a sweet little note at the back for youngsters heading to their first day of school, reassuring them that they "will make new friends, learn new things, and you will be really smart."

The preschool set, which may be familiar with Otto, as he's appeared in several other books, will find his silly humor comforting as they head to school over the next few weeks.

Natalie Soto

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