In Dexter is Delicious, there is a definite sense that Lindsay has hit his stride with the character and the tone. After a shaky couple of books, this one shines in plot, characterization, and prose. 
 While the tone and style of this book is very similar to the previous books, the writing itself is higher quality, more polished, and funnier than the others. Dexter's odd sense of humor dominates the book, even when he's in the most sticky situation he's found himself in to date. I laughed out loud during most of the first half of the book, before things got more serious, and constantly bugged my husband by reading chunks of the story to him--sometimes as much as a full page and a half, just to get the full set-up for a well-placed joke. Early on, Lindsay uses Dexter's quirky narration style in a new way as he contemplates giving up his life of murder and mayhem to become a family man and take care of his baby daughter. 
 The plot is nicely complicated, as well, giving us a more gruesome tale than the previous books managed. Every character is placed in the story for a purpose, and the loose ends are tied up in a nice but believable bow. Even when I expected a certain character's story to not wrap up in order to continue into the next book, that character managed to show up at the climax and make himself essential to said climax. 
 The characters, as usual, are believable and likable, even when they're not likable. Characterization is even stronger than in the previous books as we get to see different sides of characters rather than the same face we've seen in the last 4 novels. 
 This is easily my favorite of the Dexter novels so far, and I expect that Lindsay will continue to grow in his craft and provide us with even better stories in the future.