What is the name of the Dexter novel on which the TV series is based?

The Dexter television series is based on Jeff Lindsay’s novel Darkly Dreaming Dexter.

Published in 2004, Darkly Dreaming Dexter introduced Dexter Morgan as a Miami forensic blood-spatter analyst who secretly kills criminals he believes escaped justice. The novel also introduced ideas central to the series, including Dexter’s “Dark Passenger” and the rules taught to him by his foster father, Harry Morgan.

Dexter’s first TV season follows the book’s basic premise and adapts much of its Ice Truck Killer storyline, but it changes or expands several characters and plot details. Later seasons largely moved away from Lindsay’s novels and developed original television storylines rather than directly adapting the subsequent books.

The title is sometimes confused with the later novels Dearly Devoted Dexter, Dexter in the Dark, Dexter by Design, and Dexter Is Delicious. Darkly Dreaming Dexter is the first novel in Lindsay’s series and the specific book that served as the television show’s foundation.