Carl Deuker -- Books, Movies, TV

 Bodies of D. victims are discovered at bottom of the bay.  D.'s dept (including his sister) are now after him.  He meets kinky Englishwoman-artist who tries to pull him away from Rita.  He's pulled.  She turns out to be arsonist.  James Doakes, Black cop who always suspected Dexter, gets proof, but before he can turn D in, Lila (Brit) kills him.  D.  then goes to Paris and kills her so he can go back to his family life with Rita.  Subplot is sister Deb and her relationship with FBI guy, a yawner.  Okay

 Early Coen brothers.  Frances McDormand leaves her bar-owning husband for Ray.  Husband arranges a hit on her and beau.  Hit man fakes the murder, gets the money, shoots the outraged husband, gets the money.   Coen touch follows.  McD's beau discovers body--thinks McD has killed her husband.  He drags body to car, intending to hide the evidence.  Turns out hubby isn't quite dead, starts moaning.  Ray -- repelled by his own act--finishes him off.  All Coen after.  Ray thinks McD is murderer.  McD has no idea her husband is dead. The hit man is after both Ray and McD.   McD kills hit man after hit man kills her Ray, her beau.  Early, low budget, really pretty good.

 We got hooked on this in spite of its numerous flaws.  The virtue--constant action with plot twists and turns--worked.  RD is a fixer in Hollywood.  Star murders someone--he makes it disappear.  The real star, though, is his father (Jon Voight) Mickey Donavon.  He's Loki, the Trickster, who is always telling people he's doing things for them but rarely, if ever, is.  Nothing works out; he endangers the people he loves, but he's irrepressible.  Abby, RD's wife, dies of breast cancer in a season that goes on and on.  All in all, a cut below Sopranos and the others--more on a par with Ozark.  Fun is good, though