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I wanted to read all of the Lecter series in the order they were written/released, but Red Dragon wasn’t at Waterstone’s the day I chose to go in.

Also, I’m impatient.

Having read both The Silence Of The Lambs and its older brother, I’m glad I chose this order, because Red Dragon leaves Silence in the dust.

In many ways, it also foreshadows what went wrong with the second pair of Lecter novels, but we’ll get to that later.

Will Graham has the ability to follow the thought process of serial killers, having assisted with the apprehension of both Garrett Hobbs (who Graham killed) and Hannibal Lecter.

Tired of the emotional wreckage of spending months in the mind of a psychopath, Graham is retired with a wife and stepson when Jack Crawford comes knocking.

A new killer, the Tooth Fairy is committing monthly murders of entire families, and with less than 30 days left until round three, Graham is the FBI’s only option.

In my time as a book critic, I’ve read a lot of very long books, but I’ve rarely seen an author – even someone I appreciate a lot, like Adrian Dawson – cram as much content into as small a space as Thomas Harris.

The story flies by, with false leads, misdirects, plans and failures, character introductions, backstories, investigations. It’s fascinating, and the book rattles by extremely quickly.

While there’s something to be said for the endearing fragility of Clarice Starling, were Harris a woman I’d label her a Mary Sue. She’s a bit of an ingenue, and Graham is a far more compelling protagonist.

Also incredibly compelling is Francis Dolarhyde, the serial killer in question. I won’t go into too much detail, but his backstory and then the conflicts he goes through on his way to his third set of killings are absolutely fascinating.

What made Red Dragon truly brilliant was the forensic detail. It astounds me that such investigatory tactics were available in the early 80s. For an example off the top of my head, the forensics team know that a pen was stored upside down, for several months, with no lid on it, simply because of a tiny blob of ink at the start of the letter written using it. Mind, blown.

Between Graham’s fractured psyche and Dolarhyde’s tragic existence, the line between hero and villain seems blurry – until you throw the horror of the killings into the mix, reminding you of what you’re dealing with.

What’s bizarre to consider is how little Hannibal Lecter is in both this and Silence. He is one of the most iconic characters in literature or film history, but he barely appears in his two most notable stories. 

Of course, less Hannibal is more Hannibal, as we’re all going to learn with the next book in the series, the aptly named… Hannibal.

Time to read the book which we can thank for giving us film footage of Ray Liotta eating his own brain!

See you in a few weeks…