The serial killer--like his counterpart, the psychologist-profiler--is a figure for our times; "In the contemporary mind," as one psychoanalyst, Christopher Bollas, has put it, "the serial killer is the statement of evil". Psychiatrist and killer, Lecter gives a peculiar twist to that evil (and Harris has always been interested in the precarious division between killer and cure). In Red D...
A Great Conclusion, 2009-03-24
Having read the three other books by Harris (including Hannibal Rising, Red Dragon and Silence of the Lambs) I was looking forward to reading this last instalment. As in the other Harris books it is so much more than just your average crime/ thriller book. We are given great psychological perspectives into all of the characters so the reader gets a very intimate look into what makes the character's 'tick'. We are once again introduced to Hannibal who by now has escaped from prison killing five and who is on the run from the authorities in Europe lavishing once again in the `haut couture' of life that he loves. Clarice Starling also plays a major role in this novel as she has been recruited to try and hunt Hannibal once more as she had the closest relationship with him than anyone else. Here we also meet Mason Verger a sadistic character who is out to catch Lecter and punish him for the crimes that he had committed against Verger. Throughout the story you are taken from one situation to the next and Harris is great at taking a number of different situations and making them flow together with great ease. The ending of this book leaves you with a feeling for more as, I have found with the other novels in this trilogy.

One thing that I would criticise this book for is that some of the ideas are quite obscure. Some may argue that this is just what makes this book great, but at times it seems rather too `far out'. All in all however this book is a great one and I'm sure most Harris fans could pardon him for this one minor fault.