Red Dragon
Thomas Harris

Will Graham has a fearful gift - a talent for the pursuit of human monsters. He has caught two mass murderers in his FBI career. Now he must hunt again.
A ritual murderer has struck twice, killing entire families in two South-eastern cities. Graham must find him before the moon is full again or another family will die.
Graham's keen empathy permits him - sometimes forces him - to see the crimes from some haunting points of view. This ability and his forensic skills make him the prime threat to the murderer.
The killer, Francis Dolarhyde, is a terrible accident of nature, shaped by his early life into a monster. He's trying to work things out though. So far his efforts have cost ten lives. He knows Will Graham is coming. He intends to do something about that.
In a chilling race against time, Graham searches desperately after Dolarhyde, always conscious that he and the killer are, at some fundamental level, alike. And in one terrifying respect he is right. Like him, the murderer is a ruthless hunter, already beginning his search for Will Graham.

This is the first in a series of books to deal with Hannibal Lecter. Though he is only a minor character in this book (contrary to popular belief, Francis Dolarhyde is the Red Dragon, not Hannibal), over the rest of the series he will quickly become the most iconic character of these novels.

For this book, Graham enlists his aid in trying to find Dolarhyde before he kills another family.

First and foremost, this novel (and this series) is not for younger readers. With the subject matter being what it is, it is for mature readers only.

That being said, it is an excellent novel and shows the promise to come of Harris's other Hannibal novels. The main characters are well rounded, though some of the background ones leave a bit to be desired. The plot is tight and well thought out, and the book is exciting enough that you really don't want to put it down. It has a nice balance of action and plot.

If you don't mind novels of this nature, then I would recommend it, though it is not for the squeamish.

My rating: Four out of five snails.