Synopsis
THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
Feed your fears with the terrifying classic that introduced cannibalistic serial killer Hannibal Lecter.
FBI agent Will Graham once risked his sanity to capture Hannibal Lecter, an ingenious killer like no other. Now, he’s following the bloodstained pattern of the Tooth Fairy, a madman who’s already wiped out two families.
To find him, Graham has to understand him. To understand him, Graham has only one place left to go: the mind of Dr. Lecter.
Review
I have of course had these on my radar for a long time. I was recently offered an ARC of Hannibal Lector: A Life, to which I said yes, and while I have seen the movie version and Silence of the Lambs, and I was a huge fan of the Hannibal show, I figured I should tackle the originals for my frame of reference. Although I will say my prior watches definitely influenced my reception of this novel.
The novel starts with a really strong dive into the work of the police and feds in a way that I thought spoke of not just research, but maybe even experience. Not just at the inner workings, but also in the way it was put on the page. It didn’t feel heavy handed, just impeccably precise. And if I am wrong, that’s simply more of a testament to the writer’s ability in my opinion.
The killings haven’t led to an arrest, and when a second family is murdered, Special Agent Crawford must recruit (or perhaps it’s re-recruit?) Will Graham. One of the best profilers ever, Graham must come back to stop the latest madman. I enjoyed that there was backstory with him being a bit jaded and (literally) scarred from catching Hannibal Lector, but while this worked being peppered into the show itself, it felt kind of out of place to me when I knew there wasn’t any prequel. But I admit that may be the point. The scarier, smarter, and even deadlier man has already been caught, and does Will Graham have it in him to illicit his help in catching someone else?
The Red Dragon as the killer was a fantastic serial killer. He had intrigue and depth, and even some humanity as he switched between himself and the dragon. And while I know it’s said that the author used pieces of Ed Gein’s crimes for this book’s sequel, there are many things that stood out about Dolarhyde and his upbringing that would fit that case as well. Especially the supposed idea of becoming or “transformation.” While this character was definitely an all-out on-the-page serial killer, there are definitely notes of heavy mental illness and abuse as well.
What lost me was in the second half the book seemed to take on a less structured approach where it would flip flop from the killer’s perspective, to stories of his past, to Will Graham’s investigation, to notes of Lector, and it all got to be a bit too heavy. What I enjoyed about the switching perspectives grew to be a little too much by the end for me. Especially the more whimsical or dreamlike states the killer would go through, it just lost me a bit.
The other problem for me, which is most definitely caused by my enjoyment of the show, was how this Will Graham is not really all that likable. Not only his likability, but the fact that this really didn’t do justice for me on the “best profiler ever that we simply must have.” There was seemingly a lot of him just fumbling around or taking his frustration out on people and he never really had that full circle growth.
The ending however, most certainly delivers. I tried to do my best to just enjoy and not try to remember or call back to how the show and movie did it, and I find that worked. Not just the twist, but the inevitable second twist! It really brought the book back around to enjoyable and made me want to jump back in with the sequel. A bit of a slow burn, but one that rewards those that stick with it.
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