Red Is the Color of Creepy!

Red Dragon:  Hannibal Lector #1 by Thomas Harris

Adult Mystery/Horror

I stopped reading this book at first because I thought I had walked in on the middle of a series.  I researched but never could figure out if this was the first one or not but the story was so amazing, I just plowed on ahead.  By chapter 2, it not longer mattered because I was hooked.

The book centers around FBI profiler Will Graham.  I thought the book was going to include Hannibal Lector much more than it did (probably due to some hazy memories of the movie).  I was not disappointed, though--Will's character was tragic and fascinating. 

Graham is put on the trail of a new serial killer and must enlist the help of sadistic maniac Hannibal Lector to solve the crime.  Graham has to figure out if the new killer is a copycat or is being mentored by Lector personally.  Hannibal isn't seen much in the book and seems more of a guest character.

The book had split narrators-half told by Will and half told by the crazy killer he was trying to catch.  I loved this!  This was easily my favorite feature of this book-seeing into the mind of the killer, his past and motivations.  I was actually starting to like him and hope he would escape!

I really loved this book.  It captured me at the beginning and kept me on the edge of my seat until the very last page.  So good!  The killer, Red Dragon, is absolutely terrifying and also so very human, which made him all that much more terrifying.

This is a series and I cannot wait to continue it--it's addictive.