This is the first book about "Hannibal Lecter", the cannibalistic serial killer.
Published in 1981, in this thriller, we follow the story of Will Graham, an FBI agent, who is brought out of retirement to track a serial killer known as the "Tooth Fairy."
The story begins with the massacre of two families in Birmingham and Atlanta. The FBI is stumped, with no leads or motive. At this point, the FBI ask for Graham's help, a former agent who captured Dr. Lecter and now is living a quiet life in Florida.
Graham doesn't want to help because of the physical and psychological wound made by Dr. Hannibal, but in the end, he is coerced by his former boss, Jack Crawford, to come out of retirement to help track down the Tooth Fairy.
One remarkable thing about this book is the ability of Will Graham to recreate the crime scenes and reenacts the murders in his mind to get a sense of what happened to understand the motivations and psyche of the Tooth Fairy.
At a certain moment, he became stumped and consulted Dr. Lecter in prison. They have a unique relationship, Dr. Lecter admiring Graham's mind and Graham using Dr. Lecter's insights to track down the killer.
A lot of the tension is built with plot twists, red herrings and false leads.
Eventually, Graham realizes that the Tooth Fairy is Francis Dolarhyde, a disabled man who works at a film lab.
Dolarhyde is obsessed with William Blake's painting "The Great Red Dragon and the Woman Clothed in Sun" and believes he is transforming into the Red Dragon.
The climax is when Graham and Dolarhyde face off in a final showdown. The final confrontation was tense and thrilling, keeping the reader in suspense until the end. In the end, Graham can stop Dolarhyde and bring him to justice.
Another reason this book is one of the best thrillers is the several complex and well-developed characters. The reader can understand very well their thoughts, motivations, and personalities.
The Author made the reader become part of the story. And there are a lot of gross depictions of violence.
"Red Dragon" is one of the best thriller books and is considered Thomas Harris' best work, exploring the dark and twisted inner of the human mind.
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