Amazon.com
The Silence of the Lambs, by Thomas Harris, is even better than the successful movie. Like his earlier Red Dragon, the book takes us inside the world of professional criminal investigation. All the elements of a well-executed thriller are working here--driving suspense, compelling characters, inside information, publicity-hungry bureaucrats thwarting the search, and the clock ticking relentlessly down toward the death of another young woman. What enriches this well-told tale is the opportunity to live inside the minds of both the crime fighters and the criminals as each struggles in a prison of pain and seeks, sometimes violently, relief.
Clarice Starling, a precociously self-disciplined FBI trainee, is dispatched by her boss, Section Chief Jack Crawford, the FBI's most successful tracker of serial killers, to see whether she can learn anything useful from Dr. Hannibal Lecter. Lecter's a gifted psychopath whose nickname is "The Cannibal" because he likes to eat parts of his victims. Isolated by his crimes from all physical contact with the human race, he plays an enigmatic game of "Clue" with Starling, providing her with snippets of data that, if she is smart enough, will lead her to the criminal. Undaunted, she goes where the data takes her. As the tension mounts and the bureaucracy thwarts Starling at every turn, Crawford tells her, "Keep the information and freeze the feelings." Insulted, betrayed, and humiliated, Starling struggles to focus. If she can understand Lecter's final, ambiguous scrawl, she can find the killer. But can she figure it out in time? --Barbara Schlieper
From Publishers Weekly
In this thrillingly effective follow-up to Harris's masterful 1981 suspense novel Red Dragon, the heroine is new, but the villain isn't: Dr. Hannibal Lecter, the evil genius who played a small but crucial role in the earlier novel, returns, to mesmerizing effect. When a serial killer known as Buffalo Bill (he kidnaps, slays and skins young women) begins a crosscountry rampage, FBI trainee Clarice Starling tries to interview Lecter, a psychiatrist whose brilliant insights into the criminally insane are matched only by his bloodlusthe's currently imprisoned for nine murders, and would like nothing more than the chance to kill again. Lecter, a vicious gamesman, will offer clues to the murderer's pattern only in exchange for information about Clarice, analyzing her with horrible accuracy from the barest details. When Bill strikes again, the agent begins to realize that Lecter may know much more, and races against time and two twisted minds. Harris understands the crafting of literary terror as very few writers do; readers who put themselves in his good, coldblooded hands will lose sleep, and demand a sequel. 200,000 first printing; $200,000 ad/promo; BOMC main selection. Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
In this intelligent, fast-paced thrillerwhich is also brutal and gruesomeagent Clarice Starling of the FBI's behavioral science section is assigned to conduct a psychological profile of Hannibal Lecter, a psychiatrist imprisoned for serial murder. Uncooperative at first, Lecter then says he can help identify a serial killer who has eluded authorities for months. Lecter's aid proves invaluable, and Starling soon finds herself using one madman to catch another. Harris ( Black Sunday, 1975; Red Dragon , 1981) has written a story, although not for the squeamish, that is hard to put down. Lonnie Beene, West Texas State Univ. Lib., CaynonCopyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Review
"Razor-sharp entertainment, beautifully constructed and brilliantly written. Thrillers don't come any better than this."-- Clive Barker
"A virtual textbook on the craft of suspense, a masterwork of sheer momentum that rockets seamlessly toward its climax... Harris is quite simply the best suspense novelist working today."-- The Washington Post
"A psychological thriller so deftly woven and gripping that a reader can hardly get through one sentence fast enough to discover what's in the next."-- Associated Press
Book Description
Hannibal Lecter. The ultimate villain of modern fiction who scared the world silent. A young FBI trainee. An evil genius locked away for unspeakable crimes. A plunge into the darkest chambers of a psychopath's mind -- in the deadly search for a serial killer... An instant classic of chilling psychological suspense...a critically-acclaimed audio production of unforgettable intensity...From the tormenting words of the homicidal maniac Dr. Hannibal Lecter and the flesh-rending depravity of an elusive killer to the sheer courage of a young FBI novice, who risks her life to track him down and stop the bloodshed.
From the Publisher
Praise for The Silence of the Lambs: "A virtual textbook on the craft of suspense. A masterwork of sheer momentum that rockets seamlessly toward its climax.... Harris is quite simply the best suspense novelist working today." The Washington Post "Superb." --The New York Times "Beautifully written." --The San Francisco Examiner "Fast paced...intriguing...exciting." --Chicago Tribune
About the Author
A native of Mississippi, Thomas Harris began his writing career covering crime in the United States and Mexico, and was a reporter and editor for the Associated Press in New York City. His first novel, Black Sunday, was published in 1975, followed by Red Dragon in 1981 and The Silence of the Lambs in 1988. Hannibal, Harris' third book featuring Hannibal Lecter was an international bestseller.
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