The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas HarrisSeries: Hannibal Lecter #2
My rating: Back IT UP
A serial murderer known only by a grotesquely apt nickname-Buffalo Bill-is stalking women. He has a purpose, but no one can fathom it, for the bodies are discovered in different states. Clarice Starling, a young trainee at the FBI Academy, is surprised to be summoned by Jack Crawford, chief of the Bureau's Behavioral Science section. Her assignment: to interview Dr. Hannibal Lecter-Hannibal the Cannibal-who is kept under close watch in the Baltimore State Hospital for the Criminally Insane.
Dr. Lecter is a former psychiatrist with a grisly history, unusual tastes, and an intense curiosity about the darker corners of the mind. His intimate understanding of the killer and of Clarice herself form the core of The Silence of the Lambs-and ingenious, masterfully written book and an unforgettable classic of suspense fiction.
My Thoughts:
As it goes the book is still better than the movie. In this one it was a CLOSE call. It was the first one that could go either way. I loved this book I was hooked on this read.
Harris is such a Master with the way that he can make you skin crawl at times in this book. It is not to say that I liked this masterpiece very much.
I find it kind of funny that the FBI as so desperate to catch a serial killer that is skinner women that they need the help from Hannibal Lecter.He is evil, obviously, Prince-of-Darkness level evil, and he is as good at being evil as Starling is at being good. As they seduce each other, each in their own way, we see each taking what they need from the other and each giving something of themselves in the process.
They send in FBI trainee, Clarice Starling to "interview" Lecter about his thoughts of the case throughout the book. Lecter just says enough to keep the audience on the edge of your seat.
The book does go into so much more detail about Buffalo Bill compared to the movie. You really find out why he is the way he is in the end.
