Seven years have passed since Hannibal Lecter escaped from custody. Agent Clarice Starling is still an FBI agent, but during a particularly traumatic drug raid, kills a woman carrying a baby. The woman is certainly the criminal she was after, and the baby survives, but certain factions of the FBI see this as a way of disgracing Starling.

Lecter reads about the incident and learns about Starling's situation regarding her career. He contacts her, and in doing so begins again the search for him. In the course of the plot there are many horrific murders and several changes of destination and appearance of Lecter.

There is one victim who survived an attack by Lecter and is left with virtually no face and confined to a bed in one room. He is very rich and intends wreaking his revenge when he learns through illicit contacts that Lecter has emerged again. He has a very unusual fate waiting.

From one direction, Starling is tracking Lecter through his love of good wine, expensive cars, original art and his other unusual and expensive tastes. From another direction, Lecter keeps contacting Starling and his feelings for her resurface.

Who finds whom, and what is the result? Ah. That's the story.

After watching Silence of the Lambs before reading the book, I felt that a lot was understated in the film regarding the complexity of Lecters personality. I both read the book and watched the film of Red Dragon and did not enjoy the film interpretation. However, having not seen the film this time, I found this book very exciting. Throughout, I wanted to know more about Lecter. His tastes, his way of life and what made him tick. That was fascinating. The character of Starling was predictable, but not boring and had some very interesting moments.

The only real criticism for me was the ending. The relationship changed between the two and I felt that this aspect did not gel. For me, Starling was a strong person and would not have succumbed as easily. Her personal life would not have intervened with her job.

But this is only a personal opinion and does not detract from the fact that the book is an excellent read.