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FBI trainee Clarice Starling is tapped to interview incarcerated psychiatrist-turned-serial-killer Hannibal Lecter in the hope he can shed some light on a series of murders in which women are partially skinned; Lecter obliges by doling out just enough information to keep Starling on the case. Features a better ending than its predecessor, Red Dragon, but falls short in nearly every other respect, with a less interesting killer and a bifurcated plot (the primary purpose of which is to set up Harris' next book in the series, Hannibal). Still, a satisfactory thriller, and the greenhorn Starling (though unnecessarily gorgeous) is appealing enough. Jodie Foster stars in the movie adaptation, directed by Jonathan Demme.
FBI trainee Clarice Starling is tapped to interview incarcerated psychiatrist-turned-serial-killer Hannibal Lecter in the hope he can shed some light on a series of murders in which women are partially skinned; Lecter obliges by doling out just enough information to keep Starling on the case. Features a better ending than its predecessor, Red Dragon, but falls short in nearly every other respect, with a less interesting killer and a bifurcated plot (the primary purpose of which is to set up Harris' next book in the series, Hannibal). Still, a satisfactory thriller, and the greenhorn Starling (though unnecessarily gorgeous) is appealing enough. Jodie Foster stars in the movie adaptation, directed by Jonathan Demme.