Rating: 
Summary: Gripping
Review: This is, in my opinion, the definitive crime novel.
Harris places the reader directly into the action - the
twisted mind of a killer and the tormented detective
on his trail. Will Graham must track down the Red Dragon,
a serial killer who murders entire families, before he strikes again, all while Graham must come to grips with his
own situation, and seek help from the man who almost ended
Graham's life - Dr. Hannible Lector. A great read.
Rating:
Summary: The book that gives us Hannibal Lecter nuf said.
Review: For all the die hard Silence of the Lambs fans out there do yourself a favor, read this book. This book, like Silence of the Lambs, is about the FBI's pursuit of a Serial Killer, but in this one Harris takes more time to develop the two main characters, Will Graham(the FBI agent) and Francis Dollarhyde(the Red Dragon). Lecter plays a small but very important part in the story, he is the one that points out to the reader that Graham is but one step removed from becoming that which he has chased for so long. While this book doesn't have to be read to enjoy and get the full benefit of Silence of the Lambs, do yourself a favor and read it you will not be disapointe
Rating:
Summary: Excellent!
Review: If you are looking for a late night page turner, then look no further because, in this book you meet Dr. Hannibal Lector for the first time! That's right, The Silence of The Lambs is a sort of sequel to this book. I don't think this one has gotten anywhere near the credit it deserves. Read this book! It is truly scary. The characters here are well fleshed-out, not the usual hard-drinking-cop-with-three-ex-wives catches-loony-serial-killer. The FBI agent tracking the "Dragon" is a man who realizes that the only reason he has so much success, (He's the guy who caught Dr. Lector) is because he's just one flick of the switch from becoming a serial killer himself. The "Dragon" is a truly tormented soul. Harris has always been able to generate villians you can sympathize with, while you still cheer when they "get it in the end". The history of the killer drags a bit, but you are soon grabbed by the hair and yanked back into the story. Read it, and you'll end up reading it again and again
Rating:
Summary: A Treasure Chest of Violence
Review: The serial killer is a really nice guy, sort of, and a lot less deranged than his upbringing and his surroundings. Do not read this book if you feel your own morality is so superior to us mortals' that you never enjoy drinking in a complete symphony of insane aggression. One of many unique features of the book is that it is the madly violent thoughts that carries the book's main character through his sad existence. The good guy and the bad guy share most of their main personality traits; compassion, love, self-sacrificing, and an outspoken attraction to violence. They differ because only one of them has a moral coating over his passions, and only one of them tries to cling to normality, and only one of them is an ugly outcast, loved only by his blind girlfriend. Fortunately for us feeble-hearted readers, a nice American happy ending has been pasted onto the end of the book with no particular attempt at making the ending likely or by any means interesting. This book was a rare joy to read, and if you tend to sympathize with people who disrespect of our cozy little normality, you'll love the dragon
Rating: 
Summary: Prepare to enter the broken psyche of a serial killer
Review: An extremely tense and involving horror/thriller that actually brings you into the mind of a serial killer.
The story involves one Will Graham an ex-cop who has
"retired" because his work was hitting a little too close to home. When a series of murders baffle the
F.B.I., the only person who has a prayer to stop the
killer is Will. He has less than a month before
the killer strikes again... and what ensues is a pulse
pounding descent into the mind of the killer.
Rating: 
Summary: Predictable
Review: It starts off strongly but it eventually falls into some pretty predictable plot lines for this genre. I don't know if its because Red Dragon has inspired other books or if Harris was pulling from the same sources that the other books pulled from too.
Rating:
Summary: An overlooked creepy classic
Review: Many people have seen the movie, "Silence of the Lambs," and have read the book. But before "Silence" there was the "Red Dragon." This book is creepier, scarier and more suspenseful than the more famous "Silence." I read this book long before "Silence" and was mesmerized. It's about Will Graham, an ex-FBI agent, who is manipulated by his former FBI boss into joining the hunt for a brutal serial killer, who they call the Tooth Fairy because he bites his victims, but who calls himself the Red Dragon. Graham can reach a place in himself where he thinks and feels like serial killers. He has used his talents in the past to understand serial killer's motivations and predict their movements. He caught Hannibal the Cannibal using this ability and almost lost his life when Hannibal attacked him. He hates his "gift," it scares him because he fears there is a fine line between him and a mass murderer, and Hannibal knows it. In Hannibal's super genuis style he tortures Graham with his own terror of himself, and encourages the Red Dragon in his killing spree. The really horific part of the story, however, is that there may be a very fine line between mass muderers and us. Harris gives a truly creepy look into the mind of multiple murderer, Francis Dolarhyde. He graphically portrays Dolarhyde's brutal childhood, and not only do we sypathize, we see the logic of what he's doing. We understand why he kills, and what his killing symbolizes to him. We even feel sorry for him. For example, Dolarhyde breaks all the mirrors in the houses of his victims because he hates the sight of himself. At the same time he inserts pieces of the mirrors in the victim's eyes so they will *see* him. The sorrow and pity generated for the victims and killer is intense. It leads us to question whether we, too, could kill given the right, or wrong, set of circumstanses. Too creepy! The book also gives an interesting view into the workings of the FBI's serial crimes division. Harris describes the forensics process for hair and fiber samples, fingerprints, bite marks, and other details. And we get a fascinating glimpse of the psychological profile process. This book is not for the sqemish, the murder scenes are graphic and bloody and the story is intense. But, if you're looking for a thriller that goes deeper than the usual and has real characters, then this is the book for you. Just don't read it when you're alone at night, it will scare the pants off you!!
Rating:
Summary: more gruesome and graphic than Silence of the Lambs
Review: Ugh. If you are looking for something more gruesome and graphic than Silence of the Lambs, this won't disappoint you. I liked Silence, but this prequel went too far, leaving nothing to the imagination. For me, Silence is at the threshold of my comfort zone for gore and violence and Red Dragon was too much.
Rating:
Summary: Great Beginning, Lame Ending
Review: This is the first Thomas Harris fiction I have tackled. I am not much given to novels preferring to devour nonfiction so I was prepared to be bored after a few pages. But I practically postponed bathroom breaks and meals even after the first 20 chapters. No one has made me this eager before. He is very good.
And then came chapter 26. The deliciously "evil" spell is gone. His prose began to creak, laboring under its own turgid stance. There were many irrelevant chapters and page after page the plot was screaming with "predictability". What happened? This is like being shown a pair of delicious legs and you find out it is missing a torso. Did he really write the ending or he hired a ghostwriter to do it? I can't believe this is him writing. But instead of feeling betrayed or angry I felt sad because he is a good writer. He just can't sustain it until the end. But most books I have read (even movies) are like that. They start brilliantly only to stagger disastrously towards the end.
But do not let this observation disappoint you. Given Mr. Harris's ample talents I am willing to give him a second chance. I can't say the same thing for a Dan Brown trash. Once you've read one you will never allow yourself to be tricked again. I know. That is another story. But let that another one be a Thomas Harris story, please. And this time work hard on a really satisfying ending.
Rating:
Summary: A great and easy read
Review: As we all know this is the story where the good Dr. Hannibal Lecter makes his first appearance. Even though the book is not about him and he is only a supporting character, he still manages to play a major role.
Now with that cleared up lets move on to the characters. Gram first. He is my favorite agent out of all three Hannibal related books. Next well deal with killer. He was great. I just found him so interesting. I mean there is nothing ground breaking here but the author just makes you hungery to know whats going on in his head. All of the supporting staff are very competent and do not bog the story down.
The story is very, very solid and told exceptionally well. It is also an easy read and should not take all that long to finish. Now out of the three books I would probably have to say that this is my favorite. Not by much. Only by a very very small margin. There is just something special about it.
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