Reviews with content warning for Gore - The Silence of the Lambs

I’d seen the movie ages ago and liked it, but the book contained waaaay more nuance. The general tone is urgent because it is a literal race against time for Clarice, so it felt engaging from the beginning.

It flips POVs between the murderer, Clarice, and her boss - we see as she pieces together clues and tries to engage with Lecter, whilst getting insights into the murderer’s mind.
Truly a thrilling read.

One of my only critiques would be the brutal fatphobia (especially the last 50 or so pages) and mild transphobia. It is weirdly progressive in terms of how it approaches trans* people (particularly the doctor defending his patients) but my god, everyone hates fat people in this book. TLDR; the book was better than the movie.

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ripxreads's review against another edition

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dark fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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averycrainepowell's review

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adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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mitckm's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I listened to the audiobook which I had to double check to make sure wasn’t narrated by Anthony Hopkins himself…Frank Muller did a phenomenal job narrating and really added to the experience for someone who loved the film and was worried they wouldn’t enjoy the book as much.

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lektor25's review against another edition

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dark tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Hannibal Lecter: period blood eyes, teeth like a row of tic-tacs, built like a ballerina, and no taller than five-foot-two.

showed its age more than red dragon, but i found clarice starling a bit more compelling than will graham. can definitely tell harris has grown to like certain characters more, and he writes thrillers like a journalist - extreme attention to detail, almost pedantic at times. except in the matters of women’s weight - “she was a large woman - 145 pounds!! so hefty!!!” listen i get it was the eighties and everyone was on stuff but come onnnnn thomas

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