A serial killer has struck in a uniquely gruesome way, killing an entire family. When he strikes again Will Graham is brought back in from early retirement to help find the murderer. Graham even goes to Lector for help (but not much help honestly) but The Tooth Fairy, or Red Dragon as he prefers to be called, is smarter than anyone anticipated.

Wow, what an amazing writer! I found Harris' style of writing like nothing I had read before. Admittedly at first I took a while to get my head around who was who because, depending on who was speaking, sometimes they were referred to by first name and some times last. But once I got into the flow of this, I was completely sucked in.

The mystery side of this novel was my favourite. Even though we were given the murder's perspective, his acts were still unpredictable. We were given hints and foreshadowing along the way, could see Graham's frustration rise as he hit dead end after dead end. I also think the gruesomeness level was perfect, enough gore to feel sick but also not so gory it felt fake.

Let's talk characters. Graham is a man with plenty of his own problems, he isn't a perfect protagonist and that's what makes him the perfect protagonist. Surrounding him as a whole host of secondary characters which make up the investigative crew. Each one added their own meaning to the plot and didn't feel like a waster of space. The sociopathic serial killer get's enough light shed on him and his back story that you feel like you're inside his head a little. Although you definitely feel disgust at his acts, you can understand where he's coming from and it's super interesting looking through his eyes. Lecter is a character in this series but he has a very small role. I'm anticipating meeting him more in the next books.

Love this book, will defs read the next one.