The Silence of the Lambs is a sequel to Harris’s second novel,
Red Dragon (1981). Although Starling is a new character for Harris, several other characters in this book also appeared in
Red Dragon, including Jack Crawford, Will Graham, and Hannibal Lecter. Many of these characters also appear in Harris’s next book
Hannibal (1999), and his prequel novel,
Hannibal Rising (2006). As one can tell from the names of these other novels, Hannibal Lecter is the key figure in all of these stories and remains Harris’s best-known creation. Here, Crawford presents Lecter as a menace before he appears on the page.