I read Silence of the Lambs before, but I did not give it a rating on my previous read and can't quite remember how I felt about it. This time around I can solidly say I enjoyed it. There feels like there's less Hannibal Lector in this compared to the first book, and even at times...I forgot he was part of the story. Oops. I didn't necessarily miss him and still enjoyed his parts in moving along the plot, especially in letting us know who Clarice Starling is as a person.

I adore Starling. I love her motivation, her intelligence, her observation skills. She is underestimated in this story by almost everyone in it either due to her being a woman, still being in training, her age, her career/education change, but she always pulls through. I found her to me a much more compelling character than Will Graham, honestly. She doesn't see the crimes the way he does, but she relates to the victims and respects them - and when she finds herself frustrated at her own career setbacks she remembers it's not just about her, but the other women she is trying to protect. We love that in a hero.

Our villain didn't get as much of a back story or motivation compared to The Red Dragon, but I personally found that to make the story a little more tense and mysterious. Not knowing how he finds his victims or his long term plans on how it all is really going to work out...he fumbles and experiments and is just genuinely a loose canon. 

Closing with Hannibals letter to Clarice was a chilling ending for me - just being reminded he is out there, he is smart, and he will continue to play with people as he always has....love that creepy feeling. I was thinking I might take a break from this series and come back some time later, but that being set up for the next book makes me want to keep going.