I was terribly disappointed in this book. I loved both Red Dragon and Silence, and this was such a let down. The entire plot was ridiculous, and the ending, well, that was beyond silly. In addition, I just didn't get into any of the characters - Starling was too much of a patsy, Lecter was boring, and Verger, although he did have the makings of a good character, was just too over the top. Either Harris felt pressured to write a sequel that he really didn't want to write, or he was just darn lucky on his first two attempts. I think that most Silence fans will be incredibly disappointed.