The FBI's Behavioral Science Unit work in criminal profiling that is used to identify serial killers was featured prominently in Red Dragon and then again in The Silence of the Lambs. A nonfiction examination of how criminal profiling works was presented in the book Mind Hunter (1995) by John Douglas, who pioneered criminal profiling at the FBI. John Douglas is the model for Jack Crawford, a major character in both Red Dragon and The Silence of the Lambs.

Jack Crawford and the Behavioral Science Unit, while still present, are less central to Hannibal.

The FBI's Behavioral Science Unit is also featured in Patricia Cornwell's popular Kay Scarpetta crime novels. Cornwell's novels are characterized by realistic and horrifying descriptions of crimes, as are those of Harris, but Harris's work elegantly transcends Cornwell's knowledge-based crime genre, adding greater literary and intellectual depth. P. D. James comes closer to Harris...