Red Dragon, Harris for the first Intime takes on one of the most chilling threats in modern society, the killer who consciously and methodically kills one victim after another. Although serial killers constitute an infinitesimally small risk to the average American, we are chilled by their acts far out of proportion to the threat they pose on us. We are also, paradoxically, enthralled by killers such as Ted Bundy, Geoffrey Dahmer, and John Wayne Gacy who manage to elude capture while continuing to carry out their crimes. What, we wonder, creates such immoral — or amoral — monsters? Red Dragon is Harris's first attempt to answer that question.

This novel also investigates the role of the tabloid media in this country.

The Tattler, a weekly tabloid newspaper, and its star reporter Freddy Lounds, figure prominently in reporting the exploits and pursuit of the...