The novel was a great success and Craig Brown of the Mail on Sunday wrote, "No thriller writer is better attuned than Thomas Harris to the rhythms of suspense. No horror writer is more adept at making the stomach churn", The Independent wrote "Utterly gripping" and Amazon wrote "...driving suspense, compelling characters,...a well-executed thriller..." Perhaps surprisingly, children's novelist Roald Dahl also greatly enjoyed the novel, describing it as "subtle, horrific and splendid, the best book I have read in a long time."