Characters in Hannibal

Clarice Starling

An FBI special agent whose career is under pressure, drawn back into the hunt for Lecter seven years after the events of The Silence of the Lambs.

Also in The Silence of the Lambs

Mason Verger

A wealthy, disfigured former patient of Lecter who uses his fortune to plan a cruel revenge on the doctor.

Paul Krendler

A corrupt Justice Department official who resents Starling and works against her career.

Barney Matthews

A former orderly at the Baltimore asylum who kept Lecter's belongings and records, and who is later drawn into Mason Verger's household.

Rinaldo Pazzi

A disgraced Florentine police inspector who recognizes Lecter and sees a chance to restore his fortunes.

Mischa Lecter

Lecter's younger sister, who appears in the memories of his childhood in wartime Lithuania.

Margot Verger

Mason Verger's sister and bodyguard, who stays in his employ for the sake of the family fortune.

Jack Crawford

Starling's longtime mentor at the FBI, whose health is failing.

Also in Red Dragon, The Silence of the Lambs

Ardelia Mapp

Starling's roommate and close friend, now a certified FBI special agent herself.

Dr. Hannibal Lecter

The fugitive former psychiatrist and serial killer who gives the novel its title, living under a false identity in Florence.

Also in Red Dragon, The Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal Rising, The Hannibal Lecter Omnibus