Jack Crawford is a fictional character who appears in the
Hannibal Lecter series of books by
Thomas Harris, in which Crawford is the Agent-in-Charge of the
Behavioral Science Unit of the
FBI in
Quantico, Virginia. He is modeled after
John E. Douglas, who held the same position.
Red Dragon
The character Jack Crawford first appears in the book
Red Dragon, where he calls upon
Will Graham, his former
protégé, for assistance in solving the murders being committed by a
serial killer dubbed "The Tooth Fairy." Graham, as a
profiler, had a reputation for being able to think like the criminals he hunts, thus assisting the FBI in a criminal's ultimate apprehension. Graham had
retired after being attacked and nearly killed by Dr.
Hannibal Lecter, a
Baltimore psychiatrist who had helped the FBI on several occasions before, after Graham intuited that Lecter was the serial killer the FBI sought. Crawford convinces Graham to come out of retirement to help solve the "Tooth Fairy" murders, and soon they both realize that they would need Lecter's help again. Crawford helps shelter Graham and his family after Lecter sends the killer,
Francis Dolarhyde, his old nemesis' address. They eventually solve the case, but Dolarhyde permanently disfigures Graham before he is finally killed. Crawford is haunted with guilt and resents Lecter for the rest of his life.
The Silence of the Lambs
Jack Crawford appears again in the novel
The Silence of the Lambs, again investigating a...
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