Captain Correli's Mandolin.

Excellent book.

I'd give the film a miss if I were you.

Will, I have to agree about Morse. You get the impression the books were a spin off from the TV series, rather than a published product in their own right.

Al. Silence of the Lambs, maybe. Some of his other books were excellent though, and I prefer to the films. I have read Hannibal Rising but unless I missed something, this isn't a film yet? Possibly the best in the Hannibal series.