Writer cooks up another course in Hannibal tale

Readers hungry for a good thriller can get ready to welcome an old friend: A new Hannibal Lecter novel, “Behind the Mask,” is coming next fall. A movie may be close behind.

“Thomas Harris is the premier novelist of psychological suspense of our time,” said Irwyn Applebaum, president and publisher of the Bantam Dell Publishing Group, which announced the book’s release Thursday. “Millions of readers in 25 languages have wondered how Dr. Lecter developed his particular appetite for evil. This novel will satisfy their curiosity.”

Film rights for “Behind the Mask” have been acquired by the Dino DeLaurentiis Co., which produced the Hannibal movies “Red Dragon” and “Hannibal.”

Harris has written three previous Lecter books: “Red Dragon,” “Hannibal” and “The Silence of the Lambs,” which was adapted into an Academy Award-winning movie starring Anthony Hopkins and Jodie Foster. Harris is also author of the bestselling 1975 thriller “Black Sunday.”