Presumed Innocent vs Red Dragon: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Thriller, Mystery, Fiction
Presumed Innocent
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The novel that launched Turow's career as one of America's pre-eminent thriller writers tells the story of Rusty Sabicch, chief deputy prosecutor in a large Midwestern city. With three weeks to go in his boss'…
Red Dragon
“WILL GRAHAM SAT Crawford down at a picnic table between the house and the ocean and gave him a glass of iced tea.”
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Red Dragon is a novel by American author Thomas Harris, first published in 1981. The plot follows former FBI profiler Will Graham, who comes out of retirement to find and apprehend an enigmatic serial-killer nicknamed…
Side by side
The verdict
- Ratings are close across the board — any is a safe pick by score.
- Red Dragon has the widest readership — 383128 ratings behind its score.
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Scores by source
| Presumed Innocent | Red Dragon | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | — | 4.1 (383128) |
| Hardcover | 3.8 (88) | 4.0 (578) |
| Google Books | — | 4.5 (2) |
| Apple Books | 4.0 (455) | 4.5 (1077) |
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Reception
| Presumed Innocent | Red Dragon | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 455 | 383128 |
| Editions | 46 | 60 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | — | 244087 |
| Reading it now | — | 8787 |
| Written reviews | — | 10760 |
| Wikipedia attention | 3946 | 28249 |
| Pages | 431 | 415 |
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Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: Presumed Innocent or Red Dragon?
Red Dragon has the higher combined reader rating across sources (Red Dragon 4.1/5, Presumed Innocent 4.0/5).
Which is shorter to read: Presumed Innocent or Red Dragon?
Red Dragon is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: Red Dragon (415 pages, ≈ 7 h 41 m); Presumed Innocent (431 pages, ≈ 7 h 59 m).
Which is harder to read: Presumed Innocent or Red Dragon?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — Presumed Innocent: Moderate; Red Dragon: Moderate.
Have both books been made into films?
Presumed Innocent: 3 film adaptations; Red Dragon: 5 film adaptations.