This is book 4 of the "Hannibal Lector" series.

This note contains spoilers for the book.

The origin story for Hannibal Lecter.

And it is, maybe, somwehat. The task may have been impossible from the start, or maybe I'm not sensitive enough to the nuances to see all of what's happening. But it does show enough to make the boy a monster, and enough potential to make the boy a genius.

The ending, where the last scrap of humanity slips away, I don't find completely convincing, though.