Series: Book 9 in the The Dresden Files series
Rating: Not rated
Tags: Fiction, General, Mystery & Detective, Fantasy, Crimes against, Mystery fiction, Science Fiction, Fantasy Fiction, Wizards, Dresden; Harry (Fictitious character), Contemporary, Chicago (Ill.), Epic, Magicians - Crimes against, Brothers, Magicians, Lang:en
Summary
A sensational addition to the "Dresden
Files" adventures-from a "USA Today" bestselling author.
Professional wizard Harry Dresden is investigating a series
of deaths in Chicago. Someone is killing practitioners of
magic, those incapable of becoming full-fledged wizards.
Shockingly, all the evidence points to Harry's half-brother,
Thomas, as the murderer. Determined to clear his sibling's
name, Harry uncovers a conspiracy within the White Council of
Wizards that threatens not only him, but his nearest and
dearest, too...
Starred Review. At the start of Butcher's
superlative ninth Dresden Files novel (after 2006's
Proven Guilty), hardboiled wizard detective Harry
Dresden learns that someone is killing Chicago's minor
wizards. Joined by his police friend, Sergeant Murphy, and
his Amazonian apprentice, Molly Carpenter, Harry discovers
that his brother, Thomas, is a prime suspect. As a Warden of
the White Council, at war with both the Red Court of
blood-drinking vampires and the White Court of psychic
vampires, Harry has to go into action. And there's plenty of
that, including a battle with ghouls on the lakefront that
turns into a gripping flashback of another encounter with
ghouls some years before in New Mexico. The large cast
features such finely drawn characters as gangster Gentleman
Johnnie Marcone and Harry's first love, Elaine Mallory. This
installment is sure to get a lift from
The Dresden Files TV series, which debuted on the
Sci-Fi Channel in January.
Author tour. (Apr.)
Starred Review This time, when Harry Dresden gets a
call from Murphy, it's off the record, because she has been
demoted, things in SI are politically shaky, and the police
have already declared a suicide. Once Harry gets a good look,
though, the suicide is clearly a murder with magical intent.
As he investigates, hoping as always to stop the killer
before more die, evidence points to the worst possible
suspect: his half brother. In another complicated case, there
are a lot of very powerful players, and with the war between
the White Council and the Red Court vampires, politics are
played hard and fast. In tracking down the killer, Harry
manages to catch the attention of the White Court vampires
again, too. On top of all that, he is still teaching
strong-willed, occasionally impulsive teenager Molly
Carpenter, and the teacher-student dynamic is difficult for
him. And oh, yes, Lasciel, the demon trapped in a coin Harry
has secured under his summoning circle, is a lingering
presence. As usual in the Dresden Files, of which this is
volume 9, Butcher puts the characters in a lot of danger,
creates appalling moral choices for them, and spins an
excellent noirish detective yarn in a well-crafted,
supernaturally charged setting. The supporting cast is again
fantastic, and Harry's wit continues to fly in the face of a
peril-fraught plot.
Regina Schroeder
From Publishers Weekly
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division
of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.From
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights
reserved