Who do the lesser magical powers turn to when threatened? One would hope they would seek the counsel of their local Warden, Harry Dresden, but then why do they flee from him, throw protective wards up against him, and send him nasty scowls? It couldn't be his oh-so-charming demeanor and highly evolved sense of humor, could it?

Not only must Harry untangle the web of deceit pinning a string of apparent suicides to his doing, figure out if the real killer is one of his nearest and dearest, deal with a headstrong apprentice with a penchant for veiling herself, he must also deal with a stiff-collared prude with bad fashion sense and a sharp tongue.

Some days, one should ask this wizard why the whole city rests on his shoulders. Oh, and his demon is nearing total assimilation of his soul. ( )

When Murphy asks Harry to look into some apparent suicides he quickly determines that they are anything but. Someone is murdering wiccan women and it appears it could have something to do with his brother, Thomas.

Although there is quite a bit in here about Harry's belief in and protective feelings for Thomas, we don't actually get to see much of the vampire himself which is kind of a bummer. However, we do get a smorgasbord of Harry's other allies with stand out performances by Ramirez and Molly, both of whom are really taking on three dimensions. This book seemed longer than the others, I'm not sure if that is really so or if it is just my interpretation. Unlike many of the Dresden books, there is one linear seeming plot without the branch offs into other matters, but the plot evolves so much over the course of the book where you wind up is nothing like where it starts.

Another fast moving, hard to put down adventure in Harry's Chicago and I'm once again left looking forward to the next one! ( )

I like the introduction of the new characters, and some old characters in new light. I loved this book, though it wasn't my new favorite it wasn't anything less than a 5. I think Butcher's writing is phenomenal. ( )

This is the ninth book in the Harry Dresden series. (Note to self: this is the one where the whole White Court explodes all over the place.)

I consistenly enjoy these books. Dresden has gotten a lot better about treating his female colleagues with respect, although he does tend to try to rescue everybody. I'm getting tired of Thomas, but I can see why he means more to Harry than is wise or sane.

I sat down and reread the entire series to lead up to the new volume, and decided that it is better than I remember it being. I always get an enjoyable buzz from it (not least because Jim Butcher was incredibly nice at the signing I went to), but he has done a nice job of foreshadowing plots, following up on subplots, letting all the characters grow and change, and not simply be convenient for Harry.

Reading carefully, my biggest complaint is that each Big Bad is Bigger and Badder than the previous one, which gets tiring. Why not just different? Every book, Harry is outclassed, and has to ramp things up to 11. That said, it's a fairly minor complaint. ( )

This has been my favorite of the Dresden Files books so far. Harry went to Warden boot camp to teach new recruits and in the time between books 8 and 9 he gained a lot of fighting prowess. His single silver telekinetic ring has been upgraded to four twisted bands of silver, he crafted a new charm bracelet, and he more readily uses both Lasciel and Hellfire in his magic. We saw what Wardens Morgan and Luccio were able to do at the end of Dead Beat - White Night brings us a Harry that's moving in the same direction.

This book continues the thread of Harry being concerned for the isolation of the slightly-magical community, and we see a reemergence of two old villains and get a name put to the faceless threat that's been around since the first book - the Black Council.

The end of the book leaves us with more questions than answers. Lasciel is presumably dead after sacrificing herself to save Harry's mind and life - can Harry still draw on Hellfire with the shadow gone from his mind? We still don't know who fixed little Chicago, and we also don't know who blew up Murphy's car. The Black Council is moving here, but there are other forces moving behind the scene to combat them. It's frustrating as a reader to see so many puzzle pieces but not being given any edge pieces.

After 9 books I still don't know Butcher's mind. He doesn't readily kill off his characters, and overall the series has been moving towards Harry collecting allies - not losing them. Still, I think I'm going to call Ebenezar McCoy as being part of the Black Council. It would be fitting, I think, for the author to break Harry's progress and make him question more closely the friends he has accumulated through a more core betrayal by his master. ( )