An action heavy entry in the series full of ghosts, vampires, and fairies, that ends in a pretty bleak place that has me interested to see where things will go from here. James Marster's narration continues to be the biggest draw here and it makes these great listens when my husband and I go on a road trip. ( )

LIke most that have commented, this story is better than the previous two, and I can only hope the uptick continues. I've made a silent agreement with myself to at least hold on to the end of the fifth book.

It's a weird series, as there's much to love here. The actual magic is pretty good, I quite loved the vampires in this installment, and Michael, while annoying, is an interesting character in his own right.

However, I'm getting really tired of sex-obsessed Harry, of every female character to be seductively gorgeous, and every one of them pushing Harry's buttons. We get it, Butcher, every woman is hot and Harry wants them all. Okay, move on.

I'm getting a little tired of the mention of Dresden's costume, as well. We get it, Butcher, he likes black, and he wears a dramatic leather duster. Okay, move on.

As well, there are times I find the plot seems unnecessarily complicated, as well, but that's a minor sticking point in the grand scheme of things. There definitely is a formula to Butcher's writing but, like a television show you enjoy as a time waster, you'll put up with it for an evening's entertainment.

So, there's good and bad in fairly equal measure here. Let's see if the next couple of books keep that ratio, or Butcher finds a way to improve the odds. ( )

Ghosts. Cassandra's Tears, Amoracchius, Hecate, Kali, Charybdis. I love the inclusion of real places of Chicago; this book introduces the Saint Mary of the Angels Catholic Church, and the characters associated. Plot is good. The usual showdown at the end. ( )

(2001)3rd in Dresden Files series. Pretty good tale of Harry trying to track down why ghosts are wreaking havoc.Wizard Harry Dresden stars in the third installment of the Dresden Files (following Fool Moon), a haunting, fantastical novel that begins almost as innocently as those of another famous literary wizard named Harry. In the opening scene, Dresden and his knight friend, Michael, battle the ghost of a woman who is terrorizing a local hospital's maternity ward. From there, the novel quickly evolves into an unorthodox tale spiced with sexual innuendo and subtle humor (Dresden carries his ghost-hunting gear in an old Scooby-Doo lunch box). Due to the weakened barrier between the spirit world which Butcher refers to as "the nevernever" and the actual world, obsessive and violent ghosts are on the loose in modern-day Chicago, and they seem to be _targeting Dresden and Michael. Horny vampires and possessive demons join the mix as Dresden journeys into the spirit world to hunt down the villains who are terrorizing him and his friends. Butcher narrates Dresden's story in the first person, which limits the amount of detail he can inject into the lives of his secondary characters. Despite this narrow point of view, Butcher successfully lends human dimensions to vampires and spirits through his vivid descriptions and colloquial dialogue. (Sept.)Forecast: A vivid cover showing glowing barbed wire wrapped around a pair of cemetery gates is misleading as is a cover quote appealing to fans of Laurell K. Hamilton and Tanya Huff but it will catch the browser's eye. This over-the-top tale is more likely to entertain young adult readers than fans of the aforementioned authors.

I am ready to admit something, Harry Dresden is a pervert. I didn’t realize how overly sexualized Butcher’s females are until this book, The way Dresden describes a women, well I can tell you that my nipples are not always straining through my shirt thank you very much, if they were I think there may be something wrong with them. Did this ruin the story for me absolutely not, it was an annoyance really. Because I listened by way of audio book, I was unable to really skim over these scenes, had I read the book I would have skipped most character descriptions. I don’t really care how smooth a characters skin is.

Also I think I may be way too good at figuring out what will happen and who the bad guy is, but honestly I don’t think Butcher was trying too hard at covering it up. I will admit that until this book Butcher didn’t have an overall story really flushed out, now I think we will have an arc with allied characters on Dresden’s side that will span multiple books and I am excited. This book didn’t have Murphy in it that much, and no mention of Mac, but it had a lot more of Bob whom I love. Plus they introduced a couple of characters that I can’t wait to read more about. They all seem really badass and fleshed out.

Now if only we can get Dresden’s mind out of the freaking gutter… ( )