It was pretty good, but I got tired of Harry being so low, yet magically mustering up the strength & magic to get the job done. It got repetitive & a little too predictable. Still, not a bad read, but I don't think I'm going to start the fourth book of the series immediately. I need a break. ( )

Harry Dresden, wizard for hire is back in another adventure This time the city is being terrorized by ghosts. Not the kind that jump up and shout boo, the kind that are tormented and violent and can actually harm people. He gets a tip that one will appear in the hospital and try to kill the children on the maternity ward. He enlists the help of his friend Michael Carpenter (a carpenter by trade but a Knight of the Cross by calling dedicated to battling evil). They manage to defeat the ghost, but discover her body is wound with a piece of barbed wire meaning she was tormented into her actions. It looks like someone is somehow controlling the ghosts,someone pretty powerful.

Making life more complicated as usual, is Harry's fae godmother Leanansidhe. She is here to collect on a long ago promise made by Harry to serve her. Harry manages to lie his way out of things which is never a good idea with fae. Along the way vampires get involved as well as Michael's pregnant wife Charity and Harry's journalist girlfriend Susan. Unfortunately not everyone makes it out of the ensuing battle in the same state as they entered it and it will have greater consequences for Harry in future instalments.

This was great fun, it went a mile a minute with plenty of twists and turns without getting too complicated. I really like Harry and Michael was a good addition to the main characters. I also hope to see more from Tomas and Justine. This is such a fun series, highly recommended to all urban fantasy and mystery fans looking for something a little different. ( )

Excellent. Page-turning, as usual - compelling as all get-out. I'm not sure this is the best in the series thus far, but one could make the argument that he keeps getting better. ( )

Fleshless fiends run afoul of Harry, and we are introduced to an intriguing cohort in Michael Carpenter, a paladin of the highest sort who happens to have a pretty darn spiffy sword complete with italicized name and mayhap an original nail from the Crucifixion (the BIG one), glowing all purty with Mr. Carpenter's divine faith and cutting a swath through the baddies.

What delights me thus far about Mr. Butcher is his inventive machinations providing all manner of terribly awful things with which to assail Mr. Dresden, none of which come off as overly familiar or beat-into-the-ground as many of this burgeoning genre have already succumbed ( )

Started off a bit shaky, but this one really picked up. I'm still not entirely certain I like where the series is headed, but I couldn't put this one down, and I'm willing to try another.

This book was even more action packed than the previous. It just escalated throughout, and even threw another prominent-character curve ball, though I must say I wasn't thrilled with that part. I'm a bit of a romantic with a "good guys win/bad guys lose" ending preference. Hey, it may be predictable, but that's still what I like.

I'm not big on ghosts, and I'm even less interested in the fae and faerie politics, so I was apprehensive at the start, but this book had a few surprises up its sleeve (even a dragon!). I had a real problem with the about face where Michael's character went from the powerful but dimwitted, suspicious watchdog following Dresden around to his friend and ghost-fighting partner. There was no transition nor explanation. It felt really inconsistent with the previous books, but if you just accept it, then the character change wasn't that bad as a whole.

Unlike some paranormal/fantasy stories that leave things more ambiguous, this book went right out and added God as a character explicitly. I found that an interesting move and wonder how it will effect the power struggles in the series.

Magic is still not openly acknowledged in this book, but the world must be getting closer with the possession of the cop. Now, there's a magical war going on, which I think is quite likely to spill over into the mortal world, so that may finally change.

I recommend this book for those who liked the first two but wanted more action, or who, like me, are curious where the series is headed. I've been told Butcher is gearing up for some grander tale rather than the stand-alone approach of the first stories. Hopefully this doesn't involve even more court intrigue and politics with the fae and vampires, else my interest will flag. This particular book in the series has very low reread value for me. It was too much of a kick in the teeth on top of my preexisting lack of interest in ghosts, demons, and faeries. Still, as I said, I'm willing to give the series one more try with the next book and see where it goes. ( )