Book Review: Storm Front by Jim Butcher

Storm Front
The Dresden Files #1
Author: Jim Butcher
Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Released: April 1st 2000
Review Source: Purchased
Available: Amazon

Summary: (from goodreads) The novels of the Dresden Files have become synonymous with action-packed urban fantasy and non-stop fun. Storm Front is Jim Butcher's first novel and introduces his most famous and popular character-Harry Dresden, wizard for hire.

For his first case, Harry is called in to consult on a grisly double murder committed with the blackest of magic. At first, the less-than-solvent Harry's eyes light up with dollar signs. But where there's black magic, there's a black mage. Now, that black mage knows Harry's name. And things are about to get very...interesting.

So let's start by saying that I was reluctant to start this series because it's my husband's favorite book series. I'm a huge Young Adult fan but because I started reading Adult fiction last year, he thought this series might finally be right up my ally. It turns out, he was right. I gave him the satisfaction of a big fat I told you so.

Storm Front is the first book in the Dresden Files. We are introduced to Harry Dresden who resides in Chicago in present day and keeps an office with a listing in the yellow pages as a Wizard for hire. He gets a lot of crazy phone calls from folks that don't want to believe in mystical or supernatural happenings and often just think Harry is full of crap, but are willing to try out his "wizardness" as a private investigator when things go wrong in their lives. He doesn't like being poked fun at but gets that someone calling themselves a wizard is likely to be met by skepticism amongst the general public.

In this particular installment, Harry is hired as a P.I. by a suburban housewife of means to find her husband who has decided to dabble in magic and has recently vanished. Harry is also a consultant on retainer with the Chicago Police Department and works closely with Special Investigations Detective, Karrin Murphy. Murphy has called Harry out to the scene of a gruesome double murder where the victims were in the middle of a rendezvous and their hearts were magically exploded out of their chests. Of course Harry recognizes this as black magic of the darkest kind and doesn't want to get involved for fear of upsetting the White Council.

Harry believes himself to be the only wizard in the Chicago area and would be aware of new wizards, especially black mages, if they had moved into the area. Harry will run across a Vampiress who runs a bordello; a Pixie who is lured to do Harry's bidding with honey and a Spirit who lives inside a skull and is the tome of knowledge behind all of Harry's spells and potions.

All in all Jim Butcher is a genius at storytelling and knows how to keep you on the edge of your seat. Harry is clever, quirky, eccentric and resourceful and the rest of his characters are just as fun to read. Hopefully Butcher will keep you guessing and flipping pages and leave you wanting more. Because let's face it, if you haven't been reading this series since 2000, you have 13 more books and short stories after this one to sink your teeth into.