Summary: Everyone is out to get Dresden and all he is trying to do is save the world.
What makes the Dresden Files work is that Butcher knows when to bend the rules and when the rules need to be held. Dresden is a Wizard. A magical private eye, the only one, that works in Chicago. The series is a mix of hard boiled PI and paranormal thriller.
In this fourth book of the series, Dresden, after defeating a plan to destroy him by the Vampire Court, is being brought up on trumped up charges by the Wizard Court (these are not legal courts, but essentially guild bodies). A number in the Wizard court are not fans of his and are willing to let Dresden be turned over to the Vampires (for interference) because Dresden saved a number of humans after the Wizard Court refused to act. (And if the Wizard Court does not turn him over, the Vampire Court will declare war.)
What is worse, is that for the last six months, Dresden has been beating himself up trying to figure out a way to save his fiancé, who gave herself to save Dresden and has been half turned to Vampire. (All that needs to happen is for her to drink human blood and she will be forever lost.)
Adding to his difficulties, an assassin is after him (presumably paid by the Vampire Court) and one of the Fairy Queens has forced him to be a detective to solve the murder of the Summer Knight (a human functionary) that could destabilize the balance between summer and winter and wreck havoc on the entire earth.
At the heart of Dresden Files books is the mystery. For all of the paranormal, magic and fantasy lore, the actual mystery does not get lost. Also, while there are shades of gray here, there is still a real understanding of good and evil, right and wrong. And while many other people do wrong, and Dresden can be stubborn in unhelpful ways, he still is trying to be one of the good guys.
I have been a fan of the Dresden Files since the short lived TV show. And I keep forgetting how good the books are. This one was a good summer read, not too heavy, not complete fluff, enough to
Summer Knight (Dresden Files #4) Purchase Links: Paperback, Kindle Edition, Audible.com Audiobook
