White Night - Jim Butcher

   2007; 495 pages.  Book 9 (out of 17) in the “Dresden Files” series.  New Author? : No.  Genres: Urban Fantasy; Paranormal Thriller.  Overall Rating : 8*/10.

 

    At first glance it looked like just an ordinary suicide.  There was even a plain-as-day suicide note.  It read: I’m so tired of being afraid.  There’s nothing left.  Forgive me.  Janine.

 

    All so very tidy.  Almost a bit too tidy.  Sergeant Karrin Murphy of the Chicago PD wonders whether some paranormal activity isn’t involved.  So she’s asked Chicago’s resident wizard, Harry Dresden to come have a look.

 

    Harry does some magical sleuthing and sure enough, there’s a hidden second message near the corpse.  Ordinary humans can’t see it, but wizards can.  All it says is Exodus 22:18.  Harry knows the verse.  Suffer not a witch to live.

 

    Someone apparently has gone out of their way to deliver a message to Harry.

 

What’s To Like...

    White Night has the standard Harry Dresden structure, and that’s a compliment, not a criticism.  The single murder investigation rapidly expands into a serial killing spree, which then further spreads out into a complicated game of paranormal politics.  Harry has to sort through all three levels, as well as figure out why his brother Thomas is acting so strange and withdrawn lately.

 

    It was nice to see the Wiccans get some attention, even if they are badly overmatched against their paranormal predators.  I also liked the deepening of the character Johnnie Marcone, the local gangster kingpin.  And the rebellious streak in Molly, Harry’s recently-acquired apprentice, made me chuckle.

 

    Action and intrigue are both present in satisfying quantities.  Alliances within the vampire community are rather “fluid”, which makes for plenty of deception and bloodshed.  Harry gets lots of chances to cast lots of spells, and even uses his soul-gazing talent at one point.

 

    As always, the story is told from the first-person point-of-view, Harry’s.  The chapters are relatively short, with 43 of them covering 495 pages, so there’s always a good place to stop for the night.  Jim Butcher’s stellar musical tastes once again shine through, with nods along the way to an eclectic assortment including Weird Al Yankovic, The Police, Santana, Aerosmith, Metallica, and one of my favorite classical composers, Vivaldi.

 

    Everything builds to a drawn-out (80 pages or so), exciting ending.  Plot twists abound, and both Harry and the Vampire factions bring hidden resources to the final confrontation to aid in their cause.  The last chapter serves as an epilogue, which I thought was a really nice touch.

 

Ratings…
    Amazon:  4.8/5 based on 4,530 ratings and 698 reviews.

    Goodreads: 4.39/5 based on 113,896 ratings and 2,926 reviews

 

Excerpts...

    Anna’s eyes suddenly widened.  “You two were together.”  She turned to Elaine.  “That’s how you know him.”

    “It was a long time ago,” I said.

    Elaine winked at me.  “But you never really forget your first.”

    “You never forget your first train wreck, either.”

    “Train wrecks are exciting.  Fun, even,” Elaine said.  She kept smiling, though her eyes turned a little sad.  “Right up until the very last part.”  (pg. 112)

 

    A large man came through the door.  He was built like a bulldozer made out of slabs of raw, workingman muscle, thick bones, and heavy sinews.  He had a neck as thick as Murphy’s waist, short red hair, and beady eyes under a heavy brow.  His expression looked like it had been permanently locked into place a few seconds after someone had kicked his puppy through a plate-glass window.

    "Hendricks," I greeted Marcone’s primary enforcer with convivial cheer.  “’Sup?”  (pg. 279)

 

“I’m getting dumber by the minute,” I confirmed.  “Ask anybody.”  (pg. 358)

    There were about a dozen cusswords in the first 10% of White Night, which is about normal for the series.  There were no rolls-in-the-hay or other adult situations, which was much to Harry’s dismay since his ex, Elaine, plays a prominent role in the story, and he still is fond of her.

 

    One of my favorite characters, Bob-the-Skull, doesn’t get much ink, and we don’t spend much time in the always-interesting parallel dimension called The Nevernever.  But that’s offset by Harry’s dog, “Mouse”, having a major role in the story.  I remain convinced that Mouse is no ordinary canine.

 

    That’s about all I can think of to gripe about.  Overall, I found White Night to be a solid addition to the Harry Dresden series, full of thrills, spills, and chills and above all, replete with Jim Butcher’s wry wit and masterful storytelling.

 

    8 Stars.