In this novel in the #1 New York Times bestselling Dresden Files, Chicago's only professional wizard takes on a case for a vampire and becomes the prime suspect in a series of ghastly murders.
Harry Dresden has had worse assignments than going undercover on the set of an adult film. Like fleeing a burning building full of enraged demon-monkeys, for instance. Or going toe-to-leaf with a walking plant monster. Still, there’s something more troubling than usual about his newest case. The film’s producer believes he’s the target of a sinister curse—but it’s the women around him who are dying, in increasingly spectacular ways.
Harry’s doubly frustrated because he only got involved with this bizarre mystery as a favor to Thomas—his flirtatious, self-absorbed vampire acquaintance of dubious integrity. Thomas has a personal stake in the case Harry can’t quite figure out, until his investigation leads him straight to the vampire’s oversexed, bite-happy family. Now, Harry’s about to discover that Thomas’ family tree has been hiding a shocking secret: a revelation that will change Harry’s life forever.
I had burned out a little on this series, but thankfully, there’s a cure for that ailment: a fantastic audio production. James Marsters (known by some as Spike from Buffy/Angel) is the narrator, and he does a superb job. He breathed life back into Harry.
Another thing that helped is that this book departs a bit from the giant “save the world” tasks of the last few novels. Harry’s looking for a way to pay the bills, so when his vampire “friend” Thomas comes to him and asks him to help his porn-producer friend, Harry finds it hard to resist. Even though the chivalrous side of him isn’t very comfortable with learning how porn is made.
But don’t worry, it doesn’t get very hot and steamy for Harry. Instead, he ends up in the middle of a family squabble turned turf war, and he’s connected to it more than he ever expected.
I’ll definitely be continuing the series on audio. I can’t resist a great narrator.
