Demons and sorcerers? No problem. Werewolves of several varieties? Piece of cake. Now how about some ghosts, a conniving fairy godmother, and a den of vampires – maybe a little more challenging than usual. But at least this time Harry gets a little help from some friends (which seem to include a reporter/girlfriend, a holy knight, and an incubus). In Jim Butcher’s third installment of The Dresden Files – Grave Peril – Harry once again starts off in the heat of the action. And as usual Harry’s luck tends to carry him from one frying pan into yet another inferno.
In Grave Peril, Harry starts out investigating some cases of paranormal activity with some help from a friend he seems to have acquired along the way – a man by the name of Michael Carpenter who happens to be a knight of the cross and carries a very big sword. Michael does not bring any magic to the table per se, but he does have the benefit of often being exactly where he is needed when he is needed and truly has someone looking out for him upstairs. While Harry is none so religious himself, they work well in their common goals. After defeating a spirit who seemed to have been keeping the local SIDS rate a little too high, it seems there is something malevolent afoot in the spirit world. In his efforts to look into it, he finds him squaring off with a few vampires from time to time until ultimately they … invite him to a vampire gala? Needless to say, going to this only makes bad turn to worse until Harry has no choice but to take things up a notch.
By this point in the series, Harry has been pretty clearly defined. So Butcher rightly puts more effort into developing (and testing) his relationships and putting Harry into positions where he isn’t two steps ahead as he often likes to be. As seems to be a trend, Butcher again peppers in plenty of surprises – both from the adversaries and from Harry and his crew. There are also story arcs that are continued from previous works and ones that are setup to continue beyond this volume.
With book 3, I am completely committed to this series. At this point, it would take a drastic change in the writing to lose my interest. Harry Dresden is a character I can’t help but enjoy and the world he lives in and the challenges he faces are fascinating and captivating.