Book 26: Fool Moon

Fool Moon by Jim Butcher

I ended up going back to the PX, and it turned out they did have the second novel in The Dresden Files series after all, they just didn't have it out before or it was in a different section (while the PX book section is smaller than at a Walmart, they still managed to have three different displays for the series - I guess they were excited about the shipment).

As might be expected from the title, in this novel, Harry is called on a case dealing with werewolf attacks. Karrin Murphy, the head of special investigations, has not called him in a while, and their relationship has still not healed from the rift caused by Harry withholding information. While I could definitely understand her distrust, her quick willingness to arrest him a few times in the novel just didn't seem realistic to me ("you didn't tell me something! You're under arrest for murder" - alright it wasn't quite that extreme but the point still stands).

His date with Susan has also developed further into a kind of relationship though they are both very wrapped up in their jobs. While the case was interesting enough, a few more clues are dropped about Harry's past that really leave me wanting to know the whole backstory. A demon also hints to Harry that there are a few things he doesn't know about his mother and even his father. It's the ongoing connections in the series that really have me interested, more so than the actual cases from one novel to the next.

As Harry discovers on this case, there is actually more than one type of werewolf, all of which are created in different ways, including magic, curses and pacts with demons. The mobster John Marcone also makes an appearance since once again, some of his employees are among the victims. This time, the FBI is also involved in the case, and Murphy is rather limited since she has been under investigation from Internal Affairs. As usual, Harry manages to piss everyone off by his inability to play nice - I understand having morals but he might want to figure out a nicer way of saying no to powerful people that could have him killed. That's just me - in fact, maybe I should take a page out of his book since everyone at work describes me as "nice."

I actually did like this novel and I am enjoying the series, even if it doesn't sound like it in my review. The novels are fun reads and at least they keep me interested even if they aren't perfect (in fact I'm reading two different novels right now, neither of which is doing a good job of keeping me interested - or not pissing me off every few chapters).