Review: White Night, by Jim Butcher

Rating:

🧙🏻‍♀️🧙🏻‍♀️🧙🏻‍♀️🧙🏻‍♀️🧙🏻‍♀️

First Response:

Thomás is FABULOUS 💅🏻

One Sentence Summary:

Women are dying of apparent suicides, but there's a pattern to the deaths, which leads Harry Dresden to hunt down a serial killer.

Tell Me More:

I noted that the tone of The Dresden Files had shifted in my review of Proven Guilty; and in this book, that fruits of that shift are coming to bear. White Night is only nominally a detective novel in the vein of Storm Front, Grave Peril, or Dead Beat. Yes, there is ostensibly a criminal case that acts as the impetus for narrative, but ultimately this book's scope is far broader than it's predecessors.

Unfortunately, I can't say much more about the plot without spoiling the entire book. Even explaining the title would ruin the twists and turns the book takes.

There are a few things I can say, though:

1. We finally find out what's up with Thomas. He couldn't keep a job for most of the last book because women would keep throwing themselves at him-- but then he somehow found a job that paid him enough he could move out of Harry's apartment. In this book, we get a look around his well-appointed high-rise apartment, and learn just what kind of job pays so well. Also, Harry's been worried about Thomas's feeding-- but it turns out his new job lets him do that too. And it's not what you think. My money was on him being a porn star (because let's be real, that's what he's made for) but that wasn't it. The truth is far funnier.

2. Harry has to fake being gay to get out of some tight scrapes in this book, and it's hilarious. FABULOUSLY hilarious.

3. Harry needs therapy. He's developed some anger issues ever since he took up with Lasciel, and EVERYBODY has something to say about it. Also, the war is starting to wear on him. Harry used to be one of the newest wardens, but in a year he's now one of the most experienced (save a few faithful holdovers like Morgan). Training the young'uns is starting to wear on him, not because they're particularly troublesome young'uns, but because the enemy doesn't differentiate between the young'uns and the old'uns. And Harry just cares so damn much for the young'uns.

That's about all I can really say without spoiling the book. I know it's not much, but this book is so good that I don't want to ruin the experience for anyone who might be interested in reading it. Granted, at this point in the series... I'm not sure why you'd be reading my reviews if you hadn't already read the book; because it's not like you're deciding whether to pick it up or not. Right? Do people just drop series in the middle? Is that a thing? I feel like by book 9 you've gotta know if the series is right for you.

Anyway, this book get's 5 witches (because the serial killer Harry is ostensibly tracking writes the reference for that bible verse about not suffering a witch to live at each scene). It was a fun ride, if different. Go read it!