Fool Moon

Fool Moon (2001) Jim Butcher

Nope. I wasn’t at the bookstore right when it opened this morning, to get the second book in the Harry Dresden Files.

The store had been open for at least twenty minutes when I got there.

Plus, it was on the way to the grocery store.

Fool Moon is set about six months after the events in Storm Front. Like many mysteries, you could read this book without having read the first in the series, and be perfectly content.

This book has another characteristic that makes it more like a mystery than a fantasy, in that the second book is better than the first. (What is it about fantasy series that tends makes the second book the weakest, especially in a trilogy?)

It looks like a werewolf is loose in Chicago. It’s taken out one of Marcone’s henchmen, and as the only wizard known to the Chicago police force, Harry Dresden is called in to consult on the case. However, he’s still dealing with the repercussions of events in Storm Front, and there is a good deal of wariness.

The mystery is much stronger in Fool Moon than in Storm Front, in that everything pulls together, and all the stray bits of information suddenly gel and make sense.

I also liked the realizations that Harry has about Murphy, and am interested to see where he takes their relationship (and I don’t mean in a romantic way). There is plenty of mistrust on both sides, and for good, valid reasons.

It was also good to see Harry suffer repercussions from his actions in the first book, especially from his dealings with Marcone. Marcone isn’t a good person, and it was interesting to see Jim Butcher go against the grain and not have his private investigator have friends on both sides of the legal fence.

As with Storm Front, the writing is strong, and the storytelling and pacing are very good. I read the book in only a couple of hours, and Michael got a “Shh! Don’t talk to me! I’m reading!” when he was foolish enough to ask when we were going to have dinner. (Dinner wasn’t going to happen until I finished the book. Luckily I’m a fast reader.)

There were several hints in this book, about future plot lines, dealing with Harry’s parents and his past. I hope, however, that the stories continue to more like mysteries, in that the main story line is started and concluded in a single book. But I’ll have to wait and see about that.

Luckily, I picked up book three this morning, so I don’t have too long to wait.
Rating: 8/10

• Browse the archives:
  
• Grave Peril » »
• « « Storm Front