Book Review: Turn Coat by Jim Butcher

Harry Dresden, professional wizard, has done his best to keep his nose clean where the White Council of Wizards is concerned. Even so, his past misdeeds have cast a constant shadow of suspicion over him in the eyes of the Wardens, those wizards responsible for enforcing the Laws of Magic. Now Dresden finds himself faced with a nightmarish dilemma: Morgan, formerly his chief persecutor among the Wardens, has been wrongly accused of treason against the White Council - and has come to Harry for help. Dresden faces a daunting task: clear Morgan’s name while simultaneously hiding him from the Wardens and the supernatural bounty hunters sent to find him, discover the identity of the true turncoat and, of course, avoid accusations of treachery of his own. A single mistake may mean that heads -- quite literally -- will roll. And one of them could be his own…

Harry Dresden is a wizard. (But that's about all that he has in common with a certain wizard that shares his first name.) In fact, if you check in the phonebook, you'd find 'Harry Dresden, Private Investigator' as the sole entry under 'Wizards'. He's snarky and grouchy, a total badass whose sense of justice sometimes gets the better of his sense of logic. It's no wonder I completely LOVE him! I always did have a thing for sarcasm.

Jim Butcher's alternative reality features all the usual suspects -- Fey folk (that's faeries), Vampires, Werewolves, Spirits, Ghosts and Wizards(duh!) -- the whole mixed bag. And this supernatural, alterna-universe is no bed of roses. Gory murders, fickle friends that sometimes turn foe, and vice versa, magical politics, the Dresden Files have got them all. And Butcher's built up a totally solid, believable world. It grows and changes.

Turn Coat is the eleventh book in the series. I thought the first book was merely okay, I persevered, and by book 3, I was completely, utterly HOOKED. I devoured the first ten books in a little over a week. And bit my fingernails to stubs in anticipation of Turn Coat, which released this April. And it was definitely worth the wait.

The story starts of when Morgan, an over zealous White Council wizard (The White Council is like wizard government), turns up at Dresden's door, gravely injured and seeking help. He's been accused of treason -- of murdering one of the senior council member. Now if you've read any of the older books in this series, you'd know that Morgan is the last person who'd would betray the White Council. Dresden, being his contrary self, agrees to help. And to clear Morgan's name, he's got to figure who the true culprit is. And by harboring a fugitive, he's putting both his, and his young apprentice Molly's heads on the line.

The antagonism that Morgan and Dresden have for each other are probably the most entertaining parts of this book. And then you have the an all new villain -- the Skinwaker, a Native American shapeshifter of incredible power. And to top it off, it seems every other magic weilder is out to collect the huge bounty on Morgan's head.

Butcher gets all five stars for plot, character buliding and general awesomeness. And even an extra star for his amazing sense of humor. I'd recommend this series to anyone.