After reading the Storm Front and Fool Moon, I quit The Dresden Files for two years. It is hard for me to emphasize how much of a step up in quality Grave Peril is despite still featuring the most grating pitfalls of this series, its blatant and uncomfortable objectification of women. From a much more involved plot to new amazing characters, Butcher has hit his stride with this novel.

While this story starts again with a single mystery, it broadens quickly into a larger catastrophe. After a series of strange ghost appearances, Harry Dresden comes to the conclusion that the divide between the spirit world, the so called "Never Never," and our own home is thinner than ever. Alongside some new allies, Dresden seeks about sealing this boundary while protecting those he loves. It's interesting to reflect back on the plot. I actually remember very little of the overall story here. What stuck with me about Grave Peril was its broadening world and dynamic characters.

I had previously heard that each book in The Dresden Files introduces one new element to its world. According to Michael Cronk (see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pi0P9PUIxkc&t=186s), this book introduces ghosts and demons. While true, I felt like there was quite a bit more that came into focus for me here. Alternative vampire courts, members of the fae, demons, ghosts, holy warriors, and even a dragon are present in Grave Peril with hints of more factions to come. Although it might be potentially overwhelming, I actually found this portion of the reading experience to be quite a joy. I love an epic world.

This book introduces us to two new stellar leads, Michael Carpenter and Thomas Raith. Michael is a knight of a holy order, entrusted with a sword that literally contains a nail used to crucify Jesus. His black and white morality is a great contrast to Dresden and acts to form a good buddy cop routine. Rounding out the spectrum of lawful good to chaotic neutral is Thomas Raith, a white court vampire with a mysterious past and strange present. While I got less of a sense of this character, it is clear that he will play an important role in Dresden stories going forward.

Although Murphy is out of the picture for much of this book, we do get some interesting female supporting cast members as well. Charity Carpenter is a dedicated and no-nonsense mother who I wish we got to know in other spaces. Susan Rodriguez is a reporter on the magical world. Her relationship with Dresden is a central aspect of this novel. Through his interactions primarily with Susan Rodriguez, we see Harry Dresden grow significantly in this story.

It's clear that his burgeoning relationship with her makes him question how he sees the women around himself. By finally declaring his love for her, Harry begins to overcome some of his need to hide his emotions. I worry, however, that her separation from Harry at the end of the story may set back a lot of this growth. Although that may seem good for the plot, I bet it means that Harry's mysogeny will continue for many books more...

It is telling that immediately after finishing Grave Peril, I started the next book in the series, Summer Knight. To many more cases!