Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden is the only Wizard listed in the Chicago phone book, and for good reason. Whether driven by the desire to use his power to protect the innocent, or to keep from being evicted, Harry Dresden is a Wizard for Hire. He consults for the Chicago Police Department, is pestered by the general public for love potions (which he will NOT provide) and is hired to find lost persons and/or objects. Most people who come in contact with the things, literally, that Harry does, don't walk away, "Magic, it can get a guy killed."

When Harry is called in to consult for the Chicago Police Department's Special Investigations unit, he is unnerved to find two bodies with their hearts ripped from their chests during a carnal act using the darkest of black magics. The case is further complicated by pizza loving fairies, missing husbands, very attractive journalists, mobsters and a new drug hitting the streets called ThreeEye, which produces visions both wondrous and horrifying.

Blending the jaunty style of haute Film Noir in a Buffy the Vampire Slayer universe where vampires, fairies, trolls, dragons and all manners of fae creatures exist alongside, and occasionally intermingling with, humans; Jim Butcher's first novel of The Dresden Files, Storm Front, is a delightfully brisk and engaging read.

Paranoid? Probably. But just because you're paranoid doesn't mean that there isn't an invisible demon about to eat your face.