But in all Harry's years of supernatural sleuthing, he's never faced anything like this: the spirit world's gone postal. All over Chicago, ghosts are causing trouble--and not just of the door-slamming, boo-shouting variety. These ghosts are tormented, violent, and deadly. Someone--or something--is stirring them up to wreak unearthly havoc. But why? And why do so many of the victims have ties to Harry? If Harry doesn't figure it out soon, he could wind up a ghost himself . . .

Michael and Harry have been chasing down disgruntled ghosts for weeks now, and finally Harry has come to believe that this isn't just a series of coincidences. Instead, someone is deliberately stirring the ectoplasm with evil intentions. But Harry barely has time to discover this when he is visited by two vampires, who go out of their way to irritate him while delivering a formal invitation to the elevation of Bianca St. Claire to the position of Margravine of the Vampire Court. You may remember Bianca from "Fool Moon." She was the vampiress Harry managed to make a deadly enemy of in the first 15 minutes of their meeting. Harry may be slow witted, but even he knows that Bianca's plans include making Dresden au gratin.

So he refuses the invitation, right? Well, not quite. A wild series of ghostly attacks, bespelled friends, and damsels in distress ensue. Harry, a class act as usual, manages to lose Michael's magic sword, fail the damsels, and barely keep his friend's alive. It is only a matter of time before the ever-widening swath of disasters leads Harry straight to Bianca's soiree and Harry-splatting party. And does Harry get splatted? You bet. It is characteristic of this story that the question Harry gets asked most often is "What happened to you?" And these are just the highlights of the quiet part of the novel.

Jim Butcher has once again concocted a unique mix of comedy and horror, In doing so he has created an entirely new genre, which I call 'noir vaudeville.' Bad things keep happening, and the life-span of one of Harry's friends seems to be about a week, but you can't help snickering and moaning. Perhaps because Harry generally deserves everything that happens to him. But you do have to feel sorry for Michael and his wife, Harry's girlfriend Susan, and most of the Chicago police force. And don't forget poor Bob the sex-fiend in a skull, who gets a serious workout this time and no fun. Butcher ends "Grave Peril" on a 'to be continued' note, which means we can look forward to even more misadventures from the career of the most hapless wizard in the Midwest. Let's hope Harry has good medical insurance.


The Spirit of Destruction   August 28, 2007
 24 out of 24 found this review helpful

Grave Peril (2001) is the third urban fantasy in the Dresden Files series, following Fool Moon. In the previous volume, the renegade FBI agents were all killed and the hexanwolf belts were burned by Harry and Murphy. Susan's film of the death of the loup-garou went on the morning news and was shown for two days afterward before it vanished.

Tera was badly injured, but recovered when she converted to human form. The Alphas suffered few injuries and were soon ready for Harry to lead them on another crusade. Nonetheless, the whole situation left Dresden wondering whether some wizard was working in the shadows to cause these problems.

In this novel, Michael Carpenter and Harry have been responding to visitations by some rather powerful ghosts during the past two weeks. Michael is a Knight of the Cross, a Fist of God, carrying the blessed sword Amorachius. Tonight they banish the ghost of Agatha Hagglethorn from the Cook County Hospital nursery and the babies breathe easily again.

After this banishment, the police arrest both Harry and Michael for disturbing the peace and trespress and they impound the Blue Beetle. After an hour or so, Harry and Michael are released on bail. Charity Carpenter is less than pleased with Harry for getting her husband in trouble, but Susan Rodriguez just wants to know about the story.

It has been a long night, but the vampires are waiting when Harry and Susan reach his basement abode. Luckily, Kyle and Kelly Hamilton are delivering an invitation for Harry and guest to attend a reception of the Red Court for Bianca St. John. As the local representative of the White Council, Harry would be find it difficult to follow his own inclinations and skip the vampire affair entirely.

Then Michael shows up just before dawn. The day before, Harry had sent a client calling herself Lydia to Father Forthill at Saint Mary of the Angels to protect her from a life threatening situation. During the night, a very strong spirit had appeared and demanded that the girl come out. When she remained inside, the spirit had torn up the roses outside the door and trashed the vehicles parked in the lot. Sometime during the night, however, Lydia had unlocked the back door and left the church.

Later, Harry finds the girl in a late model van parked in an abandoned storefront. Then Kyle and Kelly show up and Dresden calls fire upon the vampires, accidentally cutting the support beams and setting the building on fire. The vampires get away with the girl and Harry barely gets out before the whole front of the building collapses.

In this story, Harry attends the Red Court reception, taking Michael with him in full knightly regalia. The invitation didn't say that he had to bring a guest of the other sex. One of the vampire attendees admires Michael's costume and touches it; the resulting shock sends him into convulsions. Thereafter, the vampires look, but don't touch.

The other outsider invitees are an odd lot. One is a Black vampire, one is a White vampire, and another is a dragon. Unhappily, Susan is also there, having forged a copy of Harry's invitation. She learns more than she wants to know about Red vampires at the affair.

This story puts Harry in a bind. He has to let the Red Court hurt his friends or start a war between the vampires and the White Council. Of course, Dresden does it the hard way.

Harry finds out who has been agitating the wall between the real world and Nevernever, letting spirits slip over and cause trouble. He helps Murphy by removing a nasty spell from a disabled veteran of Special Investigations. He also meets a spirit who is posing as himself and discovers the true identity of Lydia. Some nights it just doesn't pay to get out of bed.

As usual, Harry loses sleep, barely escapes death and worries about his friends. He chastises himself for not doing more, not being everywhere and other improbabilities. Dresden is really into self-blame.

Highly recommended for Butcher fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of powerful ghosts, vampire parties, and overworked wizards.

-Arthur W. Jordin


Who you gonna Call?!   November 14, 2001
 12 out of 13 found this review helpful

Harry Dresden, Jim Butcher's wise-cracking wizard gumshoe returns in this gripping adventure! This time Harry finds himself a reluctant ghostbuster who must discover who have stirred up the ghosts of the spirit world who are going on a terror spree in Chicago.Harry's adventures will take from escaping from seductive but manipulative fairy godmother who seeks to enslave him, to battle blood-thirsty vampires and finally to a terrifying ghost of a demon he has slain!Harry Dresden series is entertaining blend of magic mystery, mirth and mayhem as you watch Harry get himself into and of of trouble and who's sense of honor is written in stone.The characters again come alive in this series like Harry's friend,michael a real knight who juggles saving the world with his responsiblities of his family.
Bianca, the sinister head of the vampires in town and her equally menacing vampire hench people:Kyle and Kelly. Susan Rodriguez, Harry's on again off again reporter girlfriend. I love this series and you will to. So if you want excitement.Who you gonna call? Harry Dresden of course!


Great supernatural who-done-it   September 5, 2001
 9 out of 13 found this review helpful

It has been a tough two weeks on Harry Dresden, Chicago's only known wizard (check the phone book if you are a nonbeliever). It seems he and his good soul partner Michael Carpenter, a knight with a holy blade, have spent the previous fourteen evenings fighting terrifying ghosts that crossed the barrier between here and Nevernever land.

When Harry finds the same barbed wire on a human being's soul that he found inside a ghost, he knows he is fighting a dangerous enemy who breaks all the known rules of supernatural physics. This foe can enter homes without permission, wreck havoc on holy land, and tie mortal and spirit together with otherworldly barbed wire. While Harry gets ready for battle with this unknown superior creature, he also struggles to uncover who is destroying the barrier between earth and Nevernever and must deal with the Vampire Court whose leader has summoned him.

Book three of the Dresden Files, GRAVE PERIL, is a great supernatural who-done-it. The key to this tale and its predecessors (see STORM FRONT and FOOL MOON) is that every character and situation feels genuine. For instance, readers will feel what technology-machinery impaired Harry feels when he removes the barbed wire from the soul of a friend. Anyone who enjoys an offbeat but cleverly written urban fantasy will want to visit the Windy City's only advertising wizard because few horror, fantasy, or mystery tales get any better than this wonderful plot that smoothly combines all three genres into one novel.

Harriet Klausner


Wonderful!   September 5, 2001
 8 out of 8 found this review helpful

Grave Peril is a funny, witty, rip-roaring, seat-of-your-pants, stay-up-and-read-it-in-one-night kind of book. Once again, Wizard Harry Dresden is up to his elbows in trouble, this time he's assisted by the ever stalwart and faithful co-hort, Michael -- a Knight of the Cross. The streets of Chicago have become a battle ground for terrozing ghosts and other otherworldly problems. All in all, a fine read, lots of fun. Grave Peril flows easily like an excellent mystery novel, keeping you on the edge of your seat, wondering what is going to happen next. It's filled with wit and sarcasm from Harry's point of view. 5 stars. This is a must read.