Reviews and Comments

Dresden needs to work, but unfortunately he and Murphy are not on the best terms. However, dark magic and evil are always at work somewhere in Chicago and eventually there are supernatural murders in need of explaining. There are paw prints on several crime scenes and Murphy finally wonders whether werewolves are real. And if so, she needs Dresden's help.

What I loved most about this book was the characters' development. We understand why Dresden has trust problems and we learn about the mystery that his mother is. Several good characters help carry the story and I hope to see more of them in future instalments. It is particularly funny when Harry muses on his need to be the knight in shiny armour whilst realising he is surrounded by strong women that do not need knights. The development of Murphy's character is also very satisfying. I'm looking forward know more about Harry Dresden. As a side note, I also learnt James Marsters does a beautiful job reading this book - I started reading the book but finished listening to it.

Millionaire Peters collects scarabs and invites Lord Emsworth to see his collection, but Lord Emsworth is very absent-minded and keeps the most valuable scarab of the collection believing it was offered to him. Peters cannot ask him for the scarab back as he is afraid it will ruin the marriage of his daughter Aline to Emsworth's son. Aline confides her father's troubles to her friend Joan, and Joan decides to get the scarab back for the reward. Peters is not informed of this, and decides to hire young writer and Joan's neighbour Ashe Marson to steal the scarab as well. All characters find themselves in Blandings Castle, where the real adventure starts.

I thought this book was funnier, but it is the first of Blandings Castle and it is clear that Wodehouse is very good in putting his characters in the most complicated situations filled with misunderstandings and mischiefs. I felt bad for poor Baxter, good intentions can bury you under a heap of troubles! I enjoyed Joan and Ashe, they were a good team and made the plot convincing.

There is a serial killer on the loose and he/she is targeting witches that can manipulate ley lines. Rachel is sure Trent Kalamack is involved and does not hesitate to go after him.

I enjoyed the story and even though the killer was not hard to pinpoint, the chase was entertaining. Some mysteries were left open as they should and we learn more about some secondary characters, even catching a glimpse of future plots. I should have loved this book but I simply dislike Rachel. She is very self-centred and often childish in her actions, even after some "adult" explains to her what the problem is with doing whatever she wants. And I do not understand why the action sequences in the first half of the book were interrupted by flashbacks and/or descriptions of the scenery. Why would you break the suspense like that? I stopped reading several times because I was just mad at the break of pace or at Rachel's stupidity. I really hope she grows up in the following books and that the first half of the books gets better. Otherwise I am not sure I want to read the rest of the series.

Mara Stephens is an unemployed witch that gets evicted from her apartment. Mara and her best friend Gus - who is also a witch - try to make the best of the situation when Mara inherits the cottage from her nightmares. Even though she is afraid of the cottage, she moves in alone.

This was an entertaining story that dealt with spirits, magic, witches, haunted cottages and old curses. The first and second part of the book do not really merge, as most of the book happens in the second half and I do not understand why the first is so long. Plus, the "happy ending" bit is so rushed that everything just seemed to be squeezed in. I guess the book could live in the 2nd half alone and have a more detailed ending. Mara is not the smartest witch and she made me think "don't do that" enough times to make me not love her as much as I could - hence the three stars.

Nola Leary is a nurse at her family clinic that uses not only conventional medicine but also magic to heal the patients. Against her wishes, Nola leaves her family and boyfriend in Ireland and moves to Half-Moon Hollow in search of four magical elements that will feed her family's magic for the next centuries. If she does not succeed, another family will gain their powers instead.

My favourite of this series so far still is [b:Driving Mr. Dead|13037619|Driving Mr. Dead (Half Moon Hollow, #1.5)|Molly Harper|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1324434682s/13037619.jpg|18201365], and this one is not as good. The search for elements is a bit odd, but in worlds of magic and vampires all is allowed. I enjoyed the characters, even though Jed should have been better developed. The part I did not enjoy was that the story unfold exactly as predicted without any hint of mystery or plot twists. The characters carry it through seamlessly (and I really like Dick), so I was very entertained reading this.

Billionaire Deacon Whitney has a huge mansion falling apart on his private island. When he was a kid he used to be scared of the place, so as an adult he hires a group of people to rebuild his family house and to prove to himself that nothing supernatural is happening there. The renovation crew moves in, as well as Deacon's cousin, but the negativity of the place hovers over them. Their rational minds do not want to believe in ghosts, but they may exist after all.

After reading some comments regarding the end, I thought I was prepared for what was coming. But even though it unfolded exactly as I feared, I kept thinking there would be a good moment somewhere. So the end is lacklustre, but I enjoyed the book. It is not as funny as Harper's "Half Moon Hollow" because I guess the author wanted to create a scary/suspenseful atmosphere and it worked. I did not feel there was a real mystery to solve ([a:Agatha Christie|123715|Agatha Christie|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1321738793p2/123715.jpg] ruined mysteries for me), but the sensation of impending doom was there. I have to go with "I like it" instead of "really liked it" because that ending could be so much better.

Miranda Puckett has tried many different professions and they all ended in spectacular failures. Driving vampires around during day time is her new job as part of a new service provided by the company "Beeline". Her first "big" client is Collin Sutherland whose view on life is that everything needs to be planned and organised beforehand, while Miranda's way of life is more based on navigating through chaos. During their long drive, they will both learn to compromise while trying to reach their destination safely, trying to make it through a hazard at a time.

When I read a book like this, I am not expecting a life-changing moment or the most original story ever written. I want to be entertained and this book gave me precisely that. There are almost no characters to keep track of and I was never bored, the story actually made me laugh out loud several times. I do not know why I love serial train wrecks but Miranda is such a great character, it is impossible not to root for her.

Iris Scanlon has a company that caters for vampires - after all, most bureaucratic offices and shops are closed during nighttime. During her job, she finds what was supposed to be her new client poisoned and almost dead on the ground. Against all her rules, she brings him home to help him recover in exchange for a big sum of money.

There were some continuity errors (like Iris' phone levitation), and I have no idea why the scene in the middle of the forest was needed. I also did not understand why it took Iris so long to realise what was happening after being in a house full of exotic plants that mesmerised her so much, while she was looking precisely for a lot full of weird plants... Sigh. I feel the voice mail Iris left for Cal was to be brought up again but it was eventually forgotten. I enjoyed the book, it was very entertaining and I will surely continue to read Molly Harper's books, but I feel a deeper revision of the book would help.