The ninth book of The Dresden Files sees Jim Butcher use his first major flashback scene of the series. It’s a technique that Butcher doesn’t use often, but it’s very effective in this case. Harry has never been the cheeriest of souls, but he’s definitely been affected by the stress of the previous tales, enough that his friends are noticing and are getting worried about him; the flashback to a particular cause of stress that’s occurred between Proven Guilty and White Night works very well in the context of the tale.

White Night brings back a few faces from Harry’s past, and it is pleasing that they’ve been allowed them to develop without Harry being present. It’s a major achievement of the series: the world very much feels alive. Harry Dresden is extremely significant, no doubt about it, but there are other stories that can progress without him. By now, the books have very much settled down to about a year passing between each one, and nine books in, that’s a significant amount of time.

The climax to this book is extremely effective, and not something you might expect from the character-driven start. There’s a lot of good character and story revelations throughout coupled with the action; several of the plot threads get significantly advanced this book, although, upon re-reading the book, not all of them turn out as I might have expected. It’s possible to see moments that have much greater import than you might initially ascribe to them, but only pay off several books down the line. This is definitely one of the stronger books of the series, and a very satisfying read.