The fourth book in The Dresden Files does not quite reach the heights that the third and fifth books do, but it is still a worthy book. Harry is not in a good place as the book begins, still reeling from the events of Grave Peril (and this almost a year later), and things get steadily worse for our hero as the book commences.

From dealing with vampires, the series shifts gear into dealing with both the Wizard Council and the Faeries, with far more emphasis on the latter. This is Butcher in world-building mode again and the book is certainly action-packed; perhaps a little too much so, as I would have appreciated more interactions with the characters introduced in this tale, for certainly they are an intriguing cast! When you have Mab, the Queen of the Unseelie Fae entering Harry’s life, things can only get interesting – and they certainly do.

Most of the book is structured, once again, around a mystery. The solution to it was a surprise for me when I first read the book, but it did follow from what came before, although I am terrible at picking up these things in advance! What occurs in Summer Knight will certainly pay off down the line and, although it could be read as a stand-alone tale, it is much stronger when read as part of the ongoing series.