Storm Front

Harry Dresden is the only openly practicing wizard in Chicago — his name is right there in the phone book, under "Wizards" — and business is slow. He scrapes by taking odd consulting jobs for the Chicago PD's Special Investigations unit and chasing lost items for paying clients, all while keeping one eye on the White Council of wizards, who already suspect him of bending their laws.

Then two people are found dead, their hearts torn from their chests by a spell so savage it could only have been cast by someone with serious power. As Harry is pulled into the investigation alongside hard-nosed Lieutenant Karrin Murphy, it becomes clear that whoever is behind the killings knows exactly who he is — and would be very happy to make him the next victim.

The first book in Jim Butcher's long-running Dresden Files, Storm Front launches a wisecracking blend of hardboiled detective noir and urban fantasy. Fast, funny, and grimy around the edges, it introduces a hero who solves supernatural crimes with equal parts spellcraft, stubbornness, and very bad luck.