For me, this is where the Dresden Files novels really start to pick up. I think this -- of the four I've read so far -- had the best climax, and we also started to see some better character development over previous novels in the series.We get a few more supernatural elements introduced in this volume; while we've seen vampires before, we get a look at their internal politics here. We also see the introduction of faith or religious magic/power in the character of Michael, Harry's sidekick for most of this book. We encounter ghosts. And, we interact with Harry's godmother, the fae Lea, extensively. It bordered on information overload at times, and I don't necessarily feel that I got the best understanding of the faery realm, but have patience, because that will be remedied in book four. I do find myself wanting to see Lea come back because I am curious about her relationship with Harry's mother, so I'm fine with putting up with her idiosyncrasies for now.I'm not necessarily thrilled with the non-linearity of the storyline in this book. Early on, a lot of references are made to a past battle between a demon and Harry/his allies (including some cops and Michael). At first, I wondered if I'd mistakenly opened book four of the Dresden Files instead of book 3; there was definitely missing background information. On the plus side, you're able to get up to speed with Michael's story pretty quickly, and it may be that the author didn't feel he had enough material for an entire novel leading up to the demon battle. In which case he made exactly the right decision, to start this book with something exciting that introduces the new character (i.e., Michael) and gives some hints as to what will come.There's not a lot I can say about the setting or writing style that hasn't already been said. I think the first-person POV is particularly important here, because we're finally seeing more emotions from Harry, not just action, and we can really get inside his head. This improvement in characterization is a welcome change. Chicago is still Chicago, although a lot of this book takes place in rather otherworldly locations (the "Nevernever," which is actually not in this world, and vampire Bianca's home which is in Chicago but which has so many supernatural visitors it might as well be somewhere else). I like that not a lot of time is wasted on description of Bianca's place, with the exception of features that will figure prominently later on.Reporter Susan Rodriguez and police officer Karrin Murphy are back, although Murphy doesn't figure as prominently as she has in some of the other books. Harry and Susan are an item now, although I could never quite shake the feeling that they wouldn't be together if they weren't in their respective lines of work (Harry being a wizard detective and Susan working at a paranormal, tabloid-type newspaper). I suppose there had to be some shared connection to draw them to one another. I'm honestly a little indifferent to both Karrin and Susan at this point. Perhaps because I read the first three books in this series in a week or two, I don't have much of a sense (in my head) of time passing, so the relationship between Harry and Susan seems rushed. However, I probably wouldn't feel that way if I'd read these when they were first published, with months or years between books.Considering the fact that there are numerous other volumes in this series, we know from the beginning that Harry Dresden is going to make it out alive. That being said, I still worried about him during the final confrontation, and I definitely think there were serious consequences to his actions -- he felt a great deal of guilt, even though he didn't perceive himself as having a lot of choice in the matter. (His reaction to these consequences spills over to the fourth book.) It was really the events of this book that made me start to relate to Harry a lot more; it was this book where the character development picked up. That was one thing that made me like this book a little better than the previous two.I'm of two minds on a second aspect of this book that seemed different to me compared to the previous volumes. Harry displays a huge amount of power near the end of this book. On the one hand, it seems a little too convenient. On the other hand, a foundation was laid in the story for Dresden to get back some power he had lost, and he was in peril at the end. One thing we've learned from past books is that extremes of emotion can be sources of energy for magical workings. And Harry's situation near the end of the book was, indeed, dire, which would logically lead to extreme emotions.I liked that events of the previous two books (the sorcerer and the drug he was making, as well as the werewolves) were mentioned in the context of something larger. Something was hinted at that I think will become more apparent and important in future books. I think the slow build-up is pretty good; after all, it's a long series.Enough of this book is taken up by characterization and connecting to a larger story arc that it's almost easy to forget that this book includes a self-contained story, as well. At the beginning of the book, malicious ghosts are terrorizing the city (including a hospital nursery), and the dreams of certain characters are haunted by a demon called a Nightmare. This, too, is resolved, and there is a mystery aspect to it as there was in previous volumes, although, by the end of the book, this kind of takes a back seat to worries about impending future events.In the end, there was a lot going on in this book, but I really feel like we're starting to get somewhere. We get inside Harry's head a little more, we learn a little bit about his past, we're able to connect past events to an overall story arc, and there was a good deal of action. I think Butcher started to find his voice with this novel and I see a marked improvement in quality. Looking forward to reading more in this series.