“But the only way never to do the wrong thing is never to do anything.”

Trying so hard to finish up my Cannonball this year, so I’m hitting up my backlog of unreviewed books for the year. I read some (actually, SO MANY) great books that I just never got around to reviewing, and while perusing the list, I figured you can never go wrong with a little Harry Dresden/James Marsters action. What follows is not really a review…its seems to be more like my random thoughts about these two books, as it has been a while since I listened and my brain has trouble telling these books apart.

First up: Proven Guilty.

From Amazon:

There’s no love lost between Harry Dresden, the only wizard in the Chicago phone book, and the White Council of Wizards, who find him brash and undisciplined. But war with the vampires has thinned their ranks, so the Council has drafted Harry as a Warden and assigned him to look into rumors of black magic in the Windy City.

As Harry adjusts to his new role, another problem arrives in the form of the tattooed and pierced daughter of an old friend—all grown up and already in trouble. Her boyfriend is the only suspect in what looks like a supernatural assault straight out of a horror film. Malevolent entities that feed on fear are loose in Chicago, but it’s all in a day’s work for a wizard, his faithful dog, and a talking skull named Bob…

Wow, that quote isn’t really helping me to remember much, other than that this is the book that brings young Molly Carpenter into the fold as a major character.

A series of creepy murders — based upon scenes from horror movies — take place at a horror movie convention, SPLATTERCON!!!. Michael and Charity’s oldest daughter Molly — no longer a cute little girl, but now a pierced and tattooed teen with crazy hair — brings the case to Harry, because she and her boyfriend and other friends have been working at the convention and are scared.

Molly is kidnapped by the creatures causing the mayhem, and brought to the Never Never, where she is rescued by Murphy, Harry, and Charity.

Of course, there’s more to the story than that. Molly has been learning to use magic, hoping to be able to save her boyfriend and best friend from their vices. Turns out that in the magic world, this is a big no-no, and is punishable by death. As a warden of the council, Harry stands by her at trial and it is decided that he will be her sponsor and help her to learn magic responsibly.

Meanwhile, of course there’s some nonsense with vampires, Harry’s relationship with Karin Murphy, his brother Thomas, and Bob. Can’t get enough of Bob.

Proven Guilty flows right into White Night.

Meet Harry Dresden, Chicago’s first (and only) Wizard P.I. Turns out the ‘everyday’ world is full of strange and magical things – and most of them don’t play well with humans. That’s where Harry comes in. A series of apparent suicides rings alarm bells with the police, and Harry is hired. At the first crime scene he hits pay dirt, discovering an unmistakable magical taint. There’s also a message especially for him, and it ain’t pretty. The ‘killings’ will continue if Harry can’t halt his tormentor, but the evidence implicates his half-brother, which just doesn’t add up. Unfortunately Harry’s digging around attracts some powerful vampires with a stake in the result. Soon, whichever way he turns, Harry will find himself outnumbered, outclassed and dangerously susceptible to temptation. And if he screws up, his friends will die. Magic – it can get a guy killed.

Another crappy blurb. Not helping me remember much at all!

What I do remember is that this one has Elaine, Gentleman John Marcone, a group of women dying under mysterious circumstances, and a HUGE vampire battle underneath Thomas’ family estate, and flashbacks to a horrible warden incident in the desert.

I’m always wary of the stories that include Elaine. I know that these are all fictional characters, BUT I DON’T TRUST HER. #TEAMMURPHY

The battle scene was long but pretty exciting. Of course Murphy kicked ass, and it was interesting to see how Marcone joined the fight in exchange for power in the Never Never (I think?). I mostly worried about Ramirez, who I loved as a foil to Harry, and Mouse, because he’s a good boy.

As always, James Marsters did an excellent job narrating these stories. I don’t know if I would ever have read these books without him, to be honest. He truly brings Harry to life. He makes me laugh, and he even made me cry in White Night, telling the story of Helen Beckkitt’s daughter.

I’ve already started listening to Small Favor. These audiobooks are like comfort food for my ears. Thank you to all of the Cannonballers before me who made sure to mention these books over and over — I never would have known about them otherwise.