Ghost Story by Jim Butcher

Kindle Edition, 432 pages
Published July 26th 2011 by Roc
ASINB004H4XI0Y
Primary Language: English
Source: Purchased

The Blurb (www.goodreads.com):

Beware Spoilers for the entire Dresden series!

When we last left the mighty wizard detective Harry Dresden, he wasn't doing well. In fact, he had been murdered by an unknown assassin.

But being dead doesn't stop him when his friends are in danger. Except now he has nobody, and no magic to help him. And there are also several dark spirits roaming the Chicago shadows who owe Harry some payback of their own.

To save his friends-and his own soul-Harry will have to pull off the ultimate trick without any magic...

The last scene of Changes was Harry Dresden being shot, falling off a boat, and seeing a white light. When you're reading an ongoing series like this one, you expect a certain level of cliffhanger at the end of the book. You do NOT expect your much loved protagonist to die. So, I was convinced the entire scene was a red herring, and that the next book would open with Harry alive and well.

Boy was I wrong. Harry was very, very dead. And his spirit was sent back as a ghost. It was interesting seeing Harry Dresden, kick-ass wizard, running around with no muscle and no magic. We've always known he was a smart guy, but he's never been in a situation where he was forced to think through his options before running in, guns blazing.

Harry was forced to confront his relationships, and see how much his actions had effected those he loved most. Especially poor Molly. I think her coping with Harry's death was the most heart-wrenching in the book.

Honestly, I was more fascinated by the interpersonal relationships and personal revelations than I was in the mystery. So what if the Corpsetaker was trying to stage a comeback? Who cares about who or what the Fomor are? I know future installments will have a lot to say on the matter. But this book was about Harry. We learned more about his life before we met him in Storm Front.

Because memories turned out to be the source of his ghostly power, we readers had the opportunity to experience many important life experiences Harry has had but not explained. And this leads me to the biggest fear I have after finishing Ghost Story: Harry used his memories to power his spells and fight the big fight. There was no evidence of him regaining those memories in the end. So when Mab brought him back to his body in the end, how much of himself does he remember? I hope he still remembers everything. I really do. But I wonder...