mimesere

I think they're fantastic. I've read Dead Beat probably six or seven times now. Noirish detective novels with ghost and goblins and things that go bump in the night. I really like the character of Dresden - and I think he fits most of your character pluses. The bad guys in the series have this sort of running harassment about how Harry's going to die "doing the right thing." Good to his word, honorable and doesn't take the easy out. They remind me of what the Anita Blake books could have been if it weren't for the Mary-Sue issues and the pr0npr0npr0n. Worth snagging from the library to see if they work for you. I actually recommend getting the first two together because the first is a bit... not so much slow, but doesn't really get fantastic til the end and the end flows pretty much right into the second book. Both of them together really give you a good sense of the series.