Book Review: Brief Cases, by Jim Butcher

This is the second collection of short stories in the universe of The Dresden Files.  I remember enjoying the previous collection, Side Jobs, just as much as the books themselves, so I read these as well.  I enjoyed most of the stories very much, but found this collection to be slightly different.  In the collection Side Jobs, the stories all revolve around Harry Dresden.  In Brief Cases, a few of the stories are about other characters in the series.  This made the collection a bit uneven, but still enjoyable.  Some of the stories I definitely liked better than others, and some of them I questioned the reason for their existence.

Here's my rating of each story.

A Fistful of Warlocks

This one was tough for me.  This isn't a Dresden story - the focus is on Anastasia Luccio and takes place back in the Old West, and includes appearances by Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday.  It has been so long since Skin Game came out (waaaay back in May of 2014), I didn't even remember who Luccio was.  This is kind of a "Gunfight at the OK Corral" story, but with wizards and their enemies.  I didn't see the reason behind this story, and it didn't do much for me.  The pace and writing were not like typical Dresden fare.

The Bigfoot Trilogy:  B is for Bigfoot, I Was a Teenage Bigfoot, and Bigfoot on Campus

These stories were great!  It introduces a race that has never made an appearance in the Dresden books - the Bigfeet (or is it Bigfoots).  Each story builds on the one prior to it, and they introduce a great new character, Strength of a River in his Shoulders, who comes to Harry for help at the beginning of each of the stories.  These are well worth reading, and I hope this Bigfoot makes more appearances in the mainstream Dresden Files stories.  It is definitely an interesting take on the Bigfoot mythology.

AAAA Wizardry

This story covers some of Harry's time as a teacher, when he is working with young Wardens.  A suitable story for giving some background information, but no big action - this story couldn't have been very impressive, as I barely remember anything about it.

Curses

This one was a strange tale, involving the investigation of a curse on the Chicago Cubs.  We learn that the Cubs have been losing for so long due to a curse related to a goat.  Harry investigates to find the truth.  The story succeeded in drawing me in, but I have to say I found the ending a little confusing - I believe I had to read it twice.

Even Hand

While Harry does not appear in this story, it is an excellent addition.  One of the central characters is Johnny Marcone.  For a story that doesn't include Harry himself, this one is outstanding story.  We get to see inside Marcone's world, how is organization works, and we learn some very concerning things about him.  This story is an important piece of the Dresden series.

Bombshells

This story focuses entirely on one of Molly Carpenter's missions for the Leanansidhe.  She is still keeping a low radar, and is being taught by the Leanansidhe.  She ends up getting sent on a mission to rescue Thomas Raith, Harry's half brother.  During her mission, she learns that things are not always as they seem - which parallels many of Harry's own investigations.

Cold Case

This story covers Molly Carpenter's first task as the Winter Lady.  Similar to the event of some of the earlier Dresden novels, we get more background on Mab's plans, and more of a glimpse into what the forces of Winter are all about, and it isn't pretty.  Once again, Mab and her organization are involved in things that don't always what they seem to be, and I wouldn't be surprised we are getting some more background that will lead up to some explosive things in future novels.  Mab and her forces are sitting on a powder keg.

Jury Duty

This story follows Harry on a tour in jury duty, which he would like very much to avoid.  Naturally, Harry has to do a little investigating on his own.  This story was passable, but not among the best in this collection.

Day One

This story follows Waldo Butters meeting his first challenge as a Knight of the Cross.  He has been in training and seriously questions his worthiness to be a Knight.  With a little help, he learns he is more worthy than he thinks.  I'm hoping this leads to more overlap with Harry's investigations in future Dresden Files volumes.

Zoo Day

This story has an interesting format.  Harry spends the day at the zoo with his daughter Maggie and his Foo Dog, Mouse.  This story is unique in that it gets told from the perspective of all three characters.  We get some interesting background on what it is like to be a child, and what grown-ups don't remember about it.  This is a bit dark for the first Maggie story, but the style of the story makes up for that.

Overall, this was a very enjoyable collection.  Highly recommended.