**edited 12/04/13 
 If you're going to try the Dresden Files, this is the book to start with. 
 There seems to be a general consensus that the first few books in the series are not of the same quality as the later books--to be expected, since they were the author's debut. I like the first few books; they feel like more straightforward spoofs of Raymond Chandler in Middle Earth. However, I felt the first few books feature flatter, more stereotyped characters, choppier writing, and less sympathetic side characters. 
 Summer Knight is where all of that changes. 
 ...And that's all I'm going to post here. 
 The rest of my (rather verbose) review is posted over here at Booklikes. 
 Why? Because I disapprove of GoodReads' new policy of censorship.