**edited 12/04/13 
 Although far from the quality of the later books in the series, Storm Front is an enjoyable read for fans of urban fantasy and the hardboiled detective fiction of Raymond Chandler. Broke and bored, Harry Dresden is trying to eke out a living as the only Chicago-based professional wizard (the only one in the phone book) when he receives two phone calls that catapult him into a spellslinging spoof of Raymond Chandler's The Big Sleep. Like Phillip Marlowe, the PI protagonist of The Big Sleep, Dresden's escapade is touched off by two cases: a mysterious death and client trying to find a suspiciously absent spouse. Simple enough--until Dresden realizes he's quickly becoming the best suspect for the murders. With black magic afoot, Dresden must also tread carefully to avoid violating his probation from the White Council of wizards and receive the all-too-terminal punishment for violation. 
 ...And that's all I'm going to post here. 
 The rest of my (rather verbose and quote-filled) review is posted over here at Booklikes. 
 Why? Because I disapprove of GoodReads' new policy of censorship.