So after I finished reading this, I went through and read a couple of the 1 star reviews (and the associated comments), and I have to say I'm glad I did because I just could not see why people are giving this book 5 stars. Or why people are so obsessed with this series. Like, the book wasn't bad (I have read much, much worse), but if all I had to go on was this first book I honestly don't think I would actively seek out the rest of the series unless I got the books for free. The main character was an annoying, misogynistic idiot, and I honestly just couldn't figure out how in the world he made it through the book alive. For a man who's supposed to be smart and slick, he sure does a lot of dumb things and walks into a lot of dumb situations. I suppose in a way it's forgivable; in the very beginning, I got the sense that not only has he not had much experience with women in his life, but outside of some bad experiences in his childhood, he hasn't had much experience with death and black magic in his work either. Certainly he doesn't seem used to people actively attempting to kill him, and he reacts badly to the mangled bodies Murphy shows him while the police just mill around as police do. Still, if he's the only openly practicing wizard - and a powerful one at that - you'd think he'd have more fighting experience behind him than he seems to. Especially living poor in Chicago. 
 I pretty much spent this book having flaring with annoyance every time Dresden thought something sexist and rolling my eyes every time he did something stupid, but the comments on the bad reviews (and my friends' love of this series) give me hope that it gets better. Hopefully a lot better. I have way too many books to read to spend too much time on a series that continues to be as mediocre as this opening novel was.