Storm Front is the first in a series of novels by Jim Butcher about the freelance wizard Harry Dresden. Harry is the only
wizard in Chicago and he hires himself out to anyone who needs his particular brand of help; sort of like a private detective who does magic.
His first case sees him helping the Supernatural division of the Chicago police department in their investigation of a brutal double murder, a murder which can only have been commited using very dark magic. One of the victims used to work for the gangster known as Marcone, who initially tries to warn Harry away from the case. The other is
connected to the master vampire known as Bianca, whom Harry unwittingly makes an enemy of. At the same time someone is dealing a deadly new magic drug
called Three Eye; is it connected in anyway to the killing?
Harry is the narrator of the book and he is an extremely likable personality. He is very witty, but also has a tendency to be slightly chauvinistic towards women which he sees as just being chivalrous. We also get glimpses into his dark, troubled past and learn along the way that though Harry is one of the good guys he carries within him the potential to do a lot of evil.
His allies in his investigation are Lieutenant Karrin Murphy, head of the Chicago PD's special unit and the only cop who doesn't believe that Harry is a fraud; he is also aided by a spirit named Bob who lives in a skull in his basement laboratory and serves as a kind of spiritual Internet, the interplay between Bob and Harry provides a lot of humour. There is also a pizza loving faery who pops up at one point. Harry's love interest is served in the form of Susan Rodriguez, a reporter for a tabloid newspaper that specialises in bizarre phenomenon.
To get to the truth Harry must battle a toad-like demon and a fair few giant scorpions before eventually going head to head with an evil warlock. Storm Front is packed with action and humour and its pace never lets up. The follow up book is called Fool Moon.