By Daniel Dern: Having spent much of the weekend reading Twelve Months (Ace books, 480 Pages), Jim Butcher’s twentieth “Dresden Files” book (Novel #18 in the series, plus two story collections), which was released in January (and Item #9 in the February 2, 2026 Scroll), I recommend it without reservations (unless, like me, you would get it as a library borrow (or e-borrow), in which case I recommend a reservation, like I’d done, so you don’t have to hope it shows up in the “Speed Read” section or wait until a copy show up on the regular-circulation shelves).

If you’re unfamiliar with Harry Dresden (and his FILES)…

Here’s a non-spoiler general summary, Per the Dresden Files’ Wikipedia page:

The first novel, Storm Front—which was also Butcher’s writing debut—was published in 2000. The books are written as a first-person narrative from the perspective of private investigator and wizard Harry Dresden as he recounts investigations into supernatural disturbances in modern-day Chicago.” [As in, our world, smartphones, Internet, Star Wars (movies) etc… except there’s also magic entities and activity – DPD]

Butcher’s original proposed title for the first novel was Semiautomagic, which sums up the series’ balance of fantasy and hard-boiled detective fiction… In the world of The Dresden Files, magic is real—alongside vampires, demons, spirits, faeries, werewolves, outsiders and other monsters—while both it and the supernatural are widely discredited.” [I.e., the general public doesn’t know about it. -DPD]

…. Harry Dresden is the only advertising wizard in the United States, living in Chicago and investigating supernatural cases on behalf of both human and nonhuman clients. He also serves as a civilian consultant for the Special Investigations division of the Chicago Police Department, and is called upon at times to offer his opinion on cases that appear to have a magical element.

Dern advises: if this makes you Dresden-curious, start with Book #1; while (in most cases) the individual books start-and-wrap plots, there’s longer arcs and developments (and backstory) with each new(er) book. (Like, for example, Ben Aaronovitch’s Rivers Of London stories; unlike, say, Steven Brust’s Vlad Taltos series, or, for the most part, Rex Stout’s Nero Wolfe stories.)

And if you’re already a Dresden fan, but haven’t yet requested/got/read TWELVE MONTHS…

Twelve Months picks up just after the events in the two previous Dresden Files – Peace Talks (July 2020) and Battle Ground (released September 2020) (arguably, these are really Parts 1 and 2 of a single story). As you’d expect, there’s magic prep, research, angst, snark, snappy dialog, fights and battles, f/sf cultural references, and two Spider Robinson/David-Gerrold-worth puns. The immediate plot threads are resolved within this volume…(but) there are larger and looming Next And Bigger Problems left over for the next Dresden File book — and, according to Butcher’s web site, “Mirror Mirror will now be book #19.” (Expected publication January 1, 2027, according to GoodReads.)

(BTW, according to Butcher’s web site (looks like this was written before mid-2020, so it’s possibly the plans have changed), The series is slated to run 23-24 books: 20-21 “case books” like we’ve seen so far, capped by a Big Apocalyptic Trilogy, because who doesn’t love apocalyptic trilogies?“

Speaking for myself, if you’re a Dresden Files fan, I think you’ll enjoy Twelve Months. Or, in the word of Nero Wolfe, “Satisfactory.”

(BTW, one non-spoiler question for Mr. Butcher (if you’re reading this) – one group in Twelve Months says they “like stories”…in the text, we see a kid or two doing the story-telling. Would “like stories” extend also to “see/hear/watch TV/video/movies?” Just wondering.)