So, the last novella that Butcher added to this series was back in 2022 titled “The Law”.  It was also published by a small, private publisher.  And…it had the same character in it:  Tripp Gregory.  I’m starting to think that Butcher has a soft spot for this character.

Tripp is a low-life; a pimp who works for Baron Marcone and someone that Harry has only contempt for.  So it’s more than a bit unreal for him when Marcone approaches him and asks for his help to rehabilitate Tripp. It seems that Tripp ‘found God’ and now has to make good on his promise to be a better person.  The problem is that Tripp doesn’t even have a passing understanding of how ‘straight’ people behave; ‘straight’ meaning not gangsters.  As in: ‘on the straight and narrow.’  So when he conceives of a way to help, he takes a rather unlawful way of doing it.  Tripp has decided he’s going to focus his energy on helping the children of Chicago who have lost ground academically what with all the destroyed schools and infrastructure.  So he creates a foundation to help and talks an elderly dying woman into financing it to the tune of about two million dollars.  But, as Tripp saw it, two million wasn’t going very far so he decided to bet it all on a 5-to-1 race.  Now, the IRS doesn’t look kindly on charitable institutions betting money on a game of chance; it’s in the area of a felony.  But the thing was, Tripp won…ten million dollars.  Okay, so if you put the money back, the IRS might feel a little kindly but the bookie is holding out.  Marcone has put it to Harry that if he helps Tripp figure a way out of this and make good on his promise to be a better person, then Marcone will cancel the debt of honor Harry owes him.  Then they’ll both feel better.  Harry is sure there is more to the deal than Marcone is telling but he’s also faced with the idea that he ought to put his ideals where his mouth is; if the man is really sincere, he ought to have a second chance.  But nothing is simple.

First off, the old lady’s family is suing Tripp for exploiting the old woman.  Second, the IRS is coming for him. Third, Harry has to persuade a very powerful gangster to give up ten million dollars.  Fourth, some powerful evil black magic thing is trying to kill him.  And fifth, Harry is righteously pissed that this evil thing is in his city and he’s more than a bit chagrined that it might be his fault in the first place.  That’s a lot for a little novella.

It’s fun to watch Harry watch Tripp; the man is truly sincere in his desire to change but he truly has no idea how to do it or even why honest people do what they do.  Harry is also watching out for his young apprentice, Fitz but that’s it for this story in terms of Harry helping people. 

Harry has frequently come across as a bull-in-a-china-shop.  He’s incredibly powerful in many ways, not so much in others.  He’s also as bullheaded as they come and tends to rely on his strength to just bulldoze the bad guys down.  But he seriously underestimates the danger and power of the evil black magic that’s determined to kill both him and Tripp; they almost die and Tripp actually helps save Harry.  With the embarrassment of that motivating him, he pauses to do some strategic research on the evil one only to understand that he’s a bit out-gunned.  So, he’ll have to be super tricky and try very hard not to die or lose Tripp or Bear while he’s doing it.

While a novella, obviously, can’t have the depth of a novel there were some notable absences:  Maggie, Mouse, Molly and Michael (huh… lots of alliteration there).  This was Dresden-light but I enjoyed it.

Butcher did telegraph the ending, pretty broadly, I thought.  So I knew how he was going to try to save the day; just not completely sure if he would succeed.  It was another small story about Harry trying to do the right thing for ordinary people with a dash of horrific-monster thrown in.  It was just an hors d’oeuvre when what I really crave is a full-course dinner but I’ll have to wait until next January for that.  I’m not happy about that…although there’s no reason to complain, it was only one year between books this time.  ~~ Catherine Book

For more titles by Jim Butcher click here