Summary: Harry Dresden is a detective wizard living in Chicago. Having difficulty paying
rent, he eagerly takes a job from a woman named Monica Sells, asking him to find her husband
who disappeared while dabbling in magic. What at first seems like a simple case though soon
turns into something far more dangerous than Harry could’ve imagined.
The Secret Hour has a very imaginative paranormal premise, and it was enjoyable to read; I finished this book for reluctant readers in two sittings. I love the idea of a hidden hour after midnight where only a select few can visit, and the continuing threads of mystery and “what’s going on?” kept me reading this urban fantasy. The characters are not all best buddies, but are unique individuals with their own motivations which are shown in the fast pace.
When I was in elementary school, I read many, many books on monsters and the paranormal. Books about ghosts, UFOs, Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, mummies, werewolves...and vampires. Outside of books, there wasn't a lot to see with vampires at the time. You might catch classic Universal monster movies or the later, bloodier Hammer horror movies on late night TV (assuming you could convince your parents to let you stay up that late).
