No Humans Involved by Kelley Armstrong, seventh book of her Women of the Otherworld dark fantasy series. In this book, the necromancer, Jaime Vegas, takes center stage. Jaime, a second (or perhaps) third tier celebrity, who has long given fake stage show seances, has been hired for a weird reality show with two other mediums. They are living together (in a sort of Big Brother scenario) in Brentwood in an old house, and are supposed to be doing a series of seances, to culminate in raising the ghost of Marilyn Monroe. The odd thing is that Jaime, despite her faked stage shows, actually is a necromancer, and actually does have powers over the dead. In the gardens of the Brentwood house, Jaime finds the tattered ghosts of children. With the help of some supernatural friends, Jaime desperately searches the seedy underworld of LA, to find the serial murderers of all of the poor kids - who have been killed in black magic rituals. Ditzy Jaime is always quite funny, and finally has to learn how to accept and use her darkest powers to stop the killers.
Wizard for Hire by Jim Butcher is an omnibus of the first three novels in his Dresden Files fantasy series - Storm Front, Fool Moon, and Grave Peril. These three novels introduce the alternate earth Chicago setting and some pretty important characters in this fun fantasy series, though IMHO, the author doesn't really start hitting full stride until the third book. Harry Dresden is the only wizard listed in the Chicago yellow pages. He works primarily as a private investigator, and helps out the Chicago police department as a consultant. He was once an apprentice to a very dark wizard, and if the White Council catch him breaking any magical laws, they will immediately execute him. His contact with the Chicago police department is the spunky and dedicated Karrin Murphy, his girlfriend is the beautiful tabloid reporter Susan Rodiguez, and one of his best friends is a literal Knight of the Lord, Michael Carpenter. He shares his little apartment with a horndog spirit who lives in a skull named Bob and his huge tomcat, Mister. In these first three books, Harry must face down an evil mage who is using storms to kill people, face down a variety of different kinds of werewolves (befriending a werewolf named Billy and his pack, called the Alphas along the way), and begins a war between the wizards and the Red Court of the vampires. And he has to face off against the local mob boss, Gentleman Johnny Marcone, while he is at it. All in a day's work for Chicago's only openly practicing wizard...I love these books. They are funny and Harry and many of his friends are very endearing.
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