Review: Brief Cases (The Dresden Files Anthology)

Brief Cases (2018) is the second anthology of short stories by Jim Butcher, a fantasy author of The Dresden Files series. The first anthology, Side Jobs, was released in 2010. Brief Cases contains a collection of 12 short stories in the world of wizard Harry Dresden. The table of contents includes the following:

1. “Curses” — Story occurs between Small Favor and Turn Coat.
2. “AAAA Wizardry” — Story occurs between Dead Beat and Proven Guilty.
3. “Even Hand” — Story occurs between Turn Coat and Changes.
4. “B is for Bigfoot” — Story occurs between Fool Moon and Grave Peril.
5. “I Was A Teenage Bigfoot” — Story occurs around Dead Beat.
6. “Bigfoot on Campus” — Story occurs between Turn Coat and Changes.
7. “Bombshells” — Story occurs between Ghost Story and Cold Days.
8. “Jury Duty” — Story occurs after Skin Game.
9. “Cold Case” — Story occurs after Cold Days.
10. “Day One” — Story occurs after Skin Game.
11. “A Fistful of Warlocks” — Story is a prequel to the series.
12. “Zoo Day” — Story occurs after Skin Game.

Harry Dresden is Chicago's only professional wizard, but he has encountered many missions that venture into the dark side of justice. Many of the short stories in this collection take place since the release of Turn Coat (Book #11). Currently, Changes remains my favorite novel in the series by far. First-time readers should start from the very beginning with Storm Front.  I recommend this anthology to Jim Butcher fans who need a refresher just in time for the highly-anticipated release of Peace Talks in the summer of 2020.