Basically the series was over with book 6 when she saved Manhattan from
obliteration. So with Book 7 the titular coroner (who is no longer a
coroner) has to face a new menace, only without the special power of
visions of future and past that have been holding her hand all through
her previous investigation. This is a problem for the magical detective
because even though she's still a magical powerhouse even without the
visions, she doesn't actually know any magic that's useful for
detectiving instead of causing massive collateral damage.

And, despite her forensic training she's otnay ootay ightbray. I
repeatedly found myself saying "Come ooooon! Obvious perpetrator is
obvious!" at various points in the series. Say what you will about
Harry Dresden, he never had a problem realizing that obvious perpetrator
is obvious.

In any case she finds herself juggling several cases:

1. A mage has unenthusiastically set an apartment building full of
werewolves on fire. His half-assed arson has provoked the werewolves
toward hostility versus the mages.

2. A new player is taking over New York's loan sharking industry with
one of the biggest sharks disappearing after taking up with a mysterious
woman with a Slavic accent. The new outfit has a habit of draining all
the blood from clients who default and stealing organs for black market
transplantation. The police detective immediately speculates "vampires"
but is refuted by the ironclad argument that the blood was drained by
some kind of tool rather than by vampire fangs.

3. Someone just stole an illegal book about blood magic.

4. A vampire just attacked her and told her she's interfering in their
business.

In a completely unrelated note, in her last book she started a feud with
a drug syndicate that called itself "The Night Crew" which was led by a
reclusive boss called "The Night Lord". They have been mentioned to her
as a possible candidate for the mysterious new player in the
loansharking industry.

Meanwhile she's going to ask the Mafia if they're the ones killing loan
shark clients and selling their organs. <sigh> Look, dude, I realize
you've got to make word count, but obvious perpetrator is... Now I kind
of like the action sequences and the world building, but please let your
detective rent a clue.

There's a Doctor Who alien that drinks your blood,
but they use a straw.

On 8/28/2022 8:18 AM, Robert Carnegie wrote:
> There's a Doctor Who alien that drinks your blood,
> but they use a straw.

In the movie 'Killer Klowns from Outer Space' the title characters use
straws as well.

--
I've done good in this world. Now I'm tired and just want to be a cranky
dirty old man.

In article <905b7e7d-a9e3-48b6-bb69-8a1611d66033n@googlegroups.com>,
Robert Carnegie <rja.carnegie@excite.com> wrote:
>There's a Doctor Who alien that drinks your blood,
>but they use a straw.

With a next to unpronoucable word?
--
Member - Liberal International This is doctor@nk.ca Ici doctor@nk.ca
Yahweh, Queen & country!Never Satan President Republic!Beware AntiChrist rising!
Look at Psalms 14 and 53 on Atheism https://www.empire.kred/ROOTNK?t=94a1f39b
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On 2022-08-28 9:18 a.m., Robert Carnegie wrote:
> There's a Doctor Who alien that drinks your blood,
> but they use a straw.

Uh-unh. In this case the vampire was using a cannula and just bagging
the blood for later.