I’d hang out with Bigfoot around a campfire. He seems like a cool dude.

This is a fun little novella/short story collection set in the Dresdenverse. Three linked short stories are included here, taking place at varying times throughout Harry’s history. “B is for Bigfoot” takes place after Fool Moon, “I Was a Teenage Bigfoot” occurs after Dead Beat, and “Bigfoot on Campus” is sandwiched between Turn Coat and Changes, so the Harry in this collection is the Harry from Before, still working as a wizard PI.

All in all, I found this book to be a fun, light read. I’m not normally a fan of short stories because my favorite part of reading is emotional investment, but here Butcher has Harry taking three cases from an honest to God Sasquatch (whose name is The Strength of the River in His Shoulders, aka River Shoulders). In each story he’s hired by the Bigfoot to protect River Shoulder’s half-human son, Irwin, so there’s a very slight narrative through-line across all the stories, as Harry builds a rapport with both father and son. It’s also fun to skip through Harry’s existing timeline and watch Irwin grow up.

The stories were also surprisingly moving, mostly due to the focus on themes of growing up, responsibility and fatherhood. I’ve noticed since Butcher had his kid, there has been a noticeable uptick in the material in his books that involves parental relationships, and I like it. Irwin is a nice kid, and especially in the third story where he takes a more active role, he’s a fun character to engage with. His relationship to his father the Bigfoot was really heartwarming, while also being bizarre and kind of funny in a surreal way.

It’s worth noting that the audio version is narrated by James Marsters, so if audio is your preferred Dresden vehicle, you’re covered here.