3 series that could replace Harry Dresden (for me)
It was actually Lois McMaster Bujold herself who recommended Ben Aaronovitch's Rivers of London series on her Baen board. The premise is that a newbie London cop sees a ghost and inadvertently joins the magical unit of the police force. It's very much a police procedural - I was very creeped out to realize just how much surveillance there is in London and I definitely learned more about committing suicide by Tube than I should've. Aaronovitch isn't too heavy-handed with the magic, the monsters are often original, and I liked the way he wove the history of London into the story. I was jonesing every time I finished a book, until the most recently published one, Broken Homes, which ended on a note I'm not sure I believe. Very highly recommended if you like urban paranormal or police procedurals.
Strictly speaking, there's no magic in Donna Leon's Commissario Brunetti series, unless you consider La Serenissima magical. I got the first book as a Kindle daily deal and couldn't figure out if the references were tourist things. They are not: Leon has lived in Venice for over 25 years and further books got into more details no tourist would see. I was particularly interested because Julian and I had talked about how there's very little violent crime in Venice, because there are only 60K permanent residents and it's very hard to run from the police if you don't know the byways. My first problem with the series is that I got hungry all the time: Brunetti stops at little sandwich shops or goes to the market for perfect food every day and I'd get upset that I can't visit Cantinone gia Schiavi without getting on a plane. I stopped after 5 books because even though Brunetti figures out the criminal every time, they never go to trial. Still recommended for atmosphere.
I don't know who suggested Max Gladstone's Three Parts Dead because they weren't logged into LiveJournal at the time. It should've been right up my alley: in this world, lawyer-stuff is magic and the main character is a feisty young associate on her first case. Unfortunately, Gladstone develops this premise in ways I didn't particularly enjoy and I struggled to finish it. I read the second book in the series, Two Serpents Rise, because I wanted to see what he did with a neo-Aztec theme - I don't think there are any lawyers in that one - and I barely finished it. Others have enjoyed it more though, so you may like it.
Strictly speaking, there's no magic in Donna Leon's Commissario Brunetti series, unless you consider La Serenissima magical. I got the first book as a Kindle daily deal and couldn't figure out if the references were tourist things. They are not: Leon has lived in Venice for over 25 years and further books got into more details no tourist would see. I was particularly interested because Julian and I had talked about how there's very little violent crime in Venice, because there are only 60K permanent residents and it's very hard to run from the police if you don't know the byways. My first problem with the series is that I got hungry all the time: Brunetti stops at little sandwich shops or goes to the market for perfect food every day and I'd get upset that I can't visit Cantinone gia Schiavi without getting on a plane. I stopped after 5 books because even though Brunetti figures out the criminal every time, they never go to trial. Still recommended for atmosphere.
I don't know who suggested Max Gladstone's Three Parts Dead because they weren't logged into LiveJournal at the time. It should've been right up my alley: in this world, lawyer-stuff is magic and the main character is a feisty young associate on her first case. Unfortunately, Gladstone develops this premise in ways I didn't particularly enjoy and I struggled to finish it. I read the second book in the series, Two Serpents Rise, because I wanted to see what he did with a neo-Aztec theme - I don't think there are any lawyers in that one - and I barely finished it. Others have enjoyed it more though, so you may like it.