This third Harry Potter book marks a much darker style that will permeate the fourth one much stronger and fully come out in the fifth.

The beginning takes place at the terrible Dursleys again, but the wizard world meddles with the Muggle world from the third page, at first in a humorous way, but then very soon in a completely unexpected way.

Rowling's uncanny talent for the perfect plot shows first signs of fatigue, as the major plot points are announced long in advance. Still, there are many details woven into the story almost flawlessly, and it is so much fun to read that the reader should be able to forgive almost anything.