Death Masks

The Dresden Files have taken the genre of paranormal mystery to a new level of action, excitement, and hard-hitting magical muscle. Now, in Death Masks, Jim Butcher’s smart-guy private eye may have taken on more than he can handle...

Harry Dresden, Chicago’s only practicing professional wizard, should be happy that business is pretty good for a change. But he also knows that whenever things are going good, the only way left for them to go is bad. Way bad. Such as:

• A duel with the lethal champion of the Red Court, who must kill Harry to end the war between vampires and wizards...
• Professional hit men using Harry for target practice...
• The missing Shroud of Turin—and the possible involvement of Chicago's most feared mob boss...
• A handless and headless corpse the Chicago police need identified...

Not to mention the return of Harry’s ex-girlfriend Susan, who’s still struggling with her semi-vampiric nature. And who seems to have a new man in her life. Some days, it just doesn’t pay to get out of bed. No matter how much you’re charging.
Praise for the Dresden Files

“Think Buffy the Vampire Slayer starring Philip Marlowe.”—Entertainment Weekly

“Fans of Laurell  K. Hamilton and Tanya Huff will love this series.”—Midwest Book Review
 
“Superlative.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
 
“One of the most enjoyable marriages of the fantasy and mystery genres on the shelves.”—Cinescape
 
“Butcher...spins an excellent noirish detective yarn in a well-crafted, supernaturally-charged setting. The supporting cast is again fantastic, and Harry’s wit continues to fly in the face of a peril-fraught plot.”—Booklist (starred review)
 
“What’s not to like about this series?...It takes the best elements of urban fantasy, mixes it with some good old-fashioned noir mystery, tosses in a dash of romance and a lot of high-octane action, shakes, stirs, and serves.”—SF Site
 
“A tricky plot complete with against-the-clock pacing, firefights, explosions, and plenty of magic. Longtime series fans as well as newcomers drawn by the SciFi Channel’s TV series based on the novels should find this supernatural mystery a real winner.”—Library Journal
 
“What would you get if you crossed Spenser with Merlin? Probably you would come up with someone very like Harry Dresden, wizard, tough guy and star of [the Dresden Files].”—The Washington Times
© Portrait Gallery / Photography by Shersten the Golden
A martial arts enthusiast whose résumé includes a long list of skills rendered obsolete at least two hundred years ago, #1 New York Times bestselling author Jim Butcher turned to writing as a career because anything else probably would have driven him insane. He lives mostly inside his own head so that he can write down the conversation of his imaginary friends, but his head can generally be found in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. Jim is the author of the Dresden Files (Battle Ground, Peace Talks), the Codex Alera novels (First Lord’s Fury, Furies of Calderon), and the Cinder Spires series (The Olympian Affair, The Aeronaut’s Windlass). View titles by Jim Butcher

About

The Dresden Files have taken the genre of paranormal mystery to a new level of action, excitement, and hard-hitting magical muscle. Now, in Death Masks, Jim Butcher’s smart-guy private eye may have taken on more than he can handle...

Harry Dresden, Chicago’s only practicing professional wizard, should be happy that business is pretty good for a change. But he also knows that whenever things are going good, the only way left for them to go is bad. Way bad. Such as:

• A duel with the lethal champion of the Red Court, who must kill Harry to end the war between vampires and wizards...
• Professional hit men using Harry for target practice...
• The missing Shroud of Turin—and the possible involvement of Chicago's most feared mob boss...
• A handless and headless corpse the Chicago police need identified...

Not to mention the return of Harry’s ex-girlfriend Susan, who’s still struggling with her semi-vampiric nature. And who seems to have a new man in her life. Some days, it just doesn’t pay to get out of bed. No matter how much you’re charging.

Reviews

Praise for the Dresden Files

“Think Buffy the Vampire Slayer starring Philip Marlowe.”—Entertainment Weekly

“Fans of Laurell  K. Hamilton and Tanya Huff will love this series.”—Midwest Book Review
 
“Superlative.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
 
“One of the most enjoyable marriages of the fantasy and mystery genres on the shelves.”—Cinescape
 
“Butcher...spins an excellent noirish detective yarn in a well-crafted, supernaturally-charged setting. The supporting cast is again fantastic, and Harry’s wit continues to fly in the face of a peril-fraught plot.”—Booklist (starred review)
 
“What’s not to like about this series?...It takes the best elements of urban fantasy, mixes it with some good old-fashioned noir mystery, tosses in a dash of romance and a lot of high-octane action, shakes, stirs, and serves.”—SF Site
 
“A tricky plot complete with against-the-clock pacing, firefights, explosions, and plenty of magic. Longtime series fans as well as newcomers drawn by the SciFi Channel’s TV series based on the novels should find this supernatural mystery a real winner.”—Library Journal
 
“What would you get if you crossed Spenser with Merlin? Probably you would come up with someone very like Harry Dresden, wizard, tough guy and star of [the Dresden Files].”—The Washington Times

Author

© Portrait Gallery / Photography by Shersten the Golden
A martial arts enthusiast whose résumé includes a long list of skills rendered obsolete at least two hundred years ago, #1 New York Times bestselling author Jim Butcher turned to writing as a career because anything else probably would have driven him insane. He lives mostly inside his own head so that he can write down the conversation of his imaginary friends, but his head can generally be found in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. Jim is the author of the Dresden Files (Battle Ground, Peace Talks), the Codex Alera novels (First Lord’s Fury, Furies of Calderon), and the Cinder Spires series (The Olympian Affair, The Aeronaut’s Windlass). View titles by Jim Butcher