Dead Beat (2005) (edit title/settings)

Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit see section history

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Summary edit see section history

Characters/People edit see section history

• Harry Dresden: Chicago's only professional wizard, who is also a detective.
• Bob: An spirit of knowledge who resides within a skull in Dresden's sub-basement laboratory.
• Mister: Dresden's 30+ pound house cat.
• Mouse: Dresden's Tibetan Temple Dog. Since his introduction he has grown to an enormous size. He has the uncanny ability to sense evil before it strikes. He loves going for rides in the Blue Beetle; he’s all about the journey, not the destination—very Zen.
• Thomas Raith: Dresden's half-brother and roommate, a White Court vampire, and he was banished from House Raith in Blood Rites. He has trouble holding a job for more than two weeks.
• Lieutenant Karrin Murphy: Director of Special Investigations, Chicago PD
• Mavra: A venerable Black Court vampire and a very capable sorceress.
• Billy Borden: A werewolf; D&D dungeon master; leader of the Alphas, a group of college-age werewolves
• Georgia: A werewolf; a Psychology PhD student at the University of Chicago
• Mortimer Lindquist: "Morty" the most powerful ectomancer Dresden has ever met. He sees dead people.
• Malcolm Dresden: Dresden's father, who died when he was six.
• Henry Rawlins: One of the Chicago PD's "old hands", Rawlins is a cop who gets the job done and has little patience for politics. He has been demoted from detective twice. After he was saved from an unknown creature by Murphy's father, he has kept an open mind about the supernatural. He has been moved to the SI department and is currently Murphy's partner.
• Gentleman Johnny Marcone: The crime lord of Chicago.
• Hendricks: One of Gentleman Johnny Marcone’s bodyguards.
• Ms. Gard: An employee of Monoc Securities on hire to Johnny Marcone as a magical and supernatural consultant. She is a Valkyrie.
• Dr. Waldo Butters: Night shift coroner (medical examiner) at the Cook County morgue (Forensic Institute). He tips off Dresden and Murphy when he gets odd causes of death or the corpses of paranormal creatures. He provides off-the-books medical aid, when going to a hospital could be dangerous or awkward.
• Grevane: A necromancer, a past apprentice of Kemmler.
• Artemis Bock: the owner, operator of Bock Ordered Books, a rare book store near the university, just a few blocks from Billy and Georgia’s apartment.
• Shiela Starr: an employee at Bock Ordered Books. She has eidetic memory, a total recall of anything she has read
• Cowl: A necromancer, a past apprentice of Kemmler; he works with Kumori.
• Kumori: Cowl's associate; a necromancer, but not one of Kemmler's apprentices
• Capriocorpus: (Latin: Corpsetaker) AKA Alicia Nelson, a necromancer; a past apprentice of Kemmler; and an expert in mental magic.
• Li Xian: A ghoul and minion of Capriocorpus
• Erlkoenig: aka the Elfking, the Master of the Wild Hunt. A powerful High Sidhe of the Wyldfae.
• Carlos Ramirez: A youthful warden, who admires Dresden's approach to many things. He is promoted to regional commander, working out of Los Angeles, CA.
• Anastasia Luccio: The Captain of the Wardens, in charge of the security for the White Council.
• Mavra: Black Court Vampire. Deadly powerful.
• Alicia: Add a description of this character.
• Phil
• Casey
• Wacker
• Justin Dumorne: Harry's mentor. Deceased.
• Lamar
• Mike: Harry's mechanic, responsible for the continued running of the Blue Beetle

Quotes edit see section history

• “And again do I answer thee: bite me.”

  Harry

• “I hated blood. And as a decorating theme it left something to bedesired.”

  Harry

• “It's getting to be like Satan's reunion tour around here.”

  Harry

• “Animals might not have the potential power of human remains. But the older the remains, the more magic can be drawn to fill them -- and Sue was sixty-five million years old. She had power. She had power in spades.”

  Harry

• “Polka will never die!”

  Harry

• Popular Highlights from Kindle Customers

• “It gets sort of Zen after a while,” Butters said brightly. “Life is a journey. Time is a river. The door is a jar.”

  Highlighted by 113 Kindle customers

• Nearly everyone underestimates how powerful the touch of another person’s hand can be. The need to be touched is something so primal, so fundamentally a part of our existence as human beings that its true impact upon us can be difficult to put into words. That power doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with sex, either. From the time we are infants, we learn to associate the touch of a human hand with safety, with comfort, with love.

  Highlighted by 107 Kindle customers

• “Because Thomas is too pretty to die. And because I’m too stubborn to die.” I hauled on the shirt even harder. “And most of all because tomorrow is Oktoberfest, Butters, and polka will never die.”

  Highlighted by 99 Kindle customers

• Fear is a part of life. It’s a warning mechanism. That’s all. It tells you when there’s danger around. Its job is to help you survive. Not cripple you into being unable to do it.”

  Highlighted by 93 Kindle customers

• “When you do something stupid and die, it’s pathetic,” I said. “When you do something stupid and survive it, then you get to call it impressive or heroic.”

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• no amount of training or forethought can prepare you for the sight of an angry dinosaur coming to eat your ass.

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• Everyone dies alone. That’s what it is. It’s a door. It’s one person wide. When you go through it, you do it alone.” His fingers squeezed me tight. “But it doesn’t mean you’ve got to be alone before you go through the door. And believe me, you aren’t alone on the other side.”

  Highlighted by 80 Kindle customers

• “Harry?” Bob asked. “Are your feet wet? And can you see the pyramids?” I blinked. “What?” “Earth to Dresden,” Bob said. “You are standing knee-deep in de Nile.”

  Highlighted by 74 Kindle customers

• “Screw up my life?” He stared at me for a second and then said, deadpan, “I’m a five-foot-three, thirty-seven-year-old, single, Jewish medical examiner who needs to pick up his lederhosen from the dry cleaners so that he can play in a one-man polka band at Oktoberfest tomorrow.” He pushed up his glasses with his forefinger, folded his arms, and said, “Do your worst.”

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• “Maybe it’s the cloak,” Bob suggested brightly. “Harry, do you feel any more judgmental and self-righteous than you did this morning?”

  Highlighted by 65 Kindle customers

Setting & Locations edit see section history

• Chicago, IL

First Sentence edit see section history

Series & Lists edit see section history

Preceded by Blood Rites, and followed by Proven Guilty.

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

1. Jim Butcher (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Classification edit see section history

• Library of Congress: PS3602.U85 D43 2005
• Dewey: 813.6

Notes for Parents edit see section history

Add a note to help parents select a book for a child.

Subjects edit see section history

• Books › Science Fiction & Fantasy › Fantasy › Urban
• Books › Science Fiction & Fantasy › Fantasy › Contemporary

Links to Supplemental Material edit see section history

• Jim-Butcher.com: Author's official website

Movie Connections edit see section history

• The Dresden Files (IMDb): TV Mini-Series