Death Masks (Dresden Files, #5)

by Jim Butcher

Harry Dresden, Chicago's only practising professional wizard, should be happy that business is pretty good for a change. But now he's getting more than he bargained for: A duel with the Red Court of Vampires' champion, 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 ...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.

• ISBN10: 0451462947
• ISBN13: 9780451462947
• Publish Date: 3 November 2009 (first published 3 November 2005)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 27 July 2021
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Roc
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 341
• Language: English

Reviews

[kimbacaffeinate]

Due to characters growth and alliances I recommend that this series be read in order.

We spend time with Michael, his family and other Knights of the Cross as Harry finds himself dealing with a vampire of the Red Court who wants a duel and a priest who wants Harry to find a lost object for him. Easy right? Wrong. It seems others want it as well and are even willing to kill for it.

In the meantime, Harry's old girlfriend Susan shows up and things get mighty interesting. Her return allows Harry to move forward so to speak. We get a little romance and even some heated scenes as these two make peace.  

I love the secondary characters like Thomas, John Marconi, and Karin. Even Susan grew on me a little. With each book we see Harry go through growth and this remains true in Death Masks. While Harry may come off as sexist and often pessimistic, I cannot help but love him. He feels real, heck all of the characters feel real; ugly flaws and all. At his core he is a really good guy trying to protect the innocent.

As I've stated previously I've bought all of the audios. James Marsters has become the voice for these characters and I can't fathom not listening.

This almost gained a five cup rating, but I wanted more from the ending. I will let you decide. Fans of snark, the supernatural world and private eyes who carry a staff will want to check out this urban fantasy series. Each book is stronger than its predecessor and I cannot wait to being the next audio. This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Reviewer