Death Masks
core novel 2003 The Dresden Files
Record
| First published | 2003 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | core |
| Reader rating | 4.29 (151,409 ratings, collected 2026-09-13) |
| Page count | 432 |
| First-edition ISBN | 9780451459404 |
| Internal chronology | 5 |
Synopsis
Harry Dresden is hired to recover the stolen Shroud of Turin in Death Masks, the fifth Dresden Files novel, after appearing on a television panel alongside a Vatican priest and a university professor who is secretly a Red Court vampire noble. The vampire noble also challenges Dresden to a formal duel meant to end the long war between the White Council and the Red Court, forcing him to prepare for mortal combat even as he takes on the Shroud case. Soon after, Dresden is attacked by Denarians, fallen angels bound to human hosts, and warned away from the investigation by Knights of the Cross, a warning he refuses to heed. As he works to recover the relic, Dresden finds himself caught between rival thieves after the Shroud, the Denarians hoping to weaponize it, and an expanding Red Court presence in the city.
Where it sits
- Universe: The Dresden Files
- Series: The Dresden Files core; position 5 of 18 in the series' recorded order
- Author: Jim Butcher
Notes
- From the series record (The Dresden Files): 18-novel main sequence (2000-2026, ongoing), narrated throughout by wizard-detective Harry Dresden. Publication order equals in-story chronological order for the entire main sequence. Peace Talks and Battle Ground (both 2020) were originally written as a single novel that grew too long and was split into two by the publisher, released 2.5 months apart, a genuine bibliographic quirk, not a numbering error. A 19th novel (Mirror Mirror) is announced for 2027 but unpublished and is not registered.
Neighbouring works
Publication order and internal chronology are tracked as two separate orderings, but they resolve to the exact same sequence for this book, so one combined line is shown instead of two identical ones.
- Reading order, within the series The Dresden Files: position 5 of 18: previous Summer Knight (2002) · next Blood Rites (2004)
Sources
- Jim Butcher's official site
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dresden_Files
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_Masks
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