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White Night (novel)
Encyclopedia
White Night is the 9th book in The Dresden Files
, Jim Butcher
's continuing series about wizard detective Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden.
The cover art by illustrator Christian McGrath
depicts Harry walking down a snowy street with his glowing staff.
. Dresden senses the victim is a magical practitioner. He discovers a hidden biblical reference on her bedroom wall: Exodus 22:18. He knows the verse is, "Suffer not a witch to live." This suicide is really a homicide and the killer left that hidden message specifically for Dresden. At the morgue, Butters has five very suspicious suicides. The inconsistencies surrounding the deaths point to some type of supernatural murder. Dresden realizes a serial killer is loose in Chicago.
Acting on a tip, Dresden and Murphy show up at a meeting of female practitioners, the Ordo Lebes. After some initial hostility, their leader Anna Ash reveals that over 20 members of the Ordo and the local Wiccan community have vanished. Others appear to be victims of suicide. A few of the people who disappeared were last seen with a man in a grey cloak—like a warden's cloak. Others were seen with an extremely beautiful, dark-haired man. After the meeting, Dresden and Murphy discuss a certain beautiful, dark-haired man, Thomas.
Dresden goes to Thomas' apartment, but he's gone. There are photos and notes on all the missing and murdered women. Dresden uses Lash to memorize Thomas' materials. While studying the materials in his Lab, Lash tells him there was a veiled presence at the Ordo meeting. Dresden returns to Anna's apartment with Mouse as his psychic detector. The veiled person is Elaine, his ex. The Ordo hired her to protect them—she's in the LA phone book, under "Wizards." There's no time for recriminations, because the building is on fire. The fire alarm is disabled, so Mouse emits a low, regular, penetrating barking that evacuates the building. Elaine remarks that Mouse is a Temple Dog. Dresden sees a grey-cloaked man and chases him, but "Grey Cloak," jumps in a car and escapes.
Using his Little Chicago model, Dresden psychically traces the getaway car. He espies Grey Cloak talking to a shadowy person. Eavesdropping, Dresden learns that a vampire of House Skavis killed the "suicide" women. Dresden's psychic thread follows Grey Cloak through Undertown to his lair, where he reports to his boss, Cowl—who didn’t die during Darkhallow (Dead Beat
). Cowl detects Dresden and blasts his psychic thread. Dresden wakes up next to his melted model of Chicago, which absorbed most of the blast.
Dresden and Murphy return to Anna's to confront Helen for being the Skavis' informant. Helen convinces everyone that she's not a spy. Olivia is missing. A surveillance photo shows Thomas escorting Olivia from her house. Dresden and Elaine go to Thomas’ boat for answers. They find Olivia and some women and children in the hold. Thomas has been smuggling the targeted women and their children to a safe house.
Before Thomas can finish explaining, Madrigal and his ghouls attack. Dresden creates an escape route. Elaine, Thomas and Dresden fight the ghouls, while the women and children escape. Wounded, Dresden falls into Lake Michigan and loses consciousness. Dresden dreams of the warden training camp in the New Mexico desert. Ghouls attacked the camp. They kidnapped and ate two of his trainees. Enraged, Dresden went medieval on the ghouls and savaged them to death.
When Dresden regains consciousness, he and Elaine check up on her clients. Anna is dead in Elaine's hotel bathroom—an apparent suicide. They find Abby, Priscilla, and Mouse hiding at Abby’s apartment. Now, Helen is missing. Murphy arrives and informs Dresden that one of the suicide victims had been a prostitute at Marcone's Executive Priority Health. Dresden and Murphy go to the fitness club-brothel. Marcone lets them speak to his brothel madam, Ms. Demeter, a.k.a. Helen Beckitt.
With Helen's information, Dresden figures out that Priscilla is the Skavis. Dresden and Murphy speed back to Elaine's hotel. Dresden frees Elaine from the Skavis' mind control. Elaine blasts the Skavis and Mouse finishes the job. Elaine is hospitalized, so Dresden calls Carlos Ramirez to help him fight Grey Cloak and Madrigal.
Dresden, Ramirez, Molly and Mouse head to the Raith estate for the White Court conclave. Lara Raith escorts Dresden and Ramirez into the Deeps, a cavern, where they wait until the right moment to challenge Vittorio "Grey Cloak" Malvora and Madrigal to combat. Vittorio and Madrigal accept the duel to the death. They all fight with a combination of physical and magical weaponry and defenses. Dresden kills Madrigal. Vittorio calls Cowl, who opens a gate from Nevernever, ushering in an army of ghouls. Vittorio orders the ghouls to kill everyone.
While the ghouls rampage, Dresden opens a gate. Thomas, Murphy, Marcone, and his mercenaries arrive with automatic weapons and high explosives. They escort Lord Raith, Lara, and their entourage to Dresden's gate. Vittorio casts a spell that crushes Dresden, Lara, Thomas, and Marcone to the floor. Inside a time warp bubble, Dresden and Lash discus free will and Lasciel's coin. Dresden refuses to accept the coin to defeat the vampires. Tortured by self-awareness, Lash sacrifices herself to protect Dresden's mind from Vittorio's spell. Suddenly free, Dresden blasts Vittorio with Marcone's shotgun, breaking the spell on the others. As Thomas hauls Marcone through the gate, Cowl closes it, stranding Lara and Dresden. Marcone's explosives go off and the cavern collapses. Dresden folds his shield into a bubble around Lara and himself. They ride the explosion of fire out of the tunnel to safety.
Dresden finds out Lara was behind the plot to kill the female practitioners. Dresden agrees not to kill her in exchange for weregild (financial restitution) to the families of the Skavis' victims, for her word that the genocide of magical practitioners will never happen again, and for the release of the imprisoned little faeries. Lara agrees.
At the hospital, Dresden learns that Ramirez will recover and Elaine is checking herself out. Elaine agrees to distribute the weregild to the victim's families. For those without dependents, like Anna, Dresden suggests the weregild could fund a safety network for minor practitioners. This paranormal network (Paranet) would provide self-defense classes, mutual support, and a hotline for supernatural problems. Elaine agrees that Anna would have wanted such a resource as her legacy.
Dresden brings Helen and Marcone up to speed. Helen is grateful that Anna was avenged. Dresden keeps his word and signs the contract making Marcone a freeholding baron under the Unseelie Accords. Later, Dresden digs up Lasciel's coin and gives it to Father Forthill. Then, Dresden devotes himself to solving the mystery of what Thomas does for a living. He follows Thomas to a trendy boutique-coffee shop, the "Coiffure Cup." Thomas explains he put himself through cosmetology school and opened this hair salon—nothing illegal or immoral is involved. They resolve their differences over coffee and part on excellent terms.
The Dresden Files
The Dresden Files is a series of contemporary fantasy/mystery novels written by Jim Butcher.He provides a first person narrative of each story from the point of view of the main character, private investigator and wizard Harry Dresden, as he recounts investigations into supernatural disturbances in...
, Jim Butcher
Jim Butcher
Jim Butcher is a New York Times Best Selling author most known for his contemporary fantasy book series The Dresden Files. He also wrote the Codex Alera series. Butcher grew up as the only son of his parents, and has two older sisters. He currently lives in Independence with his wife, Shannon K...
's continuing series about wizard detective Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden.
The cover art by illustrator Christian McGrath
Christian McGrath
Illustrator Christian McGrath has created the covers for all of the Menagerie books as well as all the books of The Dresden Files, thus far. He was born in the Bronx in 1972 and became interested in art and illustration as a small child...
depicts Harry walking down a snowy street with his glowing staff.
Plot summary
On a sunny May afternoon, Sergeant Karrin Murphy calls Harry Dresden to the scene of an apparent suicide. It's been about a year after the events in Proven GuiltyProven Guilty (novel)
Proven Guilty is the 8th book in The Dresden Files, Jim Butcher's continuing series about wizard detective Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden. Proven Guilty had a release date of May 2, 2006....
. Dresden senses the victim is a magical practitioner. He discovers a hidden biblical reference on her bedroom wall: Exodus 22:18. He knows the verse is, "Suffer not a witch to live." This suicide is really a homicide and the killer left that hidden message specifically for Dresden. At the morgue, Butters has five very suspicious suicides. The inconsistencies surrounding the deaths point to some type of supernatural murder. Dresden realizes a serial killer is loose in Chicago.
Acting on a tip, Dresden and Murphy show up at a meeting of female practitioners, the Ordo Lebes. After some initial hostility, their leader Anna Ash reveals that over 20 members of the Ordo and the local Wiccan community have vanished. Others appear to be victims of suicide. A few of the people who disappeared were last seen with a man in a grey cloak—like a warden's cloak. Others were seen with an extremely beautiful, dark-haired man. After the meeting, Dresden and Murphy discuss a certain beautiful, dark-haired man, Thomas.
Dresden goes to Thomas' apartment, but he's gone. There are photos and notes on all the missing and murdered women. Dresden uses Lash to memorize Thomas' materials. While studying the materials in his Lab, Lash tells him there was a veiled presence at the Ordo meeting. Dresden returns to Anna's apartment with Mouse as his psychic detector. The veiled person is Elaine, his ex. The Ordo hired her to protect them—she's in the LA phone book, under "Wizards." There's no time for recriminations, because the building is on fire. The fire alarm is disabled, so Mouse emits a low, regular, penetrating barking that evacuates the building. Elaine remarks that Mouse is a Temple Dog. Dresden sees a grey-cloaked man and chases him, but "Grey Cloak," jumps in a car and escapes.
Using his Little Chicago model, Dresden psychically traces the getaway car. He espies Grey Cloak talking to a shadowy person. Eavesdropping, Dresden learns that a vampire of House Skavis killed the "suicide" women. Dresden's psychic thread follows Grey Cloak through Undertown to his lair, where he reports to his boss, Cowl—who didn’t die during Darkhallow (Dead Beat
Dead Beat (novel)
Dead Beat is the 7th book in The Dresden Files, Jim Butcher's continuing series about wizard detective Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden.-Plot summary:It's three days before Halloween and nearly a year after the events in Blood Rites...
). Cowl detects Dresden and blasts his psychic thread. Dresden wakes up next to his melted model of Chicago, which absorbed most of the blast.
Dresden and Murphy return to Anna's to confront Helen for being the Skavis' informant. Helen convinces everyone that she's not a spy. Olivia is missing. A surveillance photo shows Thomas escorting Olivia from her house. Dresden and Elaine go to Thomas’ boat for answers. They find Olivia and some women and children in the hold. Thomas has been smuggling the targeted women and their children to a safe house.
Before Thomas can finish explaining, Madrigal and his ghouls attack. Dresden creates an escape route. Elaine, Thomas and Dresden fight the ghouls, while the women and children escape. Wounded, Dresden falls into Lake Michigan and loses consciousness. Dresden dreams of the warden training camp in the New Mexico desert. Ghouls attacked the camp. They kidnapped and ate two of his trainees. Enraged, Dresden went medieval on the ghouls and savaged them to death.
When Dresden regains consciousness, he and Elaine check up on her clients. Anna is dead in Elaine's hotel bathroom—an apparent suicide. They find Abby, Priscilla, and Mouse hiding at Abby’s apartment. Now, Helen is missing. Murphy arrives and informs Dresden that one of the suicide victims had been a prostitute at Marcone's Executive Priority Health. Dresden and Murphy go to the fitness club-brothel. Marcone lets them speak to his brothel madam, Ms. Demeter, a.k.a. Helen Beckitt.
With Helen's information, Dresden figures out that Priscilla is the Skavis. Dresden and Murphy speed back to Elaine's hotel. Dresden frees Elaine from the Skavis' mind control. Elaine blasts the Skavis and Mouse finishes the job. Elaine is hospitalized, so Dresden calls Carlos Ramirez to help him fight Grey Cloak and Madrigal.
Dresden, Ramirez, Molly and Mouse head to the Raith estate for the White Court conclave. Lara Raith escorts Dresden and Ramirez into the Deeps, a cavern, where they wait until the right moment to challenge Vittorio "Grey Cloak" Malvora and Madrigal to combat. Vittorio and Madrigal accept the duel to the death. They all fight with a combination of physical and magical weaponry and defenses. Dresden kills Madrigal. Vittorio calls Cowl, who opens a gate from Nevernever, ushering in an army of ghouls. Vittorio orders the ghouls to kill everyone.
While the ghouls rampage, Dresden opens a gate. Thomas, Murphy, Marcone, and his mercenaries arrive with automatic weapons and high explosives. They escort Lord Raith, Lara, and their entourage to Dresden's gate. Vittorio casts a spell that crushes Dresden, Lara, Thomas, and Marcone to the floor. Inside a time warp bubble, Dresden and Lash discus free will and Lasciel's coin. Dresden refuses to accept the coin to defeat the vampires. Tortured by self-awareness, Lash sacrifices herself to protect Dresden's mind from Vittorio's spell. Suddenly free, Dresden blasts Vittorio with Marcone's shotgun, breaking the spell on the others. As Thomas hauls Marcone through the gate, Cowl closes it, stranding Lara and Dresden. Marcone's explosives go off and the cavern collapses. Dresden folds his shield into a bubble around Lara and himself. They ride the explosion of fire out of the tunnel to safety.
Dresden finds out Lara was behind the plot to kill the female practitioners. Dresden agrees not to kill her in exchange for weregild (financial restitution) to the families of the Skavis' victims, for her word that the genocide of magical practitioners will never happen again, and for the release of the imprisoned little faeries. Lara agrees.
At the hospital, Dresden learns that Ramirez will recover and Elaine is checking herself out. Elaine agrees to distribute the weregild to the victim's families. For those without dependents, like Anna, Dresden suggests the weregild could fund a safety network for minor practitioners. This paranormal network (Paranet) would provide self-defense classes, mutual support, and a hotline for supernatural problems. Elaine agrees that Anna would have wanted such a resource as her legacy.
Dresden brings Helen and Marcone up to speed. Helen is grateful that Anna was avenged. Dresden keeps his word and signs the contract making Marcone a freeholding baron under the Unseelie Accords. Later, Dresden digs up Lasciel's coin and gives it to Father Forthill. Then, Dresden devotes himself to solving the mystery of what Thomas does for a living. He follows Thomas to a trendy boutique-coffee shop, the "Coiffure Cup." Thomas explains he put himself through cosmetology school and opened this hair salon—nothing illegal or immoral is involved. They resolve their differences over coffee and part on excellent terms.
Plot points introduced
- Harry's Mysterious Past: Lasciel tells Harry that his birth was orchestrated to give him the potential to wield power over Outsiders.
- Lasciel: Harry resolves his possession by a spirit of Lasciel (the Fallen who inhabits the coin he touched in Death Masks).
- Johnny Marcone: Assists Harry in return for Harry's help in making him the first human Free Lord of the Unseelie Accords.
- The Council: Capt. Luccio enchanted the Wardens' swords and cannot make more at this time. Cowl (last seen in Dead Beat) reappears. Ramirez is also aware of the Black Council and of a likely traitor in their midst.
- The War: The Red Court is negotiating a cease-fire with the White Council during this book. Harry has a flashback to a ghoul attack on Captain Luccio's boot camp for new wardens.
Returning Characters
Characters that return are in bold, major characters are Italic.- Harry DresdenHarry DresdenHarry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden is a fictional detective and wizard. He was created by Jim Butcher and is the protagonist of the contemporary fantasy series The Dresden Files. The series blends magic and hardboiled detective fiction...
: Professional wizard and main character of the book - 'Bob': A spirit of intellect who lives inside a skull in Dresden's sub-basement laboratory; formerly owned by the infamous necromancer Kemmler
- Molly Carpenter: Michael Carpenter's daughter; Harry's apprentice
- Elaine Lilian Mallory: Harry's first love and a former apprentice to Justin DuMorne, now working as a wizard in San Diego.
- Madrigal Raith: White Court vampire who first appeared in Proven Guilty.
- Thomas Raith: Harry's half-brother, White Court vampire. By the end of this book, he has been restored to favor among the Raith family and his sources of income and food have been revealed.
- Carlos Ramirez: Harry's fellow Regional Commander of Wardens in North America.
Minor Appearances
- Helen Beckett: The ex-wife of Beckett, and ally of Victor Sells in Storm Front. She is a member of the Ordo Lebes and working for Marcone, as Ms. Demeter.
- Waldo Butters: A medical examiner who became very aware of the supernatural in Dead Beat.
- Cowl: A powerful wizard and likely traitor on the White Council. First appeared in Dead Beat.
- Justine: Thomas' lover, now working for and under the protection of Lara Raith
- Lasciel: One of the Fallen. Harry touched a coin and made contact with her in Death Masks.
- Mac: The owner-operator of McAnally's tavern
- Gentleman Johnny Marcone: Chicago's lead gangster and, by the end of the book, a Free Lord under the Unseelie Accords
- Mister: Dresden's 30+ pound house cat
- Mouse: Harry's dog(introduced in Blood Rites) is clearly established to be a Temple Dog.
- Sgt. Karrin MurphyKarrin MurphyKarrin Murphy is a major character in Jim Butcher's contemporary fantasy series, The Dresden Files. The character also appears as Connie Murphy in the television series based on the novels.- Background :...
: Detective Sgt. and former head of Special Investigations. - Lara Raith: Effective leader of the White Court.
New Characters
- Anna Ash: head of the Ordo Lebes, an organization of minor female practitioners.
- Priscilla: member of the Ordo Lebes. A disguised Skavis (White Court vampire who feeds on despair).
- Vittoro Malvora: White Court vampire working with Madrigal Raith
White Night in other media
- This book is available as a Kindle and iBook book and as an audio CD.
External links
- Link To Audiobook Penguin USA