Death Masks

Death Masks by Jim Butcher, 378 pages

In the fifth book of Butcher's Dresden Files series, wizard-for-hire Harry Dresden is tasked with tracking down the stolen Shroud of Turin, which has made its way to Chicago, leaving a trail of mutilated bodies in its wake. Add in a duel-to-the-death with a vampire and some freaky demons, and Harry's got his hands full.

Death Masks is yet another action-packed, demon-filled book aimed at guys (why else would a wand be called a "blasting rod"), which is par for the course with this series; you don't read this series for deep metaphors on life or morals. But even though Butcher still spends a lot more time describing the sexy outfits of various female characters, he is giving them a bit more dimension (and kick-ass power), which is nice to see. He continues to grow as an author, which means I'll continue to pick up these books whenever I need the literary equivalent of a blockbuster action movie.