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* CallBack: The [=EMT=] at Cook County recognizes Harry from his talk show appearance in ''DeathMasks'', and only agrees to talk because Harry and Michael ended the hospital nursery's rash of ghost-induced [=SIDS=] cases in ''Grave Peril''.
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* CallBack: The [=EMT=] at Cook County recognizes Harry from his talk show appearance in ''DeathMasks'', ''Literature/DeathMasks'', and only agrees to talk because Harry and Michael ended the hospital nursery's rash of ghost-induced [=SIDS=] cases in ''Grave Peril''.''Literature/GravePeril''.
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* A more minor one; one of the necromantic hotspots Harry visits is Wacker Drive. Wacker is well known for having two levels, called Upper Wacker and Lower Wacker. Anyone who knows Chicago as well as Harry does would have specified if it was on Upper or Lower Wacker.
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* A more minor one; one of the necromantic hotspots Harry visits is Wacker Drive. Wacker is well known for having two levels, called Upper Wacker and Lower Wacker. Anyone who knows Chicago as well as Harry does would have specified if it was on Upper or Lower Wacker.
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* CallBack: The [=EMT=] at Cook County recognizes Harry from his talk show appearance in ''BloodRites'', and only agrees to talk because Harry and Michael ended the hospital nursery's rash of ghost-induced [=SIDS=] cases in ''Grave Peril''.
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* CallBack: The [=EMT=] at Cook County recognizes Harry from his talk show appearance in ''BloodRites'', ''DeathMasks'', and only agrees to talk because Harry and Michael ended the hospital nursery's rash of ghost-induced [=SIDS=] cases in ''Grave Peril''.
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* GrowingTheBeard: The first book in the series is reviled by some, considered average by most, and loved by a few, but all agree that this book was a huge improvement on the series as a whole and the beginning of an upward trend in the writing and storytelling quality. The plot begins to become more focused with various plot points coming together, things are happening on a larger scale and with a faster pace, the humor is more tolerable, and it is simply far better written overall.
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'''''Dead Beat''''' is book #7 in ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles''.
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Now has its own [[ShoutOut/DeadBeat Shout Out]] page.
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'''''Dead Beat''''' is book #7 in ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles''. Now has its own [[ShoutOut/DeadBeat Shout Out]] page.
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Oh, and a ''[[TyrannosaurusRex T. rex]]'' is involved. Now has its own [[ShoutOut/DeadBeat Shout Out]] page.
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Oh, and a ''[[TyrannosaurusRex T. rex]]'' is involved. involved.
Now has its own [[ShoutOut/DeadBeat Shout Out]] page.
Now has its own [[ShoutOut/DeadBeat Shout Out]] page.
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'''''Warning!''''' [[LateArrivalSpoiler All spoilers for previous books are unmarked on this page]]!
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* SweaterGirl: When Harry meets Sheila, the clerk at the book store, he immediately notices how well she fills out a sweater.
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Had a dyslexic moment there with my tropes. Sorry!
* EvilCannotComprehendGood: In a less common example of this trope being a detriment to the heroes, rather than a blessing. Harry spends a good portion of this book taking risks to protect Butters. Thomas points out that although he understands why Harry is doing it (because of friendship), Grevane probably won't, and might conclude that Butters is still important to the scheme somehow.
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* GoodCannotComprehendEvil: In a less common example of this trope being a detriment to the heroes, rather than a blessing. Harry spends a good portion of this book taking risks to protect Butters. Thomas points out that although he understands why Harry is doing it (because of friendship), Grevane probably won't, and might conclude that Butters is still important to the scheme somehow.
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* GoodCannotComprehendEvil: In a less common example of this trope being a detriment to the heroes, rather than a blessing. Harry spends a good portion of this book taking risks to protect Butters. Thomas points out that although he understands why Harry is doing it (because of friendship), Grevane probably won't, and might conclude that Butters is still important to the scheme somehow.
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* RewatchBonus: A good reason to re-read this book is that [[spoiler: it becomes clear how sneaky Lasciel's shadow was being, all the time she posed as "Sheila".]]
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* RewatchBonus: A good reason to re-read this book is that [[spoiler: it becomes clear how sneaky Lasciel's shadow was being, all the time she posed as "Sheila".]]
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* SoBeautifulItsACurse: It turns out that being an extremely desirable and seductive incubus isn't so great when you're desperately trying to hold down a job. At the start of the book Thomas has been fired - ''again'' - because the drive-through manager followed him into the walk-in freezer and tried to have sex with him, ''just'' as the owner walked in. Also, Harry mentions him being assaulted by a female missionary when he simply answered the door to her - she left ''toothmarks''.
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* WorldWarOne: It was Kemmler's fault, apparently.
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* WorldWarOne: It was Kemmler's fault, apparently.
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* {{Foreshadowing}}: [[spoiler:Dresden is death cursed to "die alone". He does is Changes.]]
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* {{Foreshadowing}}: [[spoiler:Dresden is death cursed to "die alone". He does is Changes.in ''Changes''.]]
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* SophisticatedAsHell:
--> '''Cowl:''' "Again I will ask it. Give me your copy of the book."
--> '''Harry:''' "And again do I answer thee. Bite me."
--> '''Cowl:''' "Again I will ask it. Give me your copy of the book."
--> '''Harry:''' "And again do I answer thee. Bite me."
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* HijackingCthulhu: Harry successfully summons the Erlking, a king of TheFairFolk and one of the most powerful beings in the series, and traps it in the summoning circle. Although he by no means has control of it, he is able to keep it from attacking him or leaving.
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The T.Rex. incident is not a noodle incident. It\'s a fully explained event in the story.
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[[NoodleIncident Oh, and a]] ''[[TyrannosaurusRex T. rex]]'' [[NoodleIncident is involved.]] Now has its own [[ShoutOut/DeadBeat Shout Out]] page.
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* {{Foreshadowing}}: [[spoiler:Dresden is death cursed to "die alone". He does is Changes.]]
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[[NoodleIncident Oh, and a]] ''[[TyrannosaurusRex T. rex]]'' [[NoodleIncident is involved.]]
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[[NoodleIncident Oh, and a]] ''[[TyrannosaurusRex T. rex]]'' [[NoodleIncident is involved.]]]] Now has its own [[ShoutOut/DeadBeat Shout Out]] page.
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* ContrivedCoincidence: Harry remembers this being the pseudo-superpower of the Knights of the Cross, and smiles in the face of ColdBloodedTorture knowing Michael or Sanya will show up to save him. [[spoiler: They don't, but his dog Mouse does.]]
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* ContrivedCoincidence: Harry remembers this being the pseudo-superpower of the Knights of the Cross, and smiles in the face of ColdBloodedTorture knowing Michael or Sanya will show up to save him. [[spoiler: They don't, but [[AngelUnaware his dog Mouse Mouse]] does.]]
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* CallBack: The [=EMT=] at Cook County recognizes Harry from his talk show appearance in ''BloodRites'', and only agrees to talk because Harry and Michael ended the hospital nursery's rash of ghost-induced [=SIDS=] cases in ''GravePeril''.
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* CallBack: The [=EMT=] at Cook County recognizes Harry from his talk show appearance in ''BloodRites'', and only agrees to talk because Harry and Michael ended the hospital nursery's rash of ghost-induced [=SIDS=] cases in ''GravePeril''.''Grave Peril''.
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* CallBack: The [=EMT=] at Cook County recognizes Harry from his talk show appearance in ''BloodRites'', and only agrees to talk because Harry and Michael ended the hospital nursery's rash of ghost-induced [=SIDS=] cases in ''GravePeril''.
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*** He gets one of his own (literally, 'Oh, Shit,') when [[spoiler:Morgan comes at him with UnstoppableRage, thinking Harry murdered Captain Luccio.]]
*** And another, when Harry braces himself perfectly for an oncoming attack, and [[spoiler:Cowl magically punts him down the street quite casually.]]
*** And another, when Harry braces himself perfectly for an oncoming attack, and [[spoiler:Cowl magically punts him down the street quite casually.]]
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He\'s not dead.
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* DeathByIrony: Cowl [[spoiler: getting cracked in the head]] by Dresden during the Darkhallow nicely mirrors how Cowl [[spoiler: smacked Harry upside the head to release the Erlking during Harry's summoning of the legendary Wyldfae]].
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* DeathByIrony Cowl [[spoiler: getting cracked in the head]] by Dresden during the Darkhallow nicely mirrors how Cowl [[spoiler: smacked Harry upside the head to release the Erlking during Harry's summoning of the legendary Wyldfae]].
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* DeathByIrony DeathByIrony: Cowl [[spoiler: getting cracked in the head]] by Dresden during the Darkhallow nicely mirrors how Cowl [[spoiler: smacked Harry upside the head to release the Erlking during Harry's summoning of the legendary Wyldfae]].
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Adding trope info
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* DeathByIrony Cowl [[spoiler: getting cracked in the head]] by Dresden during the Darkhallow nicely mirrors how Cowl [[spoiler: smacked Harry upside the head to release the Erlking during Harry's summoning of the legendary Wyldfae]].
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* FailureHero: For most of the book, Harry is either a step behind his enemies or [[UnwittingPawn ahead because they let him get there]]. However, it's ultimately subverted, as the ending seems quite determined to nullify this.
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* InferredHolocaust: [[spoiler:Harry accidentally releases the Wild Hunt in downtown Chicago. The countless deaths and/or missing people that would inevitably result from this are only vaguely alluded to in the end and [[ExtraStrengthMasquerade somehow conflated ordinary murders that occurred at the same time]].]]
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* ChekhovsSkill: Butters is taught how to create a magic circle around himself to keep out stray magical influences thus allowing him to use a GPS device. He then uses this skill to keep specters from killing him.
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* ChekhovsSkill: Butters is taught how to create a magic circle around himself to keep out stray magical influences thus allowing him to use a GPS device. He then uses this skill to keep specters from killing him.
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* ContrivedCoincidence: Harry remembers this being the psuedo(?)superpower of the Knights of the Cross, and smiles in the face of ColdBloodedTorture knowing Michael or Sanya will show up to save him. [[spoiler: They don't.]]
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* ContrivedCoincidence: Harry remembers this being the psuedo(?)superpower pseudo-superpower of the Knights of the Cross, and smiles in the face of ColdBloodedTorture knowing Michael or Sanya will show up to save him. [[spoiler: They don't.don't, but his dog Mouse does.]]
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* HopeSpot: After realizing the scope of the problem he is dealing with, Harry calls in the Wardens, who respond promptly and provide him with much needed back-up. [[spoiler: All six of them--who reveal that of the 200 or so Wardens the council had, a little more than 40 survived a recent, massive Red Court attack.]]
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* HopeSpot: After realizing the scope of the problem he is dealing with, Harry calls in the Wardens, who respond promptly and provide him with much needed back-up. [[spoiler: All six five of them--who reveal that of the 200 or so Wardens the council had, a little more than 40 survived a recent, massive Red Court attack.attack. They even go as far as to draft Harry into their ranks on the spot.]]
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Moving to proper Namespace.
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'''''Dead Beat''''' is book #7 in ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles''.
Harry has a problem. Yes, again.
He’s just been hired to find The Word of Kemmler, the personal spellbook of a powerful necromancer, which is also being hunted by any number of Kemmler’s apprentices and, really, anyone who would want to unlock the secrets of powerful necromancy--including a spell that would allow the caster to become a demi-god by devouring the spirits of the dead.
[[NoodleIncident Oh, and a]] ''[[TyrannosaurusRex T. rex]]'' [[NoodleIncident is involved.]]
----
!!''Dead Beat'' provides examples of the following tropes:
* ArtisticLicenseGeography: Butcher has Harry riding [[spoiler:the zombie T-rex]] up Lake Shore Drive to Evanston. Lake Shore Drive actually ends at Hollywood Avenue, well south of Evanston.
* AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence: The necromancers plan to [[spoiler:sacrifice thousands to become demigods.]]
* BattleInTheCenterOfTheMind: Happens with Lasciel, until Harry realizes that this is his head and that means he calls the shots, resulting in a [[CurbStompBattle Curb Stomp]] BattleInTheCenterOfTheMind.
* BlackCloak: Harry is less than impressed by Cowl and Kumori's fashion sense.
-->'''Harry:''' "Touche, oh dark master of evil bathrobes."
* BodySurf: Corpsetaker's preferred method of operation.
* CainAndAbel: The opening has Harry namecheck the story when he comes home to find that Thomas not only hasn't cleaned, but hasn't left to allow the brownies time to clean the apartment, either.
-->'''Narrator!Harry:''' On the whole, we're a murderous race. According to Genesis, it took as few as four people to make the planet too crowded to stand, and the first murder was a fratricide. Genesis says that in a fit of jealous rage, the very first child born to mortal parents, Cain, snapped and popped the first metaphorical cap in another human being. The attack was a bloody, brutal, violent, reprehensible killing. Cain's brother Abel probably never saw it coming. As I opened the door to my apartment, I was filled with a sense of empathic sympathy and intuitive understanding. For freaking Cain.
* ChekhovsGun: The GPS system in Georgia's SUV. It does not actually show up itself, but the GPS itself gives Harry his EurekaMoment when he realizes that [[spoiler: the numbers on Bony Tony's flash drive are GPS coordinates.]]
** Butters's one-man Polka suit (and ability to play it) become a combination of ChekhovsGun and ChekhovsSkill later in the book, as they're used to keep a [[spoiler: zombie T-Rex]] under control.
* ChekhovsSkill: Butters is taught how to create a magic circle around himself to keep out stray magical influences thus allowing him to use a GPS device. He then uses this skill to keep specters from killing him.
* ColdBloodedTorture: The museum scene, [[spoiler: where Cassius tortures Harry for no reason other than personal enjoyment. Of course, this is the guy that Harry himself [[CallItKarma tortured not two books earlier for information]].]]
* ContrivedCoincidence: Harry remembers this being the psuedo(?)superpower of the Knights of the Cross, and smiles in the face of ColdBloodedTorture knowing Michael or Sanya will show up to save him. [[spoiler: They don't.]]
* CoolCar: Subverted with Billy and Georgia's giant SUV. Butters is talking about all the cool features of these new cars- and then he turns on the GPS. It has apparently been around Harry too long already.
---> "Now entering Helsinki."
* DeaderThanDead: The Necromancer Kemmler's back story: "They killed him good. A couple of times. He'd come back after they'd killed him early in the nineteenth century, so they were real careful this time".
* DeadPersonConversation: Harry speaks to his father this way, though he is not a ghost.
* EverythingsBetterWithDinosaurs: The [[RememberWhenYouBlewUpASun legendary]] [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome incident]] in ''Dead Beat'', which seems to be widely considered ''the'' defining moment of the series so far (c.f., the [[Laconic/TheDresdenFiles Laconic]] and [[Haiku/TheDresdenFiles Haiku]] versions of this page).
* FriendOrFoe: Figuring out who is on what side gets quite ugly at the climax.
* GenreSavvy: Dresden wonders whether he is in ''High Noon'' or early in ''The Maltese Falcon'' when trying to work out whether or not it is safe to go outside.
* GrandTheftMe: The ''specialty'' of the Corpsetaker. Since she's been around [[TimeAbyss a while]], she's racked up quite a body count, but the three known victims are the old professor, the intern with the dimples (who she wears for the majority of the book), and Luccio.
* GratuitousGerman: ''Die Lied der Erlking'' (The grammatically correct title would be ''Das Lied des Erlkonigs''). [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] in-series when Harry finds the author of the book -- an anal retentive ObstructiveBureaucrat -- and taunts him over the fact that he screwed up the title. His miffed response is that "German is an untidy language". This is either a subtle joke by the author or an honest mistake, as German is a ''more'' logical language than English.
* HopeSpot: After realizing the scope of the problem he is dealing with, Harry calls in the Wardens, who respond promptly and provide him with much needed back-up. [[spoiler: All six of them--who reveal that of the 200 or so Wardens the council had, a little more than 40 survived a recent, massive Red Court attack.]]
* IceCreamKoan: Billy and Georgia's car (with navigation system) keeps telling Harry "The door is ajar."
-->'''Butters''': It gets kinda Zen after a while. Life is a dream. Time is a river. The door is ajar.
* IHaveAFamily: No, he didn’t. No, it doesn’t make it any better.
* IndianBurialGround
* KickThemWhileTheyAreDown
* KissMeIAmVirtual: Lasciel.
* LovableCoward: Subverted by Butters. [[SelfDeprecation He admits it about himself]], and Thomas points it out in a genial fashion, but despite his frequent screaming Harry realizes that Butters never actually does anything cowardly.
* NonHumanUndead: Also something of a plot point, as Harry exploits a loophole in the White Council's Necromancy prohibition by animating an animal as a zombie. Specifically, [[spoiler: a freaking ''Tyrannosaurus Rex''.]]
* NoSuchThingAsWizardJesus: [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]], when Harry explains the basics of Necromancy and raising the dead to him, Waldo Butters immediately swears, "Jesus". Snarky as ever, Harry immediately quips back, "I kinda doubt they had anything to do with that one." Butters, being near-panic, overreacts and Harry has to explain that it was just a joke.
* NotHyperbole: At the end, Harry gives Mavra quite the memorable speech about how if she ''ever'' screwed with Harry or his people, he would pick up every weapon available to him, and take her down permanently. As later books show, Harry was ''not'' exaggerating, and he was ''not'' fooling around.
** The best part? Mavra hasn't shown up ''since''.
* OhCrap: For once Harry's the one ''inflicting'' these. Specifically, it turns out this is the natural reaction of ''everyone'' when [[spoiler:a zombie ''T. Rex'']] is bearing down on them.
*** He gets one of his own (literally, 'Oh, Shit,') when [[spoiler:Morgan comes at him with UnstoppableRage, thinking Harry murdered Captain Luccio.]]
*** And another, when Harry braces himself perfectly for an oncoming attack, and [[spoiler:Cowl magically punts him down the street quite casually.]]
--->"This man could kill me."
* ThePowerOfRock: Or rather, the power of polka.
--> "Polka will never die!"
* RaisingTheSteaks: Harry raises [[spoiler: a T-Rex]] in a [[CrowningMomentofAwesome Crowning Moment of Awesome]].
* RevengeByProxy
* ScrewDestiny: When Corpsetaker and the ghoul attack Harry in an alley, he is rescued by Johnny Marcone and Ms. Gard. Gard ([[spoiler:a Valkyrie]]) mentions Harry was fated to die there and their interference had changed his destiny, stating that there would be repercussions. Marcone's response? "What is the point of having free will if one cannot occasionally spit in the eye of destiny?"
* SurvivalMantra: POLKA WILL NEVER DIE!
* ThisIsNotAFloor: Or rather [[spoiler:That Is Not A Fire Escape. Lash uses this to prove to Harry that if she wanted, he would be dead by now.]]
* TyrannosaurusRex: [[Awesome/TheDresdenFiles Um... yeah.]]
* UnwittingPawn: A few times near the end. [[spoiler: In particular, Harry inadvertently does Cowl's work for him by calling up the Erlking (and, because Harry was trying to keep him trapped, all Cowl had to do was whack Harry in the back of the head to set the Erlking loose), then ends up leading Grevane to the ''Word of Kemmler'', something Grevane could not have done on his own. He gets better, though.]]
* TheWildHunt: One of many, many profoundly awesome things in this book.
* ZombieApocalypse: Chicago is about to be overrun with zombies and a necromantic "dark god" who, ironically, intends to abolish death.
* WorldWarOne: It was Kemmler's fault, apparently.
----
Harry has a problem. Yes, again.
He’s just been hired to find The Word of Kemmler, the personal spellbook of a powerful necromancer, which is also being hunted by any number of Kemmler’s apprentices and, really, anyone who would want to unlock the secrets of powerful necromancy--including a spell that would allow the caster to become a demi-god by devouring the spirits of the dead.
[[NoodleIncident Oh, and a]] ''[[TyrannosaurusRex T. rex]]'' [[NoodleIncident is involved.]]
----
!!''Dead Beat'' provides examples of the following tropes:
* ArtisticLicenseGeography: Butcher has Harry riding [[spoiler:the zombie T-rex]] up Lake Shore Drive to Evanston. Lake Shore Drive actually ends at Hollywood Avenue, well south of Evanston.
* AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence: The necromancers plan to [[spoiler:sacrifice thousands to become demigods.]]
* BattleInTheCenterOfTheMind: Happens with Lasciel, until Harry realizes that this is his head and that means he calls the shots, resulting in a [[CurbStompBattle Curb Stomp]] BattleInTheCenterOfTheMind.
* BlackCloak: Harry is less than impressed by Cowl and Kumori's fashion sense.
-->'''Harry:''' "Touche, oh dark master of evil bathrobes."
* BodySurf: Corpsetaker's preferred method of operation.
* CainAndAbel: The opening has Harry namecheck the story when he comes home to find that Thomas not only hasn't cleaned, but hasn't left to allow the brownies time to clean the apartment, either.
-->'''Narrator!Harry:''' On the whole, we're a murderous race. According to Genesis, it took as few as four people to make the planet too crowded to stand, and the first murder was a fratricide. Genesis says that in a fit of jealous rage, the very first child born to mortal parents, Cain, snapped and popped the first metaphorical cap in another human being. The attack was a bloody, brutal, violent, reprehensible killing. Cain's brother Abel probably never saw it coming. As I opened the door to my apartment, I was filled with a sense of empathic sympathy and intuitive understanding. For freaking Cain.
* ChekhovsGun: The GPS system in Georgia's SUV. It does not actually show up itself, but the GPS itself gives Harry his EurekaMoment when he realizes that [[spoiler: the numbers on Bony Tony's flash drive are GPS coordinates.]]
** Butters's one-man Polka suit (and ability to play it) become a combination of ChekhovsGun and ChekhovsSkill later in the book, as they're used to keep a [[spoiler: zombie T-Rex]] under control.
* ChekhovsSkill: Butters is taught how to create a magic circle around himself to keep out stray magical influences thus allowing him to use a GPS device. He then uses this skill to keep specters from killing him.
* ColdBloodedTorture: The museum scene, [[spoiler: where Cassius tortures Harry for no reason other than personal enjoyment. Of course, this is the guy that Harry himself [[CallItKarma tortured not two books earlier for information]].]]
* ContrivedCoincidence: Harry remembers this being the psuedo(?)superpower of the Knights of the Cross, and smiles in the face of ColdBloodedTorture knowing Michael or Sanya will show up to save him. [[spoiler: They don't.]]
* CoolCar: Subverted with Billy and Georgia's giant SUV. Butters is talking about all the cool features of these new cars- and then he turns on the GPS. It has apparently been around Harry too long already.
---> "Now entering Helsinki."
* DeaderThanDead: The Necromancer Kemmler's back story: "They killed him good. A couple of times. He'd come back after they'd killed him early in the nineteenth century, so they were real careful this time".
* DeadPersonConversation: Harry speaks to his father this way, though he is not a ghost.
* EverythingsBetterWithDinosaurs: The [[RememberWhenYouBlewUpASun legendary]] [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome incident]] in ''Dead Beat'', which seems to be widely considered ''the'' defining moment of the series so far (c.f., the [[Laconic/TheDresdenFiles Laconic]] and [[Haiku/TheDresdenFiles Haiku]] versions of this page).
* FriendOrFoe: Figuring out who is on what side gets quite ugly at the climax.
* GenreSavvy: Dresden wonders whether he is in ''High Noon'' or early in ''The Maltese Falcon'' when trying to work out whether or not it is safe to go outside.
* GrandTheftMe: The ''specialty'' of the Corpsetaker. Since she's been around [[TimeAbyss a while]], she's racked up quite a body count, but the three known victims are the old professor, the intern with the dimples (who she wears for the majority of the book), and Luccio.
* GratuitousGerman: ''Die Lied der Erlking'' (The grammatically correct title would be ''Das Lied des Erlkonigs''). [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] in-series when Harry finds the author of the book -- an anal retentive ObstructiveBureaucrat -- and taunts him over the fact that he screwed up the title. His miffed response is that "German is an untidy language". This is either a subtle joke by the author or an honest mistake, as German is a ''more'' logical language than English.
* HopeSpot: After realizing the scope of the problem he is dealing with, Harry calls in the Wardens, who respond promptly and provide him with much needed back-up. [[spoiler: All six of them--who reveal that of the 200 or so Wardens the council had, a little more than 40 survived a recent, massive Red Court attack.]]
* IceCreamKoan: Billy and Georgia's car (with navigation system) keeps telling Harry "The door is ajar."
-->'''Butters''': It gets kinda Zen after a while. Life is a dream. Time is a river. The door is ajar.
* IHaveAFamily: No, he didn’t. No, it doesn’t make it any better.
* IndianBurialGround
* KickThemWhileTheyAreDown
* KissMeIAmVirtual: Lasciel.
* LovableCoward: Subverted by Butters. [[SelfDeprecation He admits it about himself]], and Thomas points it out in a genial fashion, but despite his frequent screaming Harry realizes that Butters never actually does anything cowardly.
* NonHumanUndead: Also something of a plot point, as Harry exploits a loophole in the White Council's Necromancy prohibition by animating an animal as a zombie. Specifically, [[spoiler: a freaking ''Tyrannosaurus Rex''.]]
* NoSuchThingAsWizardJesus: [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]], when Harry explains the basics of Necromancy and raising the dead to him, Waldo Butters immediately swears, "Jesus". Snarky as ever, Harry immediately quips back, "I kinda doubt they had anything to do with that one." Butters, being near-panic, overreacts and Harry has to explain that it was just a joke.
* NotHyperbole: At the end, Harry gives Mavra quite the memorable speech about how if she ''ever'' screwed with Harry or his people, he would pick up every weapon available to him, and take her down permanently. As later books show, Harry was ''not'' exaggerating, and he was ''not'' fooling around.
** The best part? Mavra hasn't shown up ''since''.
* OhCrap: For once Harry's the one ''inflicting'' these. Specifically, it turns out this is the natural reaction of ''everyone'' when [[spoiler:a zombie ''T. Rex'']] is bearing down on them.
*** He gets one of his own (literally, 'Oh, Shit,') when [[spoiler:Morgan comes at him with UnstoppableRage, thinking Harry murdered Captain Luccio.]]
*** And another, when Harry braces himself perfectly for an oncoming attack, and [[spoiler:Cowl magically punts him down the street quite casually.]]
--->"This man could kill me."
* ThePowerOfRock: Or rather, the power of polka.
--> "Polka will never die!"
* RaisingTheSteaks: Harry raises [[spoiler: a T-Rex]] in a [[CrowningMomentofAwesome Crowning Moment of Awesome]].
* RevengeByProxy
* ScrewDestiny: When Corpsetaker and the ghoul attack Harry in an alley, he is rescued by Johnny Marcone and Ms. Gard. Gard ([[spoiler:a Valkyrie]]) mentions Harry was fated to die there and their interference had changed his destiny, stating that there would be repercussions. Marcone's response? "What is the point of having free will if one cannot occasionally spit in the eye of destiny?"
* SurvivalMantra: POLKA WILL NEVER DIE!
* ThisIsNotAFloor: Or rather [[spoiler:That Is Not A Fire Escape. Lash uses this to prove to Harry that if she wanted, he would be dead by now.]]
* TyrannosaurusRex: [[Awesome/TheDresdenFiles Um... yeah.]]
* UnwittingPawn: A few times near the end. [[spoiler: In particular, Harry inadvertently does Cowl's work for him by calling up the Erlking (and, because Harry was trying to keep him trapped, all Cowl had to do was whack Harry in the back of the head to set the Erlking loose), then ends up leading Grevane to the ''Word of Kemmler'', something Grevane could not have done on his own. He gets better, though.]]
* TheWildHunt: One of many, many profoundly awesome things in this book.
* ZombieApocalypse: Chicago is about to be overrun with zombies and a necromantic "dark god" who, ironically, intends to abolish death.
* WorldWarOne: It was Kemmler's fault, apparently.
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