Yeah, out of all the Dresden Files, this one stands apart, and not just because it stands on the shoulders of a dinosaur. Harry and Butters' character arcs were fantastic, and really helped pull the novel through. It's still my favorite, and I suspect it will remain so for a long time.
I'm a geek.
Also, I'd like to point out how he managed to bring back anything important from each of the previous books (Morgan's relationship with Harry, the Alphas, the war with the Red Court, Harry's debt with the Winter Court, the Denarians and the White Court's politics) making all of them relevant to the plot.
Oh, you were talking about the Dresden Files. When I saw this pop up on the reviews page I thought you were talking about that terrible Hulu series.
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A masterpiece
Given the zombie craze that has swept the nation, it was to be expected that Jim Butcher would eventually get around to portraying that particular mainstay of evil wizardry. Dresden is at his best in this book, with all of the snark, references, and awesome moments that we've come to expect of the series. Surprisingly, he's also at his most human, as for the majority of the book he's still struggling with the PTSD and pyrophobia that came from having his hand charbroiled in the previous book. A hero is defined by his challenges, and those facing Dresden in Dead Beat don't disappoint, with a trio of evil necromancers who are pursuing godlike power providing the major challenge in the story. We also get the scene that practically everyone who is even partially acquainted with the series is aware of - the zombie Tyrannosaurus Sue! If Jim Butcher accomplishes nothing else in his literary career, he could die a happy man after that singular achievement.
Overall, I found this book to be a lot of fun, and highly enjoyable. It's a landmark moment for Harry Dresden as a character and Jim Butcher as an author, with a lot of world building, character development, and plot points/foreshadowing taking place here, to be unfolded in a manner worthy of the greatest novelists. Here's to you, Mr. Butcher. Kudos for writing such an amazing and singular series.