Storm Front

Murphy is the director of Special Investigations, a smaller department within the Chicago Police Department that specializes in strange cases and paranormal crimes. She often hires Harry as a consultant on these cases. Murphy is a petite woman with blonde curls and blue eyes, and Harry frequently describes her as the “cheerleader” type. However, she has a tough, no-nonsense personality that contrasts with her physical appearance. She holds a black belt in Aikido and is also an expert marksman.

At this point in the series, she has seen enough of the magical world to believe in Harry and his abilities, but she often faces severe resistance from her superiors and even from her own partner, Detective Carmichael, who is markedly suspicious of Harry. Immersed in a male-dominated field, Murphy is accustomed to fighting for the respect of the men around her, and as a result, she finds Harry’s penchant for old-fashioned manners to be annoying and chauvinistic. Murphy has an unshakeable moral code and becomes angry whenever she believes that Harry is not living up to her standards. However, beneath her gruff exterior, she is also a staunch and deeply caring friend.

Susan is a reporter for the paranormal magazine called the Chicago Arcane. She is friends with Harry and has accompanied him on several of his cases in the past so that she can write about them. The narrative portrays Susan as a seductively beautiful woman with dark hair and eyes and a voluptuous figure. Although Susan routinely uses her sex appeal as a weapon to befuddle the men around her, Harry remarks that she does not know how beautiful she really is. She is also clever, perceptive, and tenacious in pursuit of the truth. Though she uses her connection with Harry to gain access to new stories, she is also genuinely attracted to him and enjoys his company. She asks Harry on a date in Storm Front, which goes disastrously due to a demon attack, and they go on a second date at the conclusion of the novel. She is a recurring character whose relationship with Harry eventually puts her in danger, and she will play an integral role in Harry’s life as the series progresses.

Morgan is a Warden for the White Council of wizards. He is tasked with monitoring Harry’s actions while Harry remains under the Doom of Damocles, and he is aggressively diligent in policing his charge to make sure that Harry does not break the Laws of Magic. Morgan is tall and imposing, with a massive broadsword that is the symbol of his office. His attitude is cold and inflexible, and he holds deeply rigid views of good and evil that leave little room for nuance. Morgan’s uncompromising attitude acts as an implicit counterargument against the elements of moral ambiguity that pervade the novel. He does not care that Harry killed his mentor in self-defense; he believes that Harry is a dark wizard—a warlock—who deserves punishment for his actions, and he is merely waiting to pounce the instant Harry slips again. Harry is afraid of Morgan but tries to mask his fear with sarcasm and insubordination. Morgan is a recurring character in the series, and his role grows in importance as the plot progresses.

Marcone is a wealthy businessman in Chicago, as well as a powerful and ruthless crime boss. He is described as ruggedly handsome and dignified, with salt-and-pepper hair and green eyes the color of “well-worn dollar bills” (31). Marcone does not tolerate “excesses in his organization” (24), nor does he allow freelancers to operate unchecked in the city. Though he operates a vast criminal empire comprised of drug dealing, robbery, and extortion, he has thus far eluded prosecution and has ironically had a “civilizing influence on crime” in Chicago (24). He keeps his people under control because he believes that it is better for business.

Marcone wishes to find Tommy’s murderer personally, rather than allowing the police to interfere. He tries to pay Harry not to investigate the case, but Harry refuses. When locked in a soul gaze with Marcone, Harry is shaken to behold Marcone’s cold, pragmatic approach to crime and violence. Marcone has the soul of a soldier who deals with obstacles in the most efficient way possible and will not hesitate to kill if it is the most expedient option. Marcone also treats Harry with wary respect, and the gangster’s turf war with the shadowy figure behind the new street drug ThreeEye constitutes an important aspect of the plot. His contentious relationship with Harry intensifies throughout the series as both characters gain power and influence in the supernatural world.

Bianca is a vampire who owns and operates The Velvet Room, an exclusive club that provides high-class escorts to a wealthy and powerful clientele. As with all Red Court vampires in The Dresden Files, Bianca wears an impeccable human façade that hides her true appearance: She has leathery skin and bat-like wings. When Harry goes to her for information, she maintains an air of polite sophistication until she is threatened, at which point she becomes violent and animalistic. One of the victims in the case, Jennifer Stanton, was an escort who worked for her. Bianca is a minor character in Storm Front, but she takes on a more active role in Grave Peril, the third installment in the series. Bianca is neither good nor entirely evil, as she and the other vampires maintain a tenuous balance with the White Council, and this uneasy political arrangement highlights the moral ambiguity involved in tolerating the lesser of two evils.

Monica is a wholesome suburban mother who hires Harry to find her missing husband, Victor. However, she is secretly aware of both where Victor is and what he has done. She hopes that Harry will be able to stop Victor’s dangerous magical activities, and her only desire is to keep herself and her two children safe. Monica inhabits the stereotypical role of a “damsel in distress,” and Harry’s overblown sense of chivalry compels him to work hard to protect her, even after he discovers that she sent him to Victor’s lake house knowing how dangerous it would be.

Victor is the antagonist of the novel. He was a stereotypical upper-middle-class suburban man until he discovered black magic and became increasingly addicted to the power it entails. He created the illegal magical drug ThreeEye, which acts as a kind of magical poison that grants magical sight to those with no magic of their own. He also discovered that strong emotions, particularly anger and lust, could be used to fuel his spells. For this reason, he hosts a series of sexual orgies—first with his wife and then with others such as the Beckitts. He is the murderer who is responsible for killing Jennifer, Tommy, and Linda. By the end of the novel, he has become utterly corrupted by black magic and will do anything to amass more power. He is the novel’s primary example of The Addictive Nature of Power.

Jennifer and Tommy are the first of Victor’s murder victims, and their deaths alert Murphy and Harry to the case. Tommy was an enforcer for Johnny Marcone, and his death occurs because the Beckitts wanted revenge on Marcone and his outfit; years ago, their daughter was killed in the crossfire of a turf war between Marcone’s men and a rival gang. 

Jennifer was an escort who worked for Bianca at the Velvet Room. She was a favorite of Tommy, who frequented the club. However, Jennifer was murdered not because of her connections to Bianca but because she was Monica Sells’s sister. When Monica became afraid of Victor’s magic and growing obsession, she asked Jennifer to help her escape, so Victor killed Jennifer in retaliation. Little is known about Jennifer and Tommy’s personalities or backgrounds. Instead, their deaths merely provide the inciting incident that sets the plot in motion.

Linda is Victor’s third victim. She was a friend and lover of Jennifer’s, and she also used to work for Bianca. However, she left The Velvet Room to work for the Beckitts. Victor gains access to the Beckitts and their money through Linda, whom he meets through his sister-in-law, Jennifer. Linda routinely participated in the sex rituals with the Beckitts and Victor; however, she hired a photographer to secretly photograph the rituals, hoping to use this information against them in order to escape their control. In her interactions with Harry, she uses her sex appeal as a shield to hide her fear and avoid his questions. However, Harry sees past this act and realizes that she is a scared young woman, so he quickly places her in the role of “damsel in distress.” For this reason, he is horrified when he fails to protect her.