Gentleman Johnny Marcone

Spoiler-light. Marcone's role in this book is contained to a few chapters and there is no major late-book reveal about him; no full-spoiler section.

---

In a sentence

Chicago's preeminent crime boss — civilized, lethal, and impeccably polite — who has Harry Dresden brought to him in a limousine in chapter seven to offer a very large amount of money in exchange for dropping the investigation, and who walks back into the book in chapter nine to make the same offer with the polite menace slightly turned up.

Who he is in the story

Marcone runs the operations the Chicago Tribune prints stories about and many that it doesn't. In Storm Front he is dealing with the fallout of the Madison Hotel murders — one of the victims, Tommy Tomm, was his enforcer — and with the related fallout that someone, somewhere in his city, is moving a new drug called ThreeEye through distribution channels that brush his without paying tribute. He would like Harry to stop investigating both. He is willing to be very generous about it.

The character function is simple and important: Marcone is the human power in Chicago that operates at the same level of competence as the supernatural ones. He is not a wizard, not a vampire, not a faerie. He is a man who organizes other men. In the world of Storm Front that puts him roughly on par with Bianca and Morgan in terms of how seriously Harry takes him. The book wants you to feel that parity.

What he's like

Suave, controlled, impeccably polite. His voice rarely rises and he treats even threats as courteous business. He uses money, favors, and timing instead of violence whenever possible, and when violence is necessary he prefers it be delivered by someone other than himself — Hendricks, his bodyguard, handles the looming so Marcone can handle the words.

He reads people quickly. He reads Harry in under thirty seconds in chapter seven and adjusts his offer to fit. He is patient. He does not waste time. He never says anything he does not need to say. The book respects him without endorsing him, and Harry — who detests him on principle — finds himself respecting him too, which Harry detests on a separate principle.

What he wants

Stability. A criminal organization runs on predictability, and Chicago in Storm Front has just become extremely unpredictable. Marcone wants the heart-rip murders solved, his enforcer's death accounted for, and the ThreeEye operation either absorbed or extinguished — preferably with a minimum of police attention and zero public spectacle. He is willing to pay Harry well to make those problems go away. He is also willing to step over Harry if Harry won't.

What he fears / hides

That he has no real defense against the supernatural side of his city. He has lost an enforcer to a killer his organization cannot identify; he is dealing with a vampire madam (Bianca) who is a peer power he cannot police; and the wizard he has just bought lunch for in his limo is the only person in Chicago who can actually do what Marcone needs done, which is something Marcone is too professional to say out loud. The series will spend many books on what Marcone decides to do about this gap; Storm Front only lets you sense its outline.

Key relationships

• Harry Dresden — wary, rules-based adversarial respect. Marcone respects Harry's competence. Harry refuses to respect Marcone's profession. The series will keep returning to this.
• Hendricks — bodyguard, driver, primary enforcer, and the closest thing Marcone has to a confidant on the page.
• Bianca — peer power. They keep out of each other's way unless a body forces the issue.
• Tommy Tomm — his murdered enforcer. The body is the reason Marcone is in the book at all.

What he looks like

Late thirties to early forties, average-to-tall (just under six feet), lean and compact. Short, neat, conservative haircut — light brown going to early gray at the temples. Cool gray-green eyes that assess and do not blink. Clean-shaven. Fair complexion. No visible scars or tattoos. He is, the book makes a point of mentioning, attractive in the same general way that a chess set is attractive — every line is functional and every choice is deliberate.

The wardrobe is the chess set. Knife-sharp tailored business suits in charcoal, slate, or black; crisp white or pale shirts; muted-silk ties; a folded pocket-square in a subdued tone. A slim high-end wristwatch. Polished black Italian oxfords. Black leather gloves when the rain is on. He absorbs and reflects city light in soft gunmetal tones rather than shining; the suit drinks the room and gives it back as composure.

For your book club

• Marcone offers Harry money rather than violence. Is that a sign of respect, a calculated cost-benefit, or both?
• Hendricks does not speak in the limo scene and the scene is more menacing for it. Track which characters in the book project power through silence (Hendricks, Morgan, Mac) versus which project it through speech (Bianca, Marcone). What does the contrast say about each one?
• Marcone explicitly chooses civilized violence over open violence. Does the book reward that choice or undercut it?
• The series will eventually give Marcone an opinion about the supernatural world he is sharing Chicago with. Storm Front tells you almost nothing about that opinion. Is that good restraint, or a missed moment?

Aliases

The following names and references in the book all point to this character. Use any of these as link anchors back to this page.

• Gentleman Johnny Marcone (canonical — the most common form)
• Johnny Marcone
• John Marcone
• Mr. Marcone
• Marcone
• Gentleman Johnny
• Johnny