I figured he was just watching Clue. It's a great movie, after all.
As far as release dates go, I've already lost the Chapter Count bet with my friend. So we're doing a release date bet next. I've got money on November 19th, a week before Thanksgiving. Rules are Price is Right rules, so closest to the date without going over. I'm pretty sure my friend's going to go for a December release date, so if it comes out in October, we're going to have to double down on a plot-related bet to settle things. There's not a lot of NOT YA fantasy competition that's already been announced for November, so it's a good window, and it's right in front of the biggest shopping weekend of the year (which gives book stores an extra week to place large orders and have their endcaps set up before Black Friday). I can see Dresden Files displays popping up in Barnes and Noble for Black Friday. Discounting the previous 15 books when you buy Peace Talks, that kind of thing. And of course there's Cyber Monday for the ebook crowd.
But yeah, assuming Jim finishes at some point in the next week, a 2019 release date is pretty much assured. There's no reason to hold it back until next year when they can hit a holiday shopping season release window fairly comfortably. And to those who asked: yes, Jim does still use Beta Readers, so Peace Talks has already been vetted for plot inconsistencies. It's less likely that there will be necessary changes that will dramatically alter the book at this stage. Not impossible, of course, but less likely than for most other authors.
