Here are some interesting observations in the book that I haven't seen a lot of discussion on:
- Madrigal Raith points out that he was invited to SplatterCon!!! a year ago. This means that whoever planned the phobophage attacks not only knew Madrigal's "new tastes" (to make him a scapegoat) but also planned it a year in advance.
Which, to the best of my recollection, coincided with Molly getting caught holding the bag (o' drugs) at the party, which drove her from the house.
- Speaking of things happening a year before the events of PG, at the beginning of the book, the White Council is flummoxed by both Summer & Winter's inaction in the face of Ramp trespassing. Lily & Fix tell Harry that this is because Mab has had her troops amassed at the border with Summer "since last year"
See above.
- In a weird way, this book is the story of a 2 mother/ daughter pairings where things aren't going well - Charity/ Molly & Mab/ Maeve.
Yeah. One ends up well, the other... not so much. Charity smothers her daughter with tough love, but there's just no saving Maeve after she's infected.
- Harry points out that the Scarecrow attacks & kills Glau first when it ambushes ebay auction at Fool Moon garage. In this book, we learn that Glau is a half-djinn, an Arab creature, & Harry notices that he carries an Arab looking sword. Thomas further says that Glau has been a trusted family vassal of House Raith for some time. We also know in White Night that Madeline Raith was calling numbers in Egypt.
Tiny nit: we find out about the Egypt call in Turn Coat, significantly later. Eldest Fetch killing Glau reeks of a coverup. As mentioned in another thread, Jim has laid lots of groundwork for something to happen in Egypt. Maybe even add Sanya descending from Saladin (Sultan of Egypt and Syria, and, according to Word of Jim, a Knight) to that list.
- When Harry runs into Lea at the prison/ garden, we can tell when the Nfection is speaking because Harry observes that Lea's eyes glitter in a crazy way. What is interesting is that it is Nfected Lea who explains the true nature of Slate's punishment to Harry, showing that Nemesis has a sophisticated understanding of both Mab & the human psyche. When Lea's eyes are normal, she tells Harry to leave her in ice shackles, however her eyes glitter when she asks him to release her
Not only does it demonstrate its understanding of human psyche, it provides Harry with a blatantly terrifying image of what can happen to the Winter Knight. Harry remembers the sight of Slate every time Mab offers him the job, and cites that as his main reason for not taking it. Nemesis may have prevented Harry from accepting the WK Mantle for years with a few sentences.
- At the meeting of the White Council at the end of the book, Lily rather blatantly places the blame of the entire assault on Arctis Tor on Harry. She frames this to the Council as saying that Harry heroically led a raid on Arctis Tor, causing Winter troops to retreat home & giving Summer some space to maneuver. This is no doubt on Maeve's urging to cover up the true reason for the attack & confuse anyone who asks about it later
I agree, at least about the greater magical community. Maeve didn't want any significant powers asking Mab about what happened. I do think that this is what tipped her hand to Mab, who later confirmed it via unknown means.
Still, good questions all 'round. Personally, I believe that the whole Proven Guilty Fetch Plot was about two forces trying to alternately save and kill Molly before she can become the Winter Lady. I think the Gatekeeper got a bit more out of his Future-Gazing than "Oh there's a wee bit of black magic around town." I think he sensed that Molly was in danger, and was important to the Outsider threat. I mean, Bob kinda spells it out with his car-theft analogy. By telling someone to move their car, it gets stolen instead of you getting hijacked and killed in the process. By telling Harry to look into black magic, he got Dresden involved and prevented Molly from being eaten by Fetches.
