Did I miss something? [Twelve Months]

[Don]

I thought I heard a WoJ from an interview that we would find out more about Cowl and Kumori in TM.

There was a mention of them and Harry was thinking they had something to do with Lash, but that was it.

My first read is usually for fun and then I give it some time before I read it again to try to look for story clues, but this one has me wanting to ask for help.

What did I miss?

[Bad Alias]

Are you sure it wasn't Mirror Mirror he was talking about? If there was something in 12 Months, I also missed it.

[earthexile313]

The style of Twelve Months makes me think it could very easily have had sections added or removed throughout the writing process. It doesn't have the hour-to-hour urgency of the typical stories, and Harry refers to stuff happening in passing that could easily have been a chapter or two or a whole adventure. So it's possible that depending on when you asked Jim, Cowl and Kumori were in the story to different degrees.

I honestly figured that's where the Bock's Ordered Black Magic storyline was going, I hear people talking about using Black Magic for moral purposes and I think "Kumori?" We've seen her playing antihero for random Chicago citizens before.

[g33k]

... and Harry refers to stuff happening in passing that could easily have been a chapter or two or a whole adventure...

I noticed a few one-line mentions that were some of the short stories set in the same timeframe as 12M.

... I honestly figured that's where the Bock's Ordered Black Magic storyline was going, I hear people talking about using Black Magic for moral purposes and I think "Kumori?" We've seen her playing antihero for random Chicago citizens before. 

I've been wondering:  how exactly did Kravos' Book of Shadows wind up in Bock's hands??!?
It seems... odd.  Extremely so, in fact.

Unexplained coincidence aimed directly at Harry speaks IMO to one of 2 sources:  Black Council shenanigans; or Mab.  My money is on Mab for this one.  The truth is, Kravos was a low-grade threat; he was defeated long ago when Harry was younger, weaker.  I don't think the Black Council would bother re-running that playbook in a downgraded form with the even-weaker Bock as the BigBad caster.  But Mab?  Mab knows Harry's hurting, working below capacity; that he's in need of some confidence-boosts, some nice moral clarity... so she arranges for Harry to get this softball mini-case, one he already knows how to solve.  And building Harry up by means of a series of gradually-increasing threats is 100% in her playbook.

[Bad Alias]

I've been wondering:  how exactly did Kravos' Book of Shadows wind up in Bock's hands??!?
It seems... odd.  Extremely so, in fact.

Didn't Harry have his book?

"That’s what you want Kravos’s book for,” Stallings said. I nodded. “Yeah.” He reached into his pocket and produced the book—a little journal, thick but not broad, bound in dark leather. It was sealed in a plastic evidence bag. I reached for it, but Stallings pulled it away. “Dresden. If you touch this, if you open it up, you’re going to be leaving your prints on it. Skin cells. All sorts of things. Unless it disappears."

I don't think the Black Council would bother re-running that playbook in a downgraded form.

Admittedly, Bock is a downgraded caster, but the curse is stronger.

[Snark Knight]

Might have been edited out.  He'd also said during the writing period for Cold Days that there would be a Cowl appearance or clue coming up there.

Either that was edited out, or he was under a pretty obscure cover as some other character, or Jim had in mind that he was in the background somewhere but not noticed by Harry.

[Bad Alias]

In that recent AMA Jim did on Reddit, someone asked if we've seen Cowl and Kumori's real identity in any of the books. He said yes and no.