I think Jim is underestimating how angry people are at Murphy going out the way she did on top of his sudden disinterest the relationship he spent 17 books building between Harry and Karin before what happened in BG given you can go look on TvTropes and under brokenbase https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/BrokenBase/OtherMedia under the lit selection and it's not wrong with friends and family that also walked for good or want to punch Jim in the face. It spells nothing good going forward with Dresden that wants he readers to suffer the most while reading and thinking they are going to come back for another go around is dumb. I have wonder if anyone pulled him a side and ask if he thought it through because of what it might cost him

I don't think Jim is writing for the readers, more like he's trying to write stories the way he wants to. But you've got a point about reactions-- there are some epic rants on Archive of Our Own from some very pissed-off people over Murphy's death. I'm not sure how much the "keep reading" advice is going to mollify them.

Unless things truly start to go downhill, I'm in this for the long haul. I'd prefer to read the stories Butcher wants to tell, organically, rather than something crafted to reader expectations. And I'm way too curious about what comes next to give up now. But not everybody will feel the same. I kind of doubt the sales figures will go down too much because of this, but time will tell.

This is a good theory, and very possible. Jim often calls himself a lazy writer, who likes to reuse story elements and characters. And we haven't had a mention of the Barnabas Curse in quite a few books...

It also casts Murphy's death in a more meaningful context, which is (IMHO) both good and bad. The way Karrin died seemed really random and out-of-left-field, so tying it in to Nick's stratagem grounds it, helps it "make sense." It also means there was no way for Harry to save her,, and that might bring him some small comfort..

On the other hand... it also feels a bit like fridging Murphy for Dresden's detriment, making her a pawn in the battle between hero and villain, and I'm not sure that's a good thing. No matter how odd and out-of-place the death was, Murphy died trying to save others. It was still a hero's death, enough to qualify her to become an einherjar. I'm not sure if reframing it as a consequence of Nicodemus' schemes diminishes the impact of that.

We'll have to see how Mr. Butcher writes it. I suspect how it plays out will make a difference in how we view it.

Elaine as Summer Knight to Harry's Winter Knight makes a lot of sense, but I don't think her ties to Summer invalidate her from becoming a Winter Lady. Sarissa was born into Winter, yet wound up becoming the Summer Lady when Lily was killed. The Mantle doesn't seem to care where a person's allegiances lie, it just wants a vessel for the power. It will take whoever it needs to get the job done (assuming that person has the needed qualifications.)

And if Harry catches on, why would he care?

As it is, Harry hates the idea of marrying Lara, and is bound to be looking for a way out of it. If he understands the reasoning behind it, he might be more accepting of it.
(I don't think he'll ever 100% approve, or fall in love with Lara the way he loved Murphy. But maybe he'd agree to accept the political alliance to spare Molly from becoming Winter Queen.)

Or-- he might object even more, if he disapproves of Mab's choice, and try to find and prepare a more suitable candidate on his own... which would be an interesting storyline to pursue, depending on where in the timeline Mab's death occurs. I'm thinking it probably won't happen until just before the three-book finale, or maybe during the trilogy. If that's true, I don't think we'll get a chance to see Harry-as-deliberate-Queenmaker, but it's an interesting idea.

I'm not sure I can claim this as a fully original theory, as I probably read some similar comment on the board that sparked this, but I can't remember where or from who right now. But this idea is in my head, and it won't go away, so I'm putting it out there to see if it might be valid.

There's been serious foreshadowing in the last few books that Winter Queen Mab won't survive the series. Mab herself seems to think so; she told Harry to kill Molly if she ascends to the position, as she believes Molly to be incapable of it.

Mab is an incredible chessmaster. She has plans within plans, and prepares alternatives if her main schemes fail. So if she doesn't want Lady Molly to take her crown, she must be looking for another successor.

What does she need in such a candidate? A woman who can plot and plan with the best of them, and come out on top every time. Someone who is skilled in manipulation and power. And someone who has some kind of relationship with the Court, who will spend significant time around at least one member of Winter, in order to be subtly influenced and shaped into a potential vessel for that power.

If there was already someone suitable in Winter, I'd argue that she would have been tapped instead of Molly as the new Lady. So it's likely that Mab is considering another option...

...so at some point later in the series, I expect to hear:

"Queen Mab is dead. Long live Queen Lara!"

Let's face it-- at first look, Lara seems to get a lot more out of an alliance with Winter than Mab does. The White Vamps are a power to be reckoned with, but the Winter Court is much larger and more influential. Many of the most powerful members of the supernatural community agree to abide by Mab's Accords-- that's major power. There's got to be some reason that Mab's willing to publically ally with Lara and her court, and it's got to be substantial enough to justify working with a lesser power. It makes more sense if Mab is using the opportunity to groom her replacement.

We know that the marriage between Winter Knight Harry and White Queen Lara is, in part, a repayment of debts Mab owes to Lara. But it wouldn't be the first time Mab accomplishes more than one thing with a single action. It gives Harry more protection from his enemies now that the Wizard Council's thrown him out... but it also brings Lara into close association with one who wields the powers of Winter, and exposure to that power may well create an affinity that will guide the Mantle of Queen to her once Mab dies.

And who better to rule than a woman who can control the entire White Court, with all its intrigues and squabbling, as the power behind the throne? We know from Thomas that Lara's also been expanding her influence into the mortal sphere. That would make Lara an even more compelling candidate, as it's clear the Masquerade will end soon and dealing with mortals will become a critical issue. (It's hard to say whether or not Mab knows that Lara's a participant in the Oblivion War. I'd argue that it's just another qualification for the job, as Lara's had experience acting behind the scenes to defend reality, as Mab does.)

Of course, Lara isn't human... but if, according to Mab, Thomas is "mortal enough" to become a Winter Knight, Lara should be "mortal enough" to become a Fae Queen. (But not the Winter Lady. I don't think someone who feeds on lust would do well in a job that requires abstinence.)

The way I see it, Mab didn't lie, so much as she told a partial truth. There were several goals to the mission:

• To repay a debt owed, balancing the loan of a Fallen Angel with the loan of a Winter Knight
• To assist Nicodemus in the retrieval of an object from Hades
• To gain revenge against Nicodemus after he openly violated Mab's Accords

Mab was honest about the first and second points, but withheld the third. At most it's a lie of omission, but she never actually voiced an untruth, so she never actively lied. And while I don't have the books handy, I'm fairly sure we're warned that while those of Fairy can't lie outright (without assistance), they are verbally tricksy and can fail to disclose all the relevant details unless compelled by a carefully-worded bargain. So Mab's omission isn't unusual, or against her Nature enough to (IMHO) be considered a lie.

Nicodemus was arrogant in his assumption that he'd planned out everything perfectly. If he'd thought to make a more complete bargain with Mab, closing any loopholes that could lead to Harry's betrayal, he might have succeeded. But Nicodemus got exactly what he asked for... up to the point where Nicodemus double-crossed Harry, breaking the deal and reaping the consequences.

Since up to that point, Mab did hold up her end, I don't see a lie. Mab was just better at predicting behavior and planning for all eventual outcomes than Nic was.

I wish he'd focus more on completing this series, he has enough on his plate.

I'd love to get the books faster too... but if I'm remembering right, Jim's said in interviews that writing other series helps him recharge his creative juices and come back to the DF with better energy. If he only wrote Dresden books, he'd probably be burned out by now, and we'd really be out of luck.

...plus I really loved the Codex Alera series, and I hope he goes back to that world eventually. I haven't started the new series yet, but I'm looking forward to it.

But it just isn't all that realistic. The less realistic Jim is within his universe, the harder it is to believe and relate to.

I agree, we don't want a perfect Harry. All any of us want is a realistic Harry. The moment he becomes unbelievable we can't relate, and therefore connect, and then we don't care anyway.

I think realistic and believable are in the eye of the reader. I don't think it's unrealistic for an orphan with abandonment issues to at least try to give his daughter some semblance of a parent and a family life. Will it work out, or will Harry fail? That remains to be seen. Relatability is another personal issue. My own ability to connect to a parenting storyline is limited, since I never had kids, but I can still appreciate a well-told story about it. I feel like it's too early to make a judgement call on how it's gonna work out in the end, but that's my take. I appreciate that others feel differently. YMMV.

...it closes down story lines and removes the potential for drama if Harry always makes the best choices. And that's what it comes down to as well: possibilities. Nothing worse than reading about people being happy and nothing going wrong. Conflict, and conflict resolution is what draws the reader in.

I have a feeling that a conflict between parental responsibility and Harry's professional obligations will continue to be part of the storyline, unless Maggie spends most of each novel at her school. Which might happen, and would resolve a lot of people's worries. Again, we'll see. But I can't imagine we'll ever get Harry in a happy little world where nothing ever goes wrong and he never makes a single mistake. Jim likes to torture him far too much. 

I see it as Harry trying to be too perfect and Jim just trying to force it through. Harry can't be everything after all. It could even be a big part of his thoughts (Maggie, that is) without necessarily having to have the whole "I better take Maggie to school for picture day, oh wait I think a Demon Lord is attacking the Mayor of Chicago and the police". There are shows like Wallander which deal with detectives who are good at their job and what they do is very important, but it comes at the cost of their relationships. That's how it goes and that's why it's so often shown, because that's the truth. Anything else is somewhat absurd at best and frankly delusional at worst. It makes light of the struggle that people have trying to do the best they can.

I get the point, even if I don't entirely agree. I think Harry will struggle with the balancing act of personal vs. professional. Most people do in one way or another. Many try to take on too much at once, trying to be perfect, and wind up fumbling their way through, even failing in areas. It may be absurd, but the attempt in itself doesn't feel unrealistic or "making light of struggles" to me. (If he succeeds perfectly, yeah, but I don't see that happening.) I guess I look more for a well-told tale than for complete realism in my reading, especially when it's fiction. (Seriously... we're talking about a wizard. Can we really expect complete realism here?? )

It's all relative, of course. I can't blame anyone for not liking the current turn of events. The longer a series goes, the harder it is to keep quality high. I've seen more than one saga collapse under its own weight, and I'm really hoping that won't happen with the Dresden Files. So maybe I'm being more optimistic than I should be... but I really want to see Jim pull it off.

And more Mouse. Always more Mouse. Mister too.