History Literature / SkinGame

** Harry notes to Mab that she--who isn't ''quite'' evil but toes the line pretty well--could never bear to see her daughter dead. Which is, of course, exactly why she did what she did to Nicodemus.

* CoolGuns: The cover sees Harry sporting a Colt Anaconda. He doesn't get one in the book, though — no, he gets a [[HandCannon Smith and Wesson .500]].

* GutturalGrowler: Nicodemus has become one thanks to the damage Harry did to his throat in their last encounter.

''Skin Game'' is book #15 in ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles''.

** In a villain version, both The Genowska [[spoiler: arms himself with the Coin of Ursiel]] and [[spoiler:Ascher becomes the new carrier of Lasciel]].

* BigEater: [[invoked]] Hannah almost always piles a lot of food on her plate when it’s available. FridgeBrilliance kicks in when you realize magic is at least partially CastFromCalories and she’s slinging ''enormous'' amounts of magic around all the time. Especially when she’s [[spoiler: channeling the power of Lasciel]].
* BigfootSasquatchAndYeti: The Genoskwa is one of the former. As a result, he has powerful magical abilities he can call on, including supreme veils that hide his scent and [[spoiler: the ability to ground out magical attacks, even Harry's powerful ''Infriga''. Being the current wielder of Ursiel's Coin probably helped, too.]] Though he '''[[BerserkButton really]]''' doesn't like to be compared to the Forest People.

** Queen Mab went to her meeting with Nicodemus accompanied by four Sidhe bodyguards and Harry. The sidhe even use a glamour to go from thin-looking pretty boys to tall, muscular men with buzz cuts. This is PURELY for show, since however tough they are Mab is in another league entirely. It's just that Mab doesn't want to lower herself to wiping out opposition effortlessly: she has people for that.

** Harry, and the readers, learn that Harry's actions since ''Literature/{{Changes}}'', along with his new Winter Knight persona, have slowly and heartrendingly eroded Butters' faith in Harry. Worse, Harry's exile on Demonreach while Chicago got worse without him there to protect people anymore was the straw that broke the camel's back in convincing Butters that Harry was [[HeWhoFightsMonsters becoming one of the monsters that he fought]]. [[spoiler:Though he eventually [[JerkassRealization realizes]] that Harry is still the same person that he saved in a museum years ago, and his faith in Harry is [[RebuiltPedestal more than restored]]. Which is actually [[ChekhovsGun pretty]] [[EmpoweredBadassNormal important]].]]

** One of Michael's defining traits has been [[spoiler:his willing to choose the mission over his family because he thought it was the right choice to make]]. Near the end of the book, [[spoiler:Butters made the same choice. He could have gone back to Andi after dropping Murphy off, but he chose to return to the Carpenter house in case they needed more protection. His last wish is for Bob to tell Andi he loves her.]] Just like Michael would.

** Nicodemus, to Michael. Like Michael, he will [[spoiler:choose the mission over his family]].

* OutOfCharacterMoment: PlayedForLaughs; Michael and Charity seem awfully comfortable with participating in burglary and fencing of stolen goods considering their moral uprightness at virtually every other moment of the series, but it can be {{Hand Wave}}d as them both being NotSoAboveItAll and taking TheNeedsOfTheMany into account.
** That, and [[spoiler:the diamonds aren't actually stolen property-- the entire heist was done with Hades' full knowledge and approval; if he hadn't wanted the diamonds to leave his realm, he could easily have prevented it.]]

*** The appearance of an active [[spoiler:Magog]] on a satellite photo acquired by a Paranet hacker also foreshadows this, as [[spoiler:Magog's coin, like Lasciel's, was last seen in Church custody. If he's loose, she can be too.]]

** Harry hears a voice when he wakes up, saying ''"She's right in front of you, you fool!"'', and later Id-Harry tells him to "remember how the dream ended", the dream in question ending with Murphy pulling a gun on him and telling him that "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned". Both of these are his subconscious trying to warn him that [[spoiler:Lasciel is back and out for Harry's blood, and her coin is in the possession of Hannah Ascher]].

* BigfootSasquatchAndYeti: The Genoskwa is one of the former. As a result, he has powerful magical abilities he can call on, including supreme veils that hide his scent and [[spoiler: the ability to ground out magical attacks, even Harry's powerful ''Infriga''. Being the current wielder of Ursiel's Coin probably helped, too.]] Though he '''[[BerserkButton really]]''' doesn't like to be compared to normal Sasquatches.

* AllJustADream: [[spoiler: Harry and Murphy's smoking hot sex scene, much to his frustration.]] It's still super hot and hilariously anti-climactic, though.

* CoolPet: Cerberus, the three-headed hellhound for Hades. [[spoiler:Hades points out that his name roughly translates to English as ''Spot''.]]

* YouNeedToGetLaid: [[spoiler:Id-Harry's]] major complaint about Dresden is that he really needs to have some sex. Even if it is with some Sidhe women, which is generally regarded to be a bad idea.
* YouOweMe: From Micheal of all people surprsingly. He much to nice to say it but when Harry shows up on his door step acting distraught and tries to leave without explaining himself Micheal oh so kindly reminds Dresden about all the things he has done for him over the years and never asking for anything in return.

** Harry fears [[spoiler:that once he gets Nicodemus past the Ice Gate, he could be killed by Nicodemus, as they are so deep in Hades' turf it is unlikely Mab can see what is happening]]. So Harry keeps himself useful by [[spoiler:closing the exit back to Earth before he even tries the gate]].

* YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre: Michael to Harry. He notes that Harry isn't omniscient, all-powerful, and cannot change the past. He is a flawed person. But then, so is everyone else. He may be far from perfect, but he is a lot better off than he gives himself credit for.

* WillNotTellALie: Michael Carpenter, even retired, doesn't like to tell lies. He is an honest man. [[spoiler:Knowing this about him, Binder looks to Michael to confirm whether Nicodemus or Harry is the one telling truth about the other's supposed betrayal.]] Even at this point, with [[GambitPileup everything else]] that had gone on to complicate matters, everything Michael says is [[MetaphoricallyTrue factually true]].