Karrin Murphy

DresdenFiles character
name=Karrin Murphy


race=Human
affiliation=Chicago PD, Sgt.
city=Chicago, IL
start=Restoration of Faith (chronological)
Storm Front (first novel)
finish=

Karrin Murphy is a major character in Jim Butcher's contemporary fantasy series, The Dresden Files. The character also appears as Connie Murphy in the television series based on the novels.

Background

Murphy is a Lieutenant in the Chicago Police Department, in charge of the Special Investigations (or "S.I.") division, which is appointed to all cases in which something unexplainable or supernatural is involved. In the past, transfer to SI has been a way for the department to get rid of out-of-favor officers. Murphy, on the other hand, took the post seriously, going so far as to hire the only wizard in the phone book: Harry Dresden.

The events of "Storm Front" and "Fool Moon" cause Murphy to distrust Harry, and she reacts in a hostile and violent manner when she suspects he had a hand in the victims' deaths. She also takes action against Harry when she thinks he is keeping information from her because of his other commitments, such as to the White Council. She physically assaults him, and attempts to arrest him, in both books. However, the events of "Grave Peril" and "Summer Knight" lead her to put more trust in him, and she becomes one of his closest friends.

She admits to some romantic attraction to Harry as well, but is unwilling to act on it for several reasons. Firstly, she worries about complicating or ruining their friendship and working relationship. She also worries about their difference in lifespans: as a wizard, Harry will live for centuries, and she wants someone who can grow old with her and raise a family. Then, there is the reason that Thomas points out: she and Harry are both stiff-necked idiots.

Karrin is the oldest child of Collin and Marion Murphy, and she is somewhere in the range of 27 to 29 years old at the time of "Storm Front". She has at least two brothers and at least one sister, whom we meet in "Blood Rites". In "Blood Rites," Harry learns that before his suicide when Karrin was 11, Collin Murphy was a senior detective in the Chicago PD and a "black cat" investigator, covering the same territory as the modern-day S.I. department.

Murphy has been married and divorced twice, the first time at age 17 to Gregory Taggart, who is some thirteen years her senior. He leaves her, and all subsequent attempts at conversation end in a fight. She later marries Richard Boughton. They also divorce, when Murphy translates Rick's desire to start a family as an effort to keep her at home, away from her job. Some time between "Blood Rites" and "Proven Guilty", Richard gets remarried to Murphy's youngest sibling, Lisa, who is about 11 years her junior.

After the events of "Proven Guilty," Murphy is demoted to sergeant and replaced by co-worker Detective Sergeant John Stallings. This is a major blow to Murphy, but due to Stallings' respect for Dresden it has not significantly impacted events in the series thus far.

The first meeting of Karrin and Dresden is mentioned in "Restoration of Faith" [http://jim-butcher.com/books/dresden/restoration/] , a short story chronicling Harry's life before The Dresden Files as a private eye for Ragged Angel Investigations.

During the events of "Small Favor" Karrin briefly comes into possession of "Fidelacchius", one of the swords wielded by the Knights of the Cross. She is able to make use of its power to defend Harry from a Denarian, in what Harry calls a "job offer." Karrin, however, declines to become the sword's new bearer because she has already sworn an oath to protect Chicago, and it remains in Harry's care.

Over the course of "Small Favor" she confesses that her sexual friendship with Kincaid is being disrupted by her romantic feelings for him, and she attracts the interest of the holy knight Sanya who calls her "small, but fierce." She also confesses to some job frustration, knowing that her demotion will never be reversed and she won't be in a position to command again, due to police politics.

Television series

Debuting on January 21, 2007, the Sci Fi Channel TV adaptation co-starred Valerie Cruz as the Lt. Murphy. The character's name was changed to "Connie," short for Constanza (as remarked on by Harry in the episode "Rules of Engagement"), in order to avoid confusion with an actual officer in the Chicago Police Department named Karyn Murphy.

Although Murphy is described in the novels as being short-statured, blonde, and blue-eyed, the character as portrayed by Cruz is brunette and Hispanic in appearance. Cruz originally tried out for the part of Susan Rodriguez, but was cast as Murphy based on her ability to effectively portray the character's personality in spite of the difference in appearance. In the series, Murphy works with Detective Sid Kirmani, and appears to be member of the Department's ordinary homicide unit, as Special Investigations is not mentioned. In "Birds of a Feather," she talks with Sheryl Sharp about her divorce, and indicates that she has a nine-year-old daughter named Anna who lives with her father, whereas in the novels she has no children from either of her marriages.

Trivia

When Detective McBain lists off members in the "network" of cops that know of the paranormal in "Supernatural", a female cop in Chicago named Murphy is mentioned.

ee also