#Dresdenphiles Rejoice! Only 6 More Weeks until #PeaceTalks !

/ Marcia Meara

Woohooo … another week closer to Peace Talks, and another chance to chat about Harry Dresden and his very interesting friends and enemies. Today, whaddya say we talk about my favorite female character of the series:

 SGT. KARRIN MURPHY!

All good Dresdenphiles know that Harry has been attracted to a few women here and there in his life. He’s not a kid, after all, and he can admire a nice-looking female with the best of them. But his real choices throughout the series have been pretty limited, and only one of them has ever made sense to me, even though Harry seldom admits being attracted to her.  Sgt. Karrin Murphy is in charge of of Chicago’s Special Investigations department, and Murph, as Harry calls her, is my topic of the day.


Sgt. Karrin Murphy (alias Murph)

Personally, I’ve always been on Team Murphy, hoping these two will finally admit their mutual attraction, since they are obviously perfect for each other. (Just ask me. I’ll tell you. 😀 )

In Book 1, Storm Front, Harry and Murphy already have a working relationship, of sorts. Murphy is never sure she can trust Harry, and Harry is always wary of being arrested by Murphy. But Storm Front is not where the two met for the first time. Oh, no. That took place in a short story called Restoration of Faith, which was first offered on Jim Butcher’s website in 2010, but was later reprinted in the anthology Side Jobs, a terrific collection of short tales any Dresden fan would love.

The friendship between these two does grow with each book, and they make a damn good fighting team, even if Murphy is a strictly by-the-law kind of gal, while Harry is… ermm … not, at least not necessarily. He’s more concerned with doing what he thinks is right, legalities be damned. (A goal that is often dangerously at odds with his own well-being. I mean, the man gets beaten up more than any hero I’ve ever read about, I do believe.)

Somehow, nothing ever goes exactly the way Harry thinks it’s going to, but he never, ever gives up, even though many a scene between Murphy and him ends up like the one below, especially in the earlier books. Heck, half the fun of each book is wondering when he’ll have to ask  Murph for help, or when she’s going to show up unexpectedly to either recruit him,  or arrest him, depending on how she calls the situation.


Uh-oh. Harry’s in Trouble Again.

Murphy is described as being 5 feet nothing, cute as a button, and tough as nails, fighting for her place in a job that is dominated by men, learning how to battle things she never believed in until seeing them for the first time. She’s also annoyed as hell when Harry does things like open the door for her, or pull out a chair. Harry, on the other hand, is old school, chivalrous to a fault, and determinedly considerate of all women. Except those who scare him half to death, like Bianca, the Red Court vampire, and Mab, one of the Queens of the Fae. 


Just Another Day on the Job for Harry and Murph.

Confused yet? You won’t be as you read the books. Butcher is an expert at laying out marvelously complex plots without losing readers in a sea of confusion.  And on that note, here are a couple of amusing  memes for you.

And that’s it for today, folks! Hope there are some Murphy fans out there who enjoyed this one, and some new potential readers who are looking forward to meeting her.  I’ll be back next week with something else to help celebrate being another week closer to Peace Talks! Until then, remember our rallying cry:

36 thoughts on “#Dresdenphiles Rejoice! Only 6 More Weeks until #PeaceTalks !”

    • I love Harry’s full name, too–Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden. Now THAT’S a real wizardly sorta name! Lots of magic going on! 😀 (Btw, one of my characters in my Riverbend series is named Hunter, and another is named Gunnar Wolfe. I like your choices.) 🙂

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    • Yay!! My work here is done. Oh, wait. Nope. There are still some folks out there I may have missed. 😀 😀 😀

      Seriously, you will LOVE this series. It simply gets better and better from that first college project, and is filled with an amazing assortment of well-drawn characters. I predict you’ll be hooked, especially knowing that the books grow in scope and complexity, though some elements remain the same. Harry getting clobbered at some point or other being one of them. He isn’t infallible, just determined, and that makes him someone you really want to cheer on.

      Let me know if you start reading it. (But you’ll have to read fast to be ready for Peace Talks. 😀 )

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    • I’m so glad we inspired you to check out the series, Harmony! And even more glad that you love it so much. Murphy is a terrific character, and I’m totally convinced she and Harry are meant to be together. Now to get them both on the same page, at the same time! 😀 (Do you think anonymous threats to the guy responsible for these tales would work???? 😀 )

      Mae and I are reading together, with some starts and stops to pace ourselves. We’ve decided that even when we get Peace Talks in hand, we won’t start it until we’re both caught up, so we can enjoy talking about it as we go. Having a book buddy reading the same thing along with you is so much fun! You could join us, if you like. ❤ Just don't jump ahead to Peace Talks, because no matter how good Butcher is at slipping in back story, there are MAJOR things that happen in the last three or four books that you really need to know before reading it. All that being said, I can't wait to be holding it in my hot little hands! (And ready to READ it on my Kindle. I have a signed copy coming, and NOTHING is going to touch it once I've enshrined it on my Dresden shelf. 😀 )

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    • Harmony, you are speeding through these books. I am so frustrated because I haven’t had a lot of time to read lately (I was working on edits for a murder mystery short story). I fully intend to devote myself more. I did a little reading last night but am only at the 70% mark in book 6. I would love for you to join Marcia and I in our Harry chats. It’s fun to read the same book someone else is!

      Marcia is a great Dresden recruiter! 🙂

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  5. I love Murph, too (and not just because we’re both the same height), and seriously hope she and Dresden finally hook up. And I love the memes, especially the list of things he’s not allowed to do 🤣

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    • Hahaha. I’m closer to Harry’s height than Murph’s. (Well, sorta. I’m just under 6′, though I’ve probably shrunk a bit over the years). And these two NEED each other! It’s the only logical answer for them.

      Glad you enjoyed the memes. Man, there are so many of them out there, plus I’ve made a few myself over the years. That list of things he isn’t allowed to do is hilarious, isn’t it? Love the WOZ references. (My favorite movie of all time, to this very day.)

      Nice to see you this morning, Jeanne. Always good to talk to someone who gets it. 😀 ❤ Hope you are settled into your new home by now?

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        • I actually LOVE “setting up” a room to my satisfaction. We don’t have anything all that fancy or special, but they’re our things … or mine, as the case may be … and I enjoy deciding where they’re going to go and what I’m hanging on the walls, etc. Just making the place our home, in general. Hope you are enjoying that part of it, anyway. 🙂

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          • I do enjoy it. It appeals to my creative side.

            On another note, you mentioned how Storm Front started as a college project, and it reminded me of how my first self-published book, Kismet and Tell, also started as a project for a college creative writing class. The teacher said he thought it had the potential to become published, and that is what made me start thinking about taking my writing more seriously.

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            • Seeeee? You have something in common with Jim Butcher! I’m totally impressed. 😀 And I suspect that many best selling authors can look back to a teacher somewhere in their past who encouraged them to pursue their dreams. I did, way back in high school. It was my parents who said it was a dumb idea, so I didn’t go after it. Took me until I was almost 70 to say, “Wait a minute. Why am I still doing what my parents wanted instead of what I want?” 😀

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              • Thanks 😊 And I’m sure you are right about teacher encouragement inspiring many best-selling authors. My mother is actually somewhat supportive of my writing. And a cousin of mine is, as well, and she’s also into writing and has tried to get a book published.

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                • All of my teachers (way back then) were supportive of my writing, and even the principal of my school had a conference with my parents about their decisions. They ignored them all, and I wasn’t the type to disobey my parents, even at 18 or so. I dropped college plans and got a business diploma, and forgot about writing for all those years. But not REALLY. *wicked grin* Obviously, it was simmering on a back burner the whole time, and I finally decided to do something about it.

                  I’m glad your mother supports you, even if only “somewhat.” And good for your cousin! Hope she makes it, too. 🙂

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  6. These things live forever after publication, but you’re getting me excited. There are a couple at the end that I haven’t read. I’m thinking of taking a break when my 2020 projects are all out there. Reading Dresden is a fair use of the break time.

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    • Yes! Dresden is an excellent use of break time, and you MUST refresh your memory of all the CHANGES that happened since, well, since CHANGES was published. Particularly, Changes, Ghost Story, Cold Days, and Skin Game. Those four books are the most important to refresh in our minds, I think, but it had been 20 years since I read the first one, Storm Front, so I’ve been enjoying them all.

      Boy, had I forgotten a LOT of details. And plot lines. While I will never forget the main characters, and their personalities and abilities, the individual Evil Doers in each book were another story. I’m just now getting to #7, Dead Beat, and I read that FIFTEEN years ago! So glad to be reading it again, and watching Harry’s relationships grow. It’s even better this time around, knowing these stories are going to keep going and going, and get better with each book. 😀

      Go for it, Craig! You know you want to! 😀 It’s a good exercise for writers, too, watching how deftly Butcher tells a tale. 🙂

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    • Yay! So glad you got a laugh out of the post, and that list is hilarious! I’m also glad you’re planning to read the series, Teri. You will LOVE it, I predict, especially considering the first book was a writing exercise for a class, written more than 20 years ago. That boggles my mind, but I’m sure glad Butcher decided to continue the stories. It’s amazing to watch how they become more and more complex, and the characters more and more appealing. Or horrifying, depending. 😀 Can’t wait to see what you think when you get going on it. 😀 It’s good, better, better yet, then launches straight into WOW Mode and never lets up. 😀

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  8. I’m team Murph too, Marcia, especially the more I read her interactions with Harry. I’m up to 70% in book 6 now, and I have 7 and 8 waiting on my Kindle. I would love to have a full day to do nothing but devour these books. Harry is addictive. Thanks for getting me hooked again 🙂

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    • Woohoooo! Keep in mind that Book 1, Storm Front, was a college project by a very young Jim Butcher. It’s good. Certainly good enough that I knew I wanted to read more. But each book kept improving and showing growth in the characters, and slowly moved away from focus on monsters that were popular 20 years ago into more interesting and complex creatures of the Nevernever, and the world of magic. All the while, the plots were getting more complex, and Harry was, as well. I think you’ll enjoy the ride. By the last few novels, the series is in a class by itself.

      And BONUS: It’s FUNNY, too. 😀

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  10. Always loved Murphy! And I think I’m going to have to go back to the beginning. I re-read Skin Game, then Blood Rites, because that’s where Mouse is introduced as an adorable puppy with a notch in his ear. There are so many things that happen, especially in the last few books, that Butcher builds on in each later book, that I should refresh my memory. Will I do it before Peace Talks comes out? No, but I don’t mind rereading them. I forgot how much fun the snark is!

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    • I was Team Murphy from the very first book, and still remain convinced she’s The One. I love her! And I have to say that I am having even more fun the second time around than I did the first.I started over with Book 1, which I read in 2000, when it first came out! And even though I know the books continue to grow better and better, I am surprised at how truly good each one has been. I’m starting Proven Guilty, #8, and I won’t start Peace Talks until I’m totally caught up. Mae Clair and Harmony Kent are reading with me, and it’s really a treat!

      Funny thing. While I clearly remember the basics and all the regular characters, as I re-read the earliest books, I realized I’d totally forgotten the villain of each piece and a great deal of the plot, retaining mostly the bits about who Harry and his friends are. So, it wasn’t even remotely boring. I originally read each book the year it was released, so it’s been 14 years since Proven Guilty, even. Believe me, I can forget a LOT in 14 years! 😀

      Thanks for reading on! 🙂 ❤

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