Karrin Murphy
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Karrin Murphy is a human woman, and member of the Chicago Police Department at the Special Investigations division.
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Biography
Karrin Murphy is the oldest child of Marion and Collin Murphy. She has at least two brothers and one sister, Lisa.[1]
Karrin is a nominal Catholic, as is her family.
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. When Karrin was 11, he committed suicide.
When she was seventeen years old, she married Gregory Taggart, who Harry Dresden estimates to be about a decade older. Some time later Taggart left her. They tried to reconcile a few times, but it always ended in fighting.[2]
Karrin married Rich at some point, but divorced. He felt she was ignoring him for her job; she thought he wanted a stay-at-home wife. Rich eventually married her sister, Lisa.
Around the time of Summer Knight, her ex-husband Gregory Taggart died, 43 years old, at night, after a long fight against cancer. He had not told Murphy about his illness, and she was devastated when learning of his death by discovering his obituary in the Tribune newspaper. She regretted not having been able to say good-bye.[2]
She admitted to being attracted to Harry, but was unwilling to act on it. First, she doesn't want to ruin their friendship and working relationship. Second, she 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.[3]
Karrin began a sexual relationship with Jared Kincaid during Dead Beat, though as of Small Favor this was disrupted by her burgeoning romantic feelings towards him.
At the end of Proven Guilty, Karrin Murphy was demoted to the rank of Detective Sergeant, and was partnered with Henry Rawlins.[4]
By Ghost Story, she has a buzz cut and has become far more accustom to dealing with the supernatural, leading the Chicago Alliance, a gathering of the Alphas, the Paranet, and Molly, backed by Marcone and the White Court.
Since Harry died, she had become far more paranoid, granted it is justified.
Sight
In Harry's Sight, Karrin appears as angel with glowing gold hair and eyes of azure flame. She carries a shaft of flame as a weapon. When Harry first Sees her in Fool Moon, she wears flawless white robes. When he Sees her again in Blood Rites her robes have become smudged with filth, blood, and smoke.
"The door burst open. Murphy came through it, her eyes living flames of azure blue, her hair a golden coronet around her. She held a blazing sword in her hand and she shone so bright and beautiful and terrifying in her anger that it was hard to see. The Sight, I realized, dimly. I was seeing her for who she was."[5]
Work Life
Whenever something inexplicable happens that the Chicago PD must handle, they send it over to Special Investigations. Conveniently, this is also where they tend to transfer out-of-favor officers. Murphy, however, took the assignment so seriously that she hired a wizard on as a consultant, much to her coworkers' consternation.
She was a lieutenant, but was demoted after leaving the scene of the crime for 24 hours while she was on duty.
She has been offered Fidelacchius, but declined, as she has already sworn an oath to protect Chicago.
After Harry's death, she leads the Chicago Alliance against various supernatural threats.
References
- ↑ Blood Rites, ch. 28
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Summer Knight, ch. 07
- ↑ Proven Guilty, ch. 22
- ↑ Proven Guilty, ch. 47
- ↑ Grave Peril, ch. 13
See also
- Connie Murphy, her counterpart in the television series
