[alansplace]

Image by Matt Crowson, via mypoppedart.com

Stacey Whittle: Okay, first off I don't think my choice is a proper "sidekick" but it's a great excuse to talk about one of my favourite female characters in genre fiction and I think I can get away with it so forgive me. Karrin Murphy from Jim Butcher's brilliant Dresden Files series is wonderful. She is a martial artist, a competitive markswomen and at the beginning of the series a Lieutenant in the Chicago Police Department. She is one of the most well-rounded female characters I have read in a long time.

Murph is strong, funny, loyal and smart, but she isn't a hard-arse. She does the things that need to be done – even when terrified – and she isn't afraid to show her emotions. I love Karrin Murphy and though there is a "will they won't they" vibe sometimes throughout the book, it doesn't dominate her and Harry's relationship and they make a fantastic double act.

If you haven't jumped aboard the Dresden Express yet, can I also take this opportunity to push you to do so. I love this series, it has made me laugh out loud in public, be terrified to the point of having to have the book right up to my nose (does anyone else do that?) and sob my heart out. It's clever and funny and complex much like Murph herself.