So, this is my first-ever post here (I've lurked for a while but finally made an account!) and honestly I'm really glad that I found this thread.  I haven't finished PT/BG yet for various reasons, but I was getting a really bad feeling about Murphy from the first few chapters of PT, so I skimmed ahead and ended up spending all last weekend grieving for a character I really, really loved. 

Murphy has been my favorite character since I started the series.  I'm also a five-foot-nothing woman, and a lot of Murphy's childhood backstory mirrors several of my own experiences growing up (nothing exact, but close enough).  I started reading these books in my late teens, and I felt like it was one of the first times I'd seen my own anger and struggles with trust reflected in a character I could both admire and relate to so closely.  Murphy was someone who had gone through really emotionally difficult times at a young age, but was still a badass.  From the first few chapters of PT, it looked like she and Harry had found a happiness that I think they both deserve.  I so strongly related to her on an emotional and personal level that her death really feels like a hit from a bomb.

I know there are a lot of people who don't like Murphy, but I'm just glad to see I'm not alone in relating to a character that has been one of the biggest reasons this series has been my favorite for over a decade.