Actually she is Dr. Maura Isles, medical examiner in the successful Maura Isles and Jane Rizzoli series of books by Tess Gerritsen. Following on from the recent news that there is to be a new book in the series (September release in the US and January 2009 in the UK) I just had to use her as this week's heroine.
She is so different from Detective Rizzoli. Where Jane is feisty, hot tempered, impetuous, Maura is cool, calm and, to use a cliche, collected. However, the two are similar in the fact they are both extremely brave.
Maura started off a lot like the author, Tess. Not physically (I always picture Maura, rightly or wrongly, a bit like Catherine Zeta Jones) but in her perspective on the world. She values logic and reason like Tess and also, obviously as she is a doctor, went to medical school.
In The Mephisto Club, however, she made an unwise and uncalculated decision. So she isn't always so self controlled and reasonable, which stops her from being too goody goody and almost, dare I say it, robotic.
On Tess's blog she has said a fan thought Maura was a bit boring. I have to disagree. Despite The Mephisto Club I feel she is quietly getting on with being a heroine, not getting into hysterics or shouting, but self controlled, determined and refusing to let the baddies affect her day to day life. If the latter isn't a sign of a good heroine, then I don't know what is.
More Helen's Heroines
