Perhaps their strikingly different personalities create the association between detective Jane Rizzoli and clinical examiner Maura Isles effective. While the impeccably dressed Maura exhibits a temperament that is icy, the only cop at Boston's homicide branch, jane, is rough, relentless and lets her guard down -- she is, after all, more comfortable among the dead than the living. Together, the friends have forged a unique and inviting relationship. They drop the protective shield from the company of each other, and combine their own expertise.