It is tone-deaf of Rowling to write a killer who disguises himself in women’s clothing, but we should be wary when one review in the Telegraph is reproduced without question

Warning: spoilers for Troubled Blood

Before it had even come out, criticism of JK Rowling’s new Robert Galbraith thriller, Troubled Blood, was already wall-to-wall, after an early review in the Telegraph claimed that its “moral seems to be: never trust a man in a dress”.

But is that the moral of the book? I’ve read it, the latest outing for Rowling’s private detective Cormoran Strike and his partner Robin Ellacott. In Troubled Blood, they have been tasked with investigating the disappearance of GP Margot Bamborough more than 40 years earlier. As the pair look into the disappearance – and this is a spoiler – one of the avenues they investigate is the possibility Margot was murdered by Dennis Creed, a now-imprisoned and notorious serial killer who once tricked some of his female victims into his van by wearing a wig and a woman’s coat to appear unthreatening. This has now been cited across the internet as further proof of Rowling’s transphobia, after her earlier essay, tweets and decision to return a human rights award after the organisation behind it denounced her views. Amazon has now suspended reviews of the book due to “unusual reviewing activity”, while the hashtag #RIPJKRowling trends on Twitter.

Continue reading…

You May Also Like

Annual UK energy bills would have hit £4,279 without emergency support, Ofgem says

Regulator raises cap for start of 2023 by £730 but government limits…

‘Hypocrites and greenwash’: Greta Thunberg blasts leaders over climate crisis

Exclusive: Leaders are happy to set targets for decades ahead, but flinch…