Troubled Blood, the latest book in the Cormorant Strike series by JK Rowling, has caused a huge backlash on social media for the revelation it features a male serial killer who wears dresses and kills women.

Written under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith, the new JK Rowling book received an early review in The Telegraph which describes how an important plot point is built around a 1970’s cold case. Reviewer Jake Kerridge says, “The meat of the book is the investigation into a cold case: the disappearance of GP Margot Bamborough in 1974, thought to have been a victim of Dennis Creed, a transvestite serial killer.”

Kerridge continues, “One wonders what critics of Rowling’s stance on trans issues will make of a book whose moral seems to be: never trust a man in a dress.”

Considering the uproar over previous comments by Rowling, many feel that this plot strand is a very pointed statement. The author has made numerous comments which have led to her been labelled a terf, with anti trans campaigners using Rowling as a figurehead. For many in the LGBT+ community who found solace in the Harry Potter book series, Rowling’s comments have been particularly upsetting.

Trans rights activist and Vogue columnist Paris Lee shared on Twitter, “I don’t expect people who aren’t trans to ever truly understand, but all I can tell you is that it’s beyond depressing to live day in day out under the threat and memory of violence towards you while simultaneously being told that you are in fact the threat.”

Another social media post by Charlotte Clymer reminded, “LGBTQ organizations have offered numerous times to meet with JK Rowling in a private setting to respectfully discuss trans identities and the overwhelming medical and scientific consensus behind them, and she’s refused each time. Remember that.”

In more positive news, Forbes reported that 132 major UK companies signed an open pledge to say trans rights are human rights, and highlighted their support of the trans community. Google, Disney, Sky, Microsoft and even the British Army signed the open letter. A further 70 wrote directly to Boris Johnson demanding the British Government honour its commitment to protect the rights of the trans community.