Posted on September 17, 2020 at 12:00 PM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

Author J.K. Rowling has responded to the debate over her new novel’s cross-dressing character by pointing to his real-life inspirations.

A male murder suspect in Troubled Blood, written as Robert Galbraith, is described as wearing women’s clothing to lure his victims into his van, reports the Guardian.

It does not, as a harsh review from the Telegraph claimed, call him a transvestite — though that review inspired a great deal of public backlash against Rowling, who was accused of transphobia earlier this summer.

Rowling wrote on her Galbraith website that her fictional murderer “was loosely based on real-life killers Jerry Brudos and Russell Williams – both master manipulators who took trophies from their victims.”

She added on the site that she has no intention of hanging up her pen, despite (or perhaps because of) the criticism she’s been facing.

You can read more about Brudos (yes, Mindhunter fans, *that* Brudos) and Williams in the Guardian.

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