Essentially, yes. Rowling doesn’t mention trans people anywhere in the book. People who’ve read it and are mad seem to believe that a character who’s a misogynistic sociopath with weird fetishes is a stand in for trans people. Frankly, that says more about TRAs than it does Rowling.

The series is actually really good! The first two are kind of classic whodunnits, but the third takes a much darker and psychological turn. You can definitely read them on their own, but there’s a lot of character development if you go through in order.