The character personalities were a bit bland but I pushed through. The hype and anger over people screeching about the killer being trans: He's just a psycho that likes to cross dress. A dude with mental issues that moonlights as a murderer. Think buffalo bob. The focus wasn't on him wearing a dress but his crimes. It's just hype.

The plot itself while dragging at many points still was interesting enough to keep me reading. The devices and twists were worth the time, tho at almost 1000 pages it really felt like a LOT of filler. Easily could have out about 1/3 of the book and still not miss it. Read worthy for the plot devices.