Totally agree Snowwhite, like Chrise I’m not a fan of Paul . My top compiler is Maskarade who in my opinion comes close to the master.
COD 17d
Not sure about parsing of 28a.
28a - Single letter "South" + 2 letter "American" + 4 letter "girl" (my pet hate is setter's using names as part of wordplay - seriously, don't get me started
🤬) - definition is "operatic bride" (a bride in a specific opera)