Cox, Michael - The Meaning Of Night

As bygone Common Reader would have put it, a thumping good read.
Edward Glapthorn, the special investigator (fixer) at Tredgold law firm, exceeds his brief to commit a casual, random murder.
Just to see if he could do it. This is only a trial run, for the actual deed.
Who does Glapthron want to kill? And why? Therein lies the tale.
Victorian thriller, steeped in Gothic and fog, vast libraries and brothels, set during the Crimean War.
Revenge for a life stolen, vengeance against an all-knowing adversary.
How much is factual? How much is in Glapthron’s imagination?
At 600 pages, this is a long book.
If you dislike length, florid language, dense writing, footnotes, then read something else.
The first two-thirds of this fly past. Latter sections echoed Thomas Hardy for me.
Nevertheless, the story is compelling, and satisfying.