The Unburied by Charles Palliser
The Unburied by Charles Palliser, first published in 1999 by Phoenix House (Orion Publishing Group) Although The Unburied is shorter and does not have the same edge as The Quincunx, it is well worth reading if you enjoy traditional Gothic with mystery and complexity. There are three stories running though the book, all set in Thurchester, a cathedral town. The main story is set around Christmas, 1881. Dr Edward Courtine, a university academic, arrives in the town at the request of an old friend, a teacher in Thurchester, whom he hasn't seen for over twenty years. He is naturally suspicious of an invitation after so long, but he has his own reason for travelling to Thurchester. Christmas is usually a time of good cheer, but almost immediately Courtine hears of a murder in the cathedral in the seventeenth century, so far unexplained...