The Dark Clue - Mystery Novel for Thriller Lovers

I don't like gimmicks in general and I find them a bit of a fraud when used to mislead a potential reader about a book. Wilkie Collins is generally considered the inventor of the mystery novel and whether you agree with that or not, he was one of the exceptional writers of Victorian England. "The Moonstone", and, "The Woman In White", are just two examples of his work that remain in print in the 21st century. Author James Wilson borrows 2 characters from one of Mr. Collins's novels, and, by insinuation at the very least suggests there is more than that of Mr. Collins to be expected. Borrowing these characters was meaningless to the telling of this story, a bit of vacuous name dropping is all that it amounts to.The tale is the writing of a biography, a book within a book. The subject is the 19th century painter J.M.W. Turner, and the author has used all 7 major biographies of the man to write his novel. I have read none of them, but I cannot imagine any of them being less enjoyable than this book, and I bet they even have pictures! My complaints in general are that the book is too long, the story presumes the reader to be obtuse, the ending is completely unsatisfying, and this book must be amongst the entries for the most obsessive use of commas. The first two sentences have 4 commas, 2 hyphens, and a parenthetical. The cadence of this book is an uncertain staccato.I have read Mr. Wilson's other book which was non-fiction and extremely well written. I don't know if he has the ability to eventually write a great or even a good novel, but he will never get there by trying to imitate the work of another. He makes his attempt exponentially more difficult by trying to mimic the writing of an author who has endured for centuries, and he even borrows a character from the man he seeks to emulate.As the main character in this book sinks in to depravity, the story becomes confused, unsure of what it wants to be, and who is in charge. Many authors say they create their characters and then let them lead. Allowing them to lead, and allowing them to run amok are very different.