Reading progress update: I've read 17%.
How could I possibly resist @Tigus' recommendation that this book might "appeal to fans of...wait for it...Farjeon, or even Below the Clock"?
I just had to have a look.
So far, this is more on the noir side and doesn't have the nuanced conversations, characters, and situations of Farjeon or J.V. Turner (Below the Clock), but I am intrigued nonetheless.