Aaand I've finished.
Yesterday I was off so had time to read, and I tend to read the last part of a book (sometimes much) faster than the first part. Still it took me until the wee hours but once I was close enough I was determined, lol.
The ending I thought was a bit less enthralling and a bit more perfunctory than the rest of the book, but still I loved the book and perhaps I only think that about the ending because the book makes possible so many alternatives but before the end it had already all but spelled out what was going on with the Laura, the Count, etc. and there were no fresh end-game surprises. The Count's narrative offered basically nothing new and only served to officialise what was already known. The only 'new' revelation near the end was the political secret society, but it was almost beside the point as it didn't really have much of anything to do with the story we were invested in and only served to give a reason for the Count to confess and to later be killed and thus not 'get away with it all'.
The story was amazingly labyrinthine and Collins did a very good job of revealing most things and having it all make sense, however there were some loose ends that surprised me since so much care was taken with having most of the dangling plot threads be well explained.
First, Laura was sure that she had gone to see Mrs. Vessey in London during the time the Count was about to have her admitted to the asylum, which contradicts Mrs. Vessey being sure she didn't. It turns out she didn't, but the discrepancy was never mentioned again. I suppose it could be explained as a delusion while she was drugged, but it was presented as if there were some kernel of truth and clue in her being so sure she'd visited Mrs. Vessey.
Second, it was never explained why, oh why, did the late Mr. Fairlie, Laura's father, think so much of Sir Percival as to basically promise his daughter to him? This is a major point, as the late Mr. Fairlie wanting Laura to marry Sir Percival is the impetus for absolutely everything, and I was waiting with bated breath to find out what in the past made Mr. Fairlie do that.
There may be a few others I remember in course.