The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 5 plus 5 letter word EDWIN DROOD
I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
E
D
W
I
N
D
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O
O
D
More clues leading to the result EDWIN DROOD
- Dickensian orphan Twist in desperate reversal, having no one
- Editor, cross, receives blow — novel incomplete
- Book senior hack and trendy medic into golf club
- Novel making editor turn cross
- Book opening backed after journalist takes hint
- Man of mystery drowned, I do suspect
- See writer’s boss storm, cross as novel not finished
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Novel" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case novel = edwin drood.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.