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• Over 100 years old and still a fantastic read!The first "detective novel" which heralded a whole new genre in fiction, long before Sherlock, Poe or even Clouseau.........Defines the term "enduring classic."

  5.00 out of 5

  rfplwendy

• On her eighteenth birthday, Miss Rachel Verinder is surprised by a gift left to her by her late uncle Herncastle, a man mostly cut off from his relatives. The gift is an unusually large yellow diamond known as the Moonstone which she wears pinned to her dress throughout her birthday party. By the next morning, the Moonstone is gone. In a series of accounts written from different perspectives, those who were present on the night in question or those who had dealings with certain individuals of interest in the months after the theft, both the reader and all those involved are able to unravel the mystery.I loved this book. LOVED IT! Set in Victorian England and hailed as the first English language detective novel, there is a lot of good stuff here: tension between the servants and those they serve, major red herrings in the mystery, the exotic excitement of Indian curses, sanctimonious religious zealots, and a lot of humor. I'm becoming a big fan of Wilkie Collins.Because the novel is written in this specific epistolary style, each narrator has a very distinct voice and take on events and other characters. I found it really enjoyable to see how certain narrators portrayed themselves versus how other narrators saw them. For example, when Betteredge narrated he seemed so composed and respectable as the head steward of the Verinder servants, but when Mr. Blake or Mr. Jennings narrated, he was a little more quirky. The reader got to see Betteredge's feelings about the power of Robinson Crusoe, and then also see Mr. Blake and Mr. Jennings humoring this obsession. And by obsession, I mean he would read it the way some people read the bible. He would open it randomly and use the passage he first came to as advice or an omen.Another character who I found greatly changed between narrators was Mr. Bruff, the lawyer. Seen as so stuffy and judgmental as Miss Clack was writing her account, I was surprised to then find him so intelligent and thoughtful and kind throughout his narration and Mr. Blake's subsequent narration. Of course, by the end of her narration I was ready to take everything Miss Clack said with a grain of salt. She was just so ridiculously sanctimonious! I wanted to scream every time she tried to give someone else a religious tract (with titles such as Satan Under the Tea Table). I think she was the only character I couldn't wait to get rid of. Maybe Godfrey, too, but at least he was never a narrator.I like a mystery where things get a bit convoluted before the big reveal. There's a big drug experiment close to the end of the novel where they tried to reenact the birthday party, and I kept having to refer to the first half of the novel to remember the little details that tuned out to be major clues. I like when every detail turns out to be important.Unfortunately, there is one problem with this novel. Much like The Woman in White, another of Collins' most famous works, The Moonstone hasn't quite aged well. In the 142 years since its publication, we've come understand a little more about drugs and their effects. And while I have no personal knowledge of opium, having never chased the dragon myself, I'm pretty sure you can't manipulate circumstances into giving a person the exact same trip twice. So if you're not someone willing or able to suspend some disbelief, you might have a problem towards the end of the novel. It didn't bother me too much, but it could totally ruin the whole book for other readers.Other than that one issue, I was enthralled the whole way through. It wasn't creepy or suspenseful the same way The Woman in White was, but it kept me thinking and guessing the whole way through.

  5.00 out of 5

  lunchbox

• The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins was quite possibly one of my first exposures to the world of mystery novels. I can't remember if I read Sherlock Holmes series first of this, but, I distinctly remember being absolutely blown away by The Moonstone upon my first read. And let me tell you - I've read it several times since, and it never fails to amaze me, still! The beauty of the Moonstone lies not only in its ingenious plot, but in its characterization. The author has mapped out the characters so well in this book that you feel akin to them, you feel as if you've known them all your life. Their temperaments, their actions make sense and they are not just used simply to move the plot forward, but to create the illusion that the reader is literally part of the character's world. There are a lot of characters, and it may seem that some characters are in the novel merely to add to its shroud of mystery, however, as the story unfolds you will see that every character in this novel was warranted and needed for the plot to be as interesting as it is. You, as the reader, will make various guesses as to who you think is the "culprit", however, do not be surprised if you find yourself guessing wrong, only to guess again and be proved wrong yet again. The Moonstone is a novel that keeps you guessing till the very end - but leads to an extremely satisfying and sublime ending, tying romance, mystery and drama all together in a nice, neat and pleasant package.

  5.00 out of 5

  Enamoredsoul

• What an excellent book. It held me to the last with its different perspectives and the linking character of the inimitable Sergeant Cusk. The only thing I'm wondering is why it's taken my so many decades to come to it.

  5.00 out of 5

  hazelk

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