The Moonstone

Written by Wilkie Collins, The Moonstone is considered the first English detective novel and remains to this day a most intriguing and thrilling read. Between its multiple narratives from different characters, and the thrilling mystery itself of theft, assault, and murder, this book is pretty damned fantastic: intricate and compelling. 

Young and beautiful heiress, Rachel Verinder, inherits a fabulous yellow diamond from her uncle for her birthday. However, that same night someone steals it. Three suspicious Indian men who have been loitering about the Yorkshire country house are immediately suspected however, when Detective Sergeant Cuff enters the case, it becomes possible that one of Rachel’s own friends or family may have committed the crime. Who is the thief? And where is the Moonstone? 

Everything you could want in a classic detective story is here. We’ve got the mysterious disappearance of a valuable gem, three obviously suspicious characters, which may or may not be red herrings, an abundance of dead ends and plot misdirection, as well as a lot of juicy drama that attacks the relationships between the central characters. But perhaps what is most beautiful about this book is the fact that everything in it is so intricate. 

The story is told through a number of narratives written in the first person perspective of a handful of different characters. Collins’ choosing to write the novel in this way is doubly pleasing because it leaves us readers with such delightful questions as whose accounts can we trust? Not only that, but Collins’ detailed language, grammar, and syntax, proves to be a gorgeous representation of consciousness and it makes these characters so likeable or unlikeable. It’s really very amazing. 

The fast-paced dialogue provides us with the various information dumps we need without slowing down the pace of the story and without giving too much away in a prophetic sense. We also get these entire histories of the characters as well as the Moonstone itself and it’s this that makes this book so intricate and rich by making its characters so wonderfully three-dimensional. 

Ultimately, this is a book about a mystery that needs to be solved and it provides the expected and desired thrills of the genre, compete with red herrings, mysteries within mysteries, suspicious characters and actions, answers hiding in plain sight, the detection quest narrative, a few shocks, and even some never-considered theories as to who took the Moonstone and where it may be. It keeps you guessing and second-guessing right to the very end. 

Filled with action, drama, romance, mystery, violence, comedy, and murder, The Moonstone is a brilliant novel that I just did not want to put down!