139. The Moonstone

The Moonstone
Wilkie Collins
1868
Around 450 pages

In my eagerness to review The Idiot (speaking of idiots), I accidentally skipped both Little Women and The Moonstone.  So now the ordering is a bit screwed up and the most recent review, Maldoror, will be a bit hidden.  But nobody cares about that novel anyway, so we should be good to go.

Rachel Verinder inherits a diamond, called the Moonstone, from her corrupt uncle who stole it from India.  Because, you know, white people.  Rachel wears it on her dress for a party and it is stolen that night.  Suspicion falls on the Indian jugglers hired that night (again, white people).  Her cousin, Franklin Blake, attempts to solve the case while dodging suspicion himself.

I find these early examples of detective literature a lot more enjoyable than the mystery novels that are pumped out now with alarming frequency.  I loved all the twists and I had fun trying to guess the ending.  The mystery genre will never be my favorite, but this is still a fun novel.

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

Considered the first detective novel.

Introduced the "gentleman detective" archetype.

UP NEXT: Little Women by Louisa May Alcott.