The original 'whodunnit' (The Moonstone - Wilkie Collins)

Name: Sue Ellen

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Product:	The Moonstone - Wilkie Collins
Date:	01/07/00 (124 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Has that ‘can’t stop reading’ quality, brilliant and original plot, a true masterpiece

Disadvantages: You have to put your life on hold until you finish it

There are quite a few classics that I consider among my ‘favourites’, and this is definitely one that appears near the top of the list. It is a detective novel that is so gripping that I did nothing else but read it continuously and finished it in one day. I have never read a book that is comparable in its ability to intrigue you and compel you on to the end.

The plot: The moonstone was a yellow diamond that was set into the forehead of an Indian god, had been stolen from the Hindus by Muslim invaders, and then stolen again by the British. The legend was that anyone who had it in their possession would be cursed. On her 18th birthday Rachel is given the Moonstone by her uncle (a nasty man who knows it’s cursed and wants to bring ruin on his sister’s family). The very same night, after her birthday party, the Moonstone disappears, and the rest of the story concerns the mystery of who stole it.

The story is told as if each of the people involved has been asked to set down on paper the events they were directly involved in, as a means of recording the strange episode. It is very cleverly done and you really get the feel of each of the different characters, not only from inside their own minds but also through the eyes of the others. (Collins also used this method in ‘The Woman in White’).

The mystery is only unravelled at the end, and the originality and imagination of the author is absolutely outstanding. Wilkie Collins was, apparently, a good friend of Charles Dickens and they collaborated on several stories together, so if you like Dickens, you’ll love Collins. Personally, although I love his work, I sometimes find Dickens’s descriptive passages a little too heavy and long-winded for my liking. In contrast, The Moonstone just flows throughout and is a real pleasure to read.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough. Some people are put off by classics as they consider them boring
, but this book would appeal to anyone who likes a really good ‘whodunnit’, and believe me you’ll have trouble guessing who the culprit was.

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