Rating: 
Summary: What a Gem!
Review: Just finished The Moonstone not five minuets ago. I am still reeling from the effect of its greatness! Really, how can anybody consider this novel tedious is beyond me, this is riveting stuff! What raises this novel above the level of all the other detective novels I have read, is the characterization. Wilkie Collins created a fascinating class of characters here. Usually in a detective novel the most interesting character is The Great Detective himself, in this role Mr. Collins gave us Sergeant Cuff, who reminds me a little of Inspector Poirot, but the novel does not revolve around him, it revolves around the Moonstone, and the events as seen from the point of view of several characters. Gabriel Betteredge, the sweet, quixotic house-steward being a particular favorite. The plot is complex and mystifying, the pacing is just right, the language is elegant and not at all difficult to read. If you have never read a classic before and would like to be able to boast of at least one title I'd say this is the one. You will have a ripping good time reading it too!
Rating: 
Summary: A master of plot construction
Review: Like his earlier novel "The Woman in White," Wilkie Collins's "The Moonstone" is a prototype of the modern mystery: A crime occurs, it is investigated, witnesses are interrogated and give their points of view, there is a reenactment, and it all comes together in a tightly knit conclusion. Collins's mastery of his material is so evident that it's difficult to argue with T.S. Eliot's opinion that this is the greatest of English detective novels. The mystery concerns a sacred diamond called the Moonstone which had been stolen from a Hindu temple in India centuries prior to the novel's events and made its way from owner to owner until it finally came into the possession of a British military officer who bequeaths it to his niece, Rachel Verinder... The diamond is delivered to Rachel on her eighteenth birthday by her cousin and suitor, Franklin Blake, at a party attended by several of Rachel's family members; but the next morning, it is discovered missing from her boudoir. Theft is suspected, and the suspects are numerous: Besides a number of servants, including Rosanna Spearman, an abject, deformed housemaid who is enamored with Blake, Blake and Rachel herself can't be ruled out, nor can their cousin (and Blake's romantic rival) Godfrey Ablewhite, a comely young man whose charitable works belie his lecherous lifestyle. Also present in the novel as a constant reminder that the Moonstone's ties to India are not so easily severed, are three Brahmin priests who are slyly tracking the diamond's passage throughout England using disguises and subterfuge, waiting for the right moment to retrieve it and restore it to its holy place. As in "The Woman in White," Collins uses multiple narratives to relate the events and effectively introduce a bevy of colorful characters and some surprisingly wry humor. We hear from Gabriel Betteredge, head servant of the Verinder household, whose personal bible is "Robinson Crusoe"; the sanctimonious Miss Clack, who dispenses religious tracts like a cow gives milk; Sergeant Cuff, the reputable, meticulous police detective with a green thumb that might have been a model for future sleuths with personality quirks; and Ezra Jennings, an assistant physician with a topical and curiously valid theory about the possible role of opium in the crime. Comparing this novel with "The Woman in White," I feel that "The Moonstone" has a more satisfying ending, but its predecessor has a more interesting setup and premise. Although Collins's plots are undeniably clever and tricky (I now dub him the King of Red Herrings), these two novels are pervaded with a certain gentility that deprives them of the level of menace one finds in the grittier American noir detective fiction that I prefer. This is more of an observation than a criticism, however. A mystery writer who could successfully combine Collins's prose with Raymond Chandler's style would elevate the genre to its artistic pinnacle.
Rating: 
Summary: Nice, but not great.
Review: Much can be said for Wilkie Collins's "The Moonstone". The setting is drawn with a fine hand, and the characters are endearing from the outset. It also begins with a compelling setup which holds the reader's interest and curiousity. The combination of British conventionality in the 1800's--so delightful to read about now that it is safely far away--and the looming spectre of an Asian curse are irrestistible ingredients which seem to bode well for the coming tale. Much of the writing is satiric, sometimes falling away into almost slapstick humor, which detracts from any deadly seriousness. Examples of this range from the outspoken sententiousness of Miss Clack to the "Robinson Crusoe"-thumping tendencies of Betteredge. These elements add color and life to what would otherwise be a ponderous text. Unfortunately, "ponderous" sums up "The Moonstone" pretty well. There really is no reason for it to be so long, and most of this length is filled with conversations and descriptions which are simply extraneous and even dull. This becomes painfully clear by the end, when it turns out that the solution to the mystery of the stolen Moonstone is absurdly simple. It is a disappointingly deus ex machina conclusion which rendered all the buildup unnecessary. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle has had similar endings to his stories in the past, but those stories were less than a tenth of the length of this novel. As a short story, "The Moonstone" would probably have fared much better. It is also unfortunate that the most important characters in the story, namely Rachel Verinder and Franklin Blake, are some of the least developed in comparison to others. Rachel is likable, and as an 18th century female character, as strong as any feminist could wish, but she remains at a distance from the reader and it is hard to care about her. Franklin Blake is also likable, but mostly flat. Ironically it is Godfrey Ablewhite, who appears simplistic in the beginning, who displays more dimensions of personality. As far as execution is concerned, "The Woman in White" is far superior to this novel, and highly recommended to anyone interested in a suspenseful Gothic-style thriller. "The Moonstone" makes for a pleasant read, but with so many good books out there, should be reserved for a rainy day.
Rating:
Summary: Wondeful!
Review: My all time favorite book. Read it for the first time when i was nine and enjoy it still. For mystery fan, this is a must! Don't miss it!
Rating:
Summary: Careful With that Opium
Review: Still speaking to us across the ages is Collins' archtypal detective story, the lengthly tale of a stolen diamond consisting of no less than eight major narratives. While Collins' meticulously plotted mystery is most famous for its complex construction and detailed detective work, its "solution" has aged so appallingly that it is really the narrative voices that most appeal to the modern reader. It's problematic then, that the most interesting narrators, butler extraordinaire Gabriel Betteredge and wonderously mortifying spinster Miss Clack speak first, while the endless wrap-up is given over to tediously forthright hero Franklin Blake. Things perk up at the end as poignant Ezra Jennings briefly takes over, but Blake quickly dispatches him and continues with his own colorless narration. Considering its advanced age, the first half of this book works surprisingly well, but the latter sections sag badly. For those interested in the period or genre, The Moonstone is a fascinating relic, but not quite a fully functioning mystery.
Rating:
Summary: the magnum opus of suspense and intrigue
Review: T.S. Eliot was not exaggerating when he dubbed Collins' masterpiece "the first, the longest, and the best of modern English detective novels". The Moonstone, first published in 1868, is the magnum opus of suspense and intrigue that will surely please the avid mystery and/or classics buff. The adventure begins when the priceless yellow diamond from India, known as the 'Moonstone', is brought to English as spoils of war and is bestowed upon the spirited Rachel Verrinder on her 18th birthday. Chaos soon commences. The valuable jewel is stolen that very night and the entire household falls under suspicion - including a hunchbacked maid, an assemblage of enigmatic Indian jugglers, and Miss Verrinder's cousin Mr. Franklin Blake. Suspicion of thievery does not even escape Miss Verrinder herself. The famed Sergeant Cuff is summoned to the house to try and make sense of the baffling mystery of the diamond's disappearance and the strange events that ensue. The Moonstone is comprised of three novelettes and a handful of sub-sections, each narrated by three individuals (and a handful of other characters writing shorter supporting memoirs), with their own whimsical writing styles and detailed anecdotes about their adventures surrounding the jewel's disappearance and the aftermath. Their varying perspectives on incidents throw interesting light on the events unraveling around the reader. Introducing the novel is the household's elderly and garrulous manservant, Mr. Gabriel Betteredge, with his witty maxims and proverbial quotes from his personal bible, "Robinson Crusoe". The pious and almost-fanatical Miss Clack's cold recital of events, is followed soon after by Mr. Franklin Blake's narrative of events, and the mystery's final and most ingenious outcome. It will not disappoint. I leave you with a bit of insight bestowed upon us by the lovable and amusing Mr. Betteredge: "When my spirits are bad -- Robinson Crusoe. When I want advice -- Robinson Crusoe. In past times when my wife plagued me; in present times when I have had a drop too much -- Robinson Crusoe. I have worn out six stout Robinson Crusoes with hard work in my service. On my lady's last birthday she gave me a seventh. I took a drop too much on the strength of it; and Robinson Crusoe put me right again. Price four shillings and sixpence, bound in blue, with a picture into the bargain. Still, this don't look much like starting the story of the Diamond -- does it? I seem to be wandering off in search of Lord knows what, Lord knows where. We will take a new sheet of paper, if you please, and begin over again, with my best respects to you."
Rating:
Summary: An excellent read!
Review: The book is well written and the plot is very interesting. The author has a fine sense of humor. This book is one of the best mystery novels that I've read.
Rating:
Summary: Don't read this book if illogical characters annoy you
Review: The fact that this book has a "classic" label is the real mystery here. I can't think of another "classic" that has such basic and major flaws. I am mystified that, as noted above in the professional reviews, T.S. Eliot thought so much of it. Honestly, the characters in the Moonstone are really ridiculous. I don't mean that they're badly drawn or personally obnoxious. But the reasoning behind their actions is frequently, in fact at many key points, illogical. It's hard to give examples that don't also give away the plot, but, for instance: the Moonstone is stolen. Everyone almost immediately fears that it was taken by the heroine, who ACTUALLY OWNS the diamond and was, in fact, just given it as a present. Why would she steal her own diamond? We follow the merrily skipping Mr. Wilkie down several more garden chapters before he finally suggests that maybe the heroine stole her own diamond in order to pay off debts, from, like, gambling or something! Even if it had been suggested that the heroine could have incurred any such debts -- which is entirely nonsensical, because she's watched like a hawk by her highly morally exemplary mom and about 50 devoted old servants, and she's an heiress -- even if she could have owed large sums of money, then WHY in the world wouldn't she have just pretended to LOSE the diamond while boating, or have a copy made and replace the original with the copy, or any other of a dozen much more plausible possibilities? Later on, a suicide note (or, technically, a letter that was only to be opened in the event of suicide) goes on for, I believe, 20 close-written pages, carefully explaining all the gaps in the plot up to that time. The letter is so long that the hero stops in the middle of it (delaying the resolution of the mystery) to REST HIS EYES! And (surprisingly!), the note is written in the same voice and style as all the other characters' accounts are written, chatty and surprisingly cheerful for a suicide note, except towards the end, when it suddenly turns mawkish. Characters change their minds constantly, in ways that just happen to further the plot. Mysterious suggestions are made about characters' backgrounds that are then dropped and never come into play at all. That and many other such psychologically inconsistent occurences and attitudes make the story a waste of time for any reader who pays attention to anything deeper than the superficial plot line. The other customer reviewer below, who quoted Dickens's opinion of the book, it right on. Still, I give it 3 stars because, if you can suspend your disbelief in the regard I've described (and I know many readers are not fussy about such things, and probably would think I was nit-picking), the book could be a lot of fun. Cursed jewels, family vengeance, proposals of marriage, dark murderous foreigners, quicksand, lots of traveling between London and the country, and England and the continent - it's certainly entertaining on that score. And they say the book is important in terms of literary history. I just wish Wilkie would have been a little more hard on himself during the plot formulation phase, and in the rewrite.
Rating:
Summary: a well-written but slow moving crime novel
Review: The Moonstone and The Woman in White are considered to be the best works of Wilkie Collins. Maybe so, but the novels differ tremendously. The Woman in White is a page-turning thriller of frantic proportions ... to the extent it almost feels like a slapstick comedy. The Moonstone is a straightforward crime story, complete with well-developed characters and interesting dialogue, culminating in solving the mystery: who stole the Moonstone (..a collosal diamond)?. The story is never dull, but compared to The Woman in White it is hopelessly conventional. So I recommend The Woman in White over The Moonstone for most people. However if you prefer a more leisurely, conventional (ie, less complicated) read then The Moonstone might be more enjoyable for you. You really can't go wrong either way.
Rating:
Summary: Cleverly Contrived
Review: The Moonstone is a cleverly contrived tale of a stolen Indian dimond which becomes the dangerous inheritance of Rachel Vendier. When the incredible dimond is stolen, for the second time, the seemimly simple case becomes a masterpiece of mystery and suspense. The novel entangles us in every page. We become lost in the emotions of the 19th century characters. When the mystery begins to unfold, we delieghtedly press on, only to find that Collins has outwitted us again. Collins has an amazing talent for assuming a variety of narrative voices, which keep the reader envolved with the individual characters. Each new clue elicits thousands of questions, arousing in the reader, a desire to read on and on. The Moonstone is the most outstanding cassic detective mystery novel ever written.
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