Rating: 
Summary: Entertaining but not engrossing
Review: This Victorian Era detective novel is a fun read and it definitely encapsulates the attitudes and social customs of that time. I can't say I was enthralled or felt compelled by the text to keep turning the pages to discover the identity of the thief and solve the mystery. I've read most of the Sherlock Holmes stories and this is a nice companion to them.
Rating: 
Summary: Edge of your seat suspense
Review: This was one of the best books I have ever read. Collins is a master of creating, building, and holding suspense. Where most detective novels end abruptly, with a short synopsis of what happened by the detective, The Moonstone unravels slowly and intriguingly as question upon question arises in the mind of the reader. A must-read.
Rating: 
Summary: If you like detective fiction, then you ought to read this.
Review: Three Indian Brahmins are mysteriously associated with the theft of a priceless diamond - 'The Moonstone'. The book chronicles the gem's theft and subsequent pursuit in a series of narratives written by those people who have been directly involved in the sequence of events, thereby providing the reader with multiple perspectives on the same and intersecting events.The narrative device is certainly novel, and at times works to good effect; however, if you are more interested in deeper character development, you might consider looking elsewhere. Although, the confiding and charismatic Gabriel Betteredge may make amends for this general shortcoming. Also of note are the hilarious, tract throwing antics of do-gooder, Miss Clack. The book is most effective in drawing the analogy of a literary, and literal, pilgrimage (of the religious East; and the secular West) in a kind of celebration to the eponymous jewel.
Rating:
Summary: A literary classic that's fun to read!
Review: What a great book! Not only is Wilkie Collins' masterpiece superbly written, it's also wonderfully fun to read. The characters are well developed; I felt like I really new them by the end of the book and could clearly picture them in my mind. Best of all, the mystery keeps you guessing throughout the story. In short, a very well written (and whitty) story that makes for extremely enjoyable reading.
Rating:
Summary: No CATEGORIZATION for this unique novel.
Review: Whatever I say would not be enough to make you understand how I loose myself when reading this detective story.Actually this was my first try at a book written in that manner. But more or less I know Holmes' way of presenting crime and mysterious events. Moonstone goes far beyond the limit of these cliche detective scope and reaches to your hearts with its seven different characters;all narrating their own side of the story centering on an oriental myth of a sacred gem. There is the historical background, the emotional diologues, and finally the inevitable conciseness in language while dictating the action, just like in all detective stories. Wilkie Collins' touch can be seized when you go deep into characters such as Ezra Jennings. There is lot of things to be explored and make fun of! Don't be afraid of the length and page number:). When you follow the moonstone in its journey to home, you WILL DISCOVER OTHER THINGS SUCH AS LOVE, HUMAN SUFFERING other than the war given for the priceless Indian DiamOnd.
Best Wishes On Your Journey Whoever You Are Wherever You ARE!
Rating:
Summary: A Classical Introduction to the Field
Review: Wilkie Collins is best remembered for two books: "The Moonstone" and "The Woman in White". Both of them are great achievements in the mystery field. The narration style is unique and the plot is well developed around the tale of the diamond. Keeps you right on the edge until the very end. It is strongly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Where the genre began
Review: Wilkie Collins is considered by many to be the "Inventor" of the modern mystery. I state this not as an absolute, rather as a commonly held literary opinion. Other reviewers often refer to Mr. Collins in a review of a Charles Palliser Novel, or many others who are at the top of the Mystery Genre today. Mr. Collins was also a contemporary, literary collaborator, and business partner of another rather well known writer, Charles Dickens. This book later would influence the novel that Charles Dickens was never to complete "The Mystery Of Edwin Drood" due to his death in the midst of writing what was his final novel. There was a common denominator in these novels and it related to a drug, Laudanum. Mr. Collins was a user of the substance however I have never read of Mr. Dickens also having used the drug. When preparing for the book he was never to finish, Collins took Dickens to the opium dens of London, whether or not Dickens participated is a mystery along with the ending of his final work. Laudanum is a key factor in the mystery of the "Moonstone" that the book revolves around. Collins wanted to write a story that would be directly impacted by the use of the drug on a person or persons, with or without their knowledge, and how their behavior would be affected during a dramatic event while under the influence. Mr. Collins as mentioned was a consumer of this drug, when he set out to write the book he stated, "he would write the story as it would have happened, not how it may have happened". He was referring to his own experiences with the opiate, which takes an already complicated plot and adds the altered behavior Laudanum can have. The book is as complex as Palliser's "Quincunx", but I find it easier to follow "Moonstone". To the extent you feel a familiarity with the Author it may be because so much of what is written today is derivative. The "Diamond" that plays center stage in this work during the England of Queen Victoria was astonishingly "new" when published. I believe were it published again today under a new title and Author, it would be found again on the Bestseller Lists, as it was over a century ago, Mr. Collins writes with an elegant hand, which immerses the reader and binds him or her to the characters and the roles they play. The book is not brief as this was a time when Authors wrote as much as was needed, not what was allowed or could potentially be shown at the local multiplex. From the moment the diamond is found, and the story unfolds, clearly for some, less clearly for those who may have been influenced by something other than the dinner wine, the book will delight any reader of Mysteries. If Mr. Collins was not the absolute first to write a modern mystery, he certainly has yet to be surpassed by any other's pen.
Rating: 
Summary: Dickens Was Right
Review: Wilkie Collins' close friend, Charles Dickens, was right when he wrote to W. H. Wills "I quite agree with you about "The Moonstone." The construction is wearisome beyond endurance, and there is a vein of obstinate conceit in it that make enemies of its readers." Wilkie's work is a failure both as a novel and as a mystery.
Rating:
Summary: Best Detective-Story Ever
Review: Willkie Collins "The Moonstone" is considered to be one of the first detective novels ever published. It's also, in my opinion, one of the best, having read more than a share of them. The multiple narrations are mesmerizing. A real page-turner.
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