Recommendations from our site
“The Moonstone is interesting because it is a classic country house mystery, where this cast of upper-class, slightly wacky, slightly exaggerated characters are all gathered for an 18th birthday. There’s this mysterious, possibly cursed, diamond at the centre—the ‘moonstone’ itself. And not only is it one of the earliest examples of the genre of a single individual trying to work out who committed a crime by tracking down clues and interviewing people, it is also one of the very first to subvert the genre.” Read more...
The Best Country House Mystery Books
Gareth Rubin, Journalist
“Like The Woman in White, it’s one of the more famous novels by Collins. It’s another with several characters, lots of perspectives, a great mystery at the middle of it. It’s the first novel that makes detection its whole business; it introduces Sergeant Cuff, a memorable literary detective…how do you keep your readers on the edge of their seats?” Read more...
The Best Books by Wilkie Collins
Jason Hall, Literary Scholar
Viewed by TS Eliot as the inventor of the modern English detective novel, Wilkie Collins’s books remain some of the best mysteries ever written. Opinions vary whether The Moonstone or The Woman in White is better, one thing is for sure: if you like one, you’ll want to read the other. The audiobook of The Moonstone is really nicely performed by the English character actor Peter Jeffrey (1929-1999).
Narrator: Peter Jeffrey
Length: 18 hours and 45 minutes
