The Moonstone

Claimed as the first detective story in the English language, Wilkie Collins weaves his classic mystery through a series of narratives by various characters in the book who had first hand knowledge surrounding the disappearance of a large valuable yellow diamond (the Moonstone) from the room of its young owner, Rachel Verinder. Miss Verinder was bequeathed the diamond by a ne'er-do-well uncle who looted the jewel from the statue of the Hindu Moon God during the siege of Seringapatam-since which, Hindu Priests were bound and determined to recover the diamond and return it to its rightful place in the forehead of the statue of the god.