Finished: The Moonstone (Collins) Just what I needed...a refreshing mystery written in the 1800's, told by each of the main characters writing letters about what their involvement was in the theft of a one-of-a-kind Indian diamond given to Rachel Verinder on her 18th birthday. The book is over 700 pages, so I'll not be doing a detailed recap.It was very nice to read something for the enjoyment and not be depressed by too realistic of a story. The diamond, the moonstone, is a sacred stone that has been guarded for centuries by Indian religious men. When it is taken by an English Colonel during the Seige of Seringapatam and whisked back to England, the Indian guardians vow to pursue it and bring it back, no matter how many years it takes. Colonel Herncastle is shunned by his own family for taking the jewel in the first place, and so on his deathbed, he bequeaths it to his sister's daughter, Rachel, hoping that it will bring as much discord to his own sister as it did to him. He charges his nephew, and cousin to Rachel, Franklin Blake with delivering the diamond on her birthday. Franklin arrives a month before the birthday and keeps the diamond safe at the bank. In the month that he's at the Verinder estate, of course, he and Rachel fall madly in love (as cousins in the 1800's often did...at least in novels!) After presenting the diamond to Rachel on the day of her party, everything goes awry when the diamond is stolen from Rachel's bedroom that night! Suddenly, Rachel will have nothing to do with Franklin...won't even speak to him, and he doesn't know why. There are many lively characters in the book...from Rachel's mother, Lady Verinder; to the wise, faithful, head servant, Gabriel Betteridge, who has served first Lady Verinder as a young girl, and now her daughter; to the crafty police detective Sergeant Cuff, who is called in when the diamond is stolen; to the charming aristocrat Godfrey Ablewhite, who is also pursuing Rachel's hand in marriage; to Rosanna Spearman, the former thief who has been given a chance at being a housemaid by Lady Verinder; to the three Indian Brahmins disguised as jugglers who have come to town to retrieve the diamond. Everyone becomes a suspect of taking the diamond at some point or another, even Rachel herself! As everyone writes their version of what happened, the details emerge as to what actually happened, what happened to the diamond, why Rachel turned on Franklin, and exactly who the thief ends up being! I will say that this one actually has a happy ending! It is written much in the way that a Sherlock Holmes story is, but a little less dry. This one really kept my attention, kept me guessing, and kept me wanting to know whodunnit! :-)