41 - Moonstone by Wilkie Collins

Delve into the captivating tale of Rachel Verinder, a young woman who comes into possession of the Moonstone, a magnificent Indian diamond, on her eighteenth birthday. Heralded by T.S. Eliot as the first, the longest, and the best of modern English detective novels, Moonstone sets the stage for the modern mystery and suspense genre. The plot is rife with intriguing elements such as a plethora of suspects, misleading clues, a crime solved by gifted amateurs present at the scene, and two contrasting police officers - the local bumbler and the adept Scotland Yard detective. This engrossing narrative stands as a testament to the evolution of the detective novel.