April

Detective Mystery Month

In April we are in the habit of participating in the Norwegian Easter tradition of reading detective novels. This is one of those instances where I read about this tradition and liked and and forced you all to adopt it with me, so thanks for sticking with me! We have read a lot of fun authors in years past (Dorothy Sayers, Agatha Christie, G.K. Chesterton, and even Charles Dickens) but this year I am excited to introduce you to the (arguably) first* detective novel, The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins.

This is a delightful book that I picked up after hearing Wilkie Collins’ name mentioned many times as a “fun” author and it is true. I had a rollicking time reading this and I had a few other book club members pick it up recently as well and they were all excited to read it again (and one of them wrote about it for us!)

Fellow Book Club member,

Mary Tappe

has agreed to write about The Moonstone for us. Mary is another Dickens lover that inspires me to read more books. I love hearing her insights and was thrilled to read what she has to say about this book…

The Moonstone is, as so many mysteries are, intriguing from start to finish. Historically, and without spoiling anything, I loved knowing that this novel set a lot of the stereotypes for the detective story genre that we all know and love. Because of that this book felt like a welcoming, comfortable chair that I got to sit in for the first time; new to me but still familiar. So don’t let the subtitle “A Romance” fool you, it is 100% a mystery. A grand, English countryside estate, a loyal butler, a cursed family heirloom, a London detective… it’s like a BBC Masterpiece show on the page (or in your ears). A fun fact (to me) is that Wilkie Collins was a friend of Charles Dickens in whose serialized magazine The Moonstone was first published. Their writing styles are vastly different, with Collins character development feeling less like a giant spider web, but the thoughtful details and the commitment to a laugh is perhaps some of their literary friendship shining through. The tale is winding but never dull, with there always being something new to learn and someone to root for. There are many voices throughout the story too, but the quippy butler with his own rules of life and love of Robinson Crusoe is the primary voice inviting me back to enjoy this book again, and I can’t wait to do so with everyone.

*Technically Our Mutual Friend by Dickens was published first, but it is a murder mystery, not a detective novel….it appears an argument can be made for Bleak House but I haven’t read it and it doesn’t come up on lists of detective novels for some reason.

If you missed February and March, here it is!

Stay tuned for May featuring friend of the Substack

Dixie Dillon Lane

about our American Classic…

*As always, some of the links are affiliate links. The few cents earned with each purchase you make after clicking links (at no extra cost to you) go toward the time and effort it takes to keep Literature Book Club running and I appreciate it!