** spoiler alert ** 
 The book is considered the first detective novel and brings in a lot of the now-established tropes of detective novels - the English country house, the cast of wonderful characters and so on. I don't want to give anything away. 
 What was unexpected was the humor in the novel. There were some really funny sections, which helped to make several characters endearing. I also enjoyed the fact that the characters were written with consistent qualities and said/did things that made sense given their personalities. In addition, they had interesting quirks that weren't too quirky! 
 I loved The Woman in White and this is similar in that the descriptions are wonderful. The story is engaging and it's possible to envision the story unfolding. There is a Victorian quality to the story and, even though it sets up some of the tropes of today's detective fiction, it feels fresh to me - I think in part because of the humor. 
 This was terrific, even though I guessed who took the Moonstone pretty early on - it wasn't confirmed until late in the book, so Collins kept the mystery alive.