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The Moonstone
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The Moonstone - First Period Chapters 11-18
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1. Cuff believes that Rachel stole (well, hid) her own diamond. Why would she do it? Had she found out that Mr. Franklin was planning to advise her (counting on her mother's help as well, after telling her of the situation) to give up her diamond? Is that why she was angry with him?
2. The diamond seems to have changed Rachel, as well as anyone else who gets hold of it. Do we have a "precious" here? It seems the tone and introductory parts of the book give us permission to believe in supernatural powers and curses.
3. Do you think there is anything suspicious about Mr. Murthwaite and/or Dr. Candy? They SEEM to be mostly out of the picture for now, but Betteredge drew our attention to them early on.
4. Cuff asked to shake Betteredge's hand after asking him a question (the answer of which was a lie). Is Cuff a human polygraph test?
5. Why would Rosanna help Rachel to steal/hide the diamond. Rosanna has a lot of loyalty to Lady Verinder, and doesn't seem to have any particular relationship to Rachel. She could even have reason to be jealous of Rachel if she is in love with Mr. Franklin.
6. Betteredge is very observant, but not intuitive, especially with women.
Off to read the next section!
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I like it when Gabriel gets the detecting bug. He thinks he is being shrewd, but Sergeant Cuff sees right through him.
I agree that Rachel is behaving in a strange manner. Is it the Moonstone, or is it something else entirely that we know nothing about yet?
I love this example of flawed narrator. I'm listening to an audio book done by Recorded Books with Patruck Tull as Betteridge. It's a favorite. I heard it some 20 years ago and sought it purposefully when I joined Audible this year. (They seem to have bought up every novel recording ever done.)
Renee wrote: "I love this example of flawed narrator. I'm listening to an audio book done by Recorded Books with Patruck Tull as Betteridge. It's a favorite. I heard it some 20 years ago and sought it purposeful..."Thanks for the tip, Renee. I'm running behind (as usual) and haven't started this yet. Maybe I'll try it as an audiobook--so far my forays into those have been with lighter fare, but that often proves disappointing. I don't think reading Collins could be disappointing in any format!
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Does anyone remember the TV series "Columbo" with Peter Falk? Cuff reminds me of this detective. Cuff is good at finding everyone's weak points and exploiting them for his own benefit. In my mind, this does not make him a likeable character, however he is quite shrewd and successful at eliciting the information he is after.
I do not have much experience with mysteries as it is not a genre I often choose to read, so I have little to compare it to. However, I am thoroughly enjoying this read!
A side note: I LOVE the subtle humor in this book! Is that typical of Collins?
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He uses a similar kind of humor in No Name, but less of it in Armadale. Although it's still there. I can't remember with Woman in White. I read that so long ago.
Renee wrote: "He uses a similar kind of humor in No Name, but less of it in Armadale. Although it's still there. I can't remember with Woman in White. I read that so long ago."Thanks Renee! I am surprising myself with this read in so many ways. I have always steered away from reading Collins, thinking his work difficult and inaccessible. Where did I get that idea?What a fun discovery to find the reverse to be true. I am so glad I joined this reading group!
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Just posting the Section 2 thread quickly as I'm travelling at the moment. When I get home in the next couple of days, I'll post all the remaining threads so people can read and comment at their own pace.
In this section, we meet Cuff. Impressions? Can anyone see similarities with later detective works where an expert is contrasted with the amateur detective?