[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by ruth1304

I'd like to nominate "The Moonstone" by Wilkie Collins - a classic detective story with a clever plot and lots to think about.

I'll second The Moonstone

The Moonstone, published in 1868, is widely regarded as the precursor of the modern mystery and suspense novels. T. S. Eliot called it "the first, the longest, and the best of modern English detective novels". The story concerns the theft of a large Indian diamond; it contains a number of ideas which became common tropes of the genre: a large number of suspects, red herrings, a crime being investigated by talented amateurs who happen to be present when it is committed, and two police officers who exemplify respectively the "local bungler" and the skilled, professional, Scotland Yard detective. The story is told through a series of first person narratives by the various people involved - before, during, and after the theft.