Helpful Score: 1
Excellent British mystery which appears to be one of the founding novels in the genre (predated Conan Doyle even! though it was published just after Poe's stories. . .) and transcends the genre in its portrayal of character and class. The mystical Indian element didn't do much for me, and the Gothic elements weren't my thing, but Betteredge the Butler, Miss Clack the poor relation, and Sergeant Cuff (who isn't actually the all-knowing detective that became such a staple of the genre after Holmes) are all beautifully drawn. I guessed the villain relatively early, but was still surprised by a couple twists in the middle. A good solid read, one that I would have given five stars to except that it is absolutely brilliant through the first 150 pages and kind of peters out through the end.
