First published 1868
Franklin Blake delivers a spectacular yellow diamond to his cousin Rachel Verinder as an eighteenth birthday present. The gem carries a dark history, stolen from an Indian temple and passed down through her uncle's vengeful bequest. Rachel delights in the magnificent stone, but by morning it has disappeared from her room. Sergeant Cuff arrives to investigate the theft, his sharp eyes examining every resident and servant in the household. No one escapes suspicion as strange behaviors emerge and hidden motives surface. Blake finds himself caught between his feelings for Rachel and the growing mystery that threatens to destroy their relationship. The investigation reveals layers of deception as complex as the nearby quicksands that swallow whatever they touch. Multiple witnesses tell their versions of events, each adding pieces to a puzzle that grows more bewildering with every revelation. The truth about the diamond's fate will test loyalties, expose secrets, and force Blake to confront the possibility that someone he trusts has betrayed them all.
Genres: fiction, historical-fiction, mystery, crime, detective, 19th-century
Vibes: atmospheric, dark, suspenseful
Tropes: unreliable-narrator
Setting: India
Period: 18th-century
478 pages · Paperback · Penguin