I finished it, even though Dickens didn't. It's rather unsatisfying reading an unfinished mystery, but as Dickens goes it was a good read until its abrupt end.

Oh this was fascinating to read. I knew, going into it, that this work was only half complete when Charles Dickens died. I knew there would be no conclusion, and I was okay with that, until I got to the last chapter. Oh things were getting so interesting!

Although I of course would love to know the rest of the story, I'm glad no other author of his time attempted to complete it. It must have been so maddening for those alive at the time!

If you like Dickens or even Wilkie Collins, I highly recommend reading this one, but only if you're okay with reading an unfinished mystery.

If your looking for a place to start with Charles dickens don't start here. Not only does the novel not have a resolution to the crime we don't even get a crime! On top of that we are bogged down with classic flowery dickens Victorian writing

The gothic vibes in this book were everything. So atmospheric, so Dickensian I would have guessed who wrote it without seeing the author on the cover. The story would have been perfect if it didn't lack an ending. (Though I enjoyed trying to solve the mystery myself.)

Wordy. Good writing, but not an interesting enough plot for me.

Awesome, maybe Dickens' best (or funniest)work. The continuous hilarious descriptions of people make this well worth it. And the unfinished mystery is compelling as well. As always, characters are interesting and by the time the story runs out you feel you know them.

This novel offers a window into a different era, of historical language, culture and societies. However I would not call it a classic on the simple definition that a classic should be able to transcend time and find relevance in the present.

Dickens has a knack for creating memorable characters, who juxtaposed are more somber or comedic and hold their own when given breath to speak with. However with the array of characters that our introduced through out the novel, and many introduced within a paragraph, it would be wise to offer up a character list for accessibility's sake. Especially since Dickens has a beautiful yet confusing way of bestowing nicknames upon the characters to add dept and memorability.

This novel, although packaged like a murder mystery, should not be approached like so. The narrative of the story moves to slowly, inconvenienced with long-winded and captivating descriptions of scenes, of monologues about systems of moral beliefs, and incidents that are added for mere entertainment. It is not a crime novel and should not be read like one, but Dickens with his death, has put us in the awful predicament of treating it like a Conan Doyle story and attempting to figure out through the slim narrative what happened.