I actually read this in one sitting, which truly surprised me. It's quite a rare occurrence for me to do that. As you can guess from its unputdownableness, it was a really good read and an intriguing and interesting "mystery." I quantify that word because it was about as much of a mystery as an episode of "Columbo." That is to say, it was fairly obvious what was going on from the first chapter. However, I still enjoyed the rather circuitous path that DG sent her protagonist on.

Lord John is an officer in the Jacobite period and he's a bit of a detective. I understand that he was a minor character in her larger sagas "Outlander" and "Cross Stitch."

As a period piece, it was pretty good. And as a British historical written by a non-Brit, she does a rather good job. There are points in the book where I felt she was a bit too heavy-handed with the period feel and I was jolted out of "being in the time" to "being taught." But these instances were few enough and didn't really spoil the enjoyment.

As a slashy piece, it was nicely done. She writes a homosexual character in a mainstream book and portrays the sex in a dot dot dot way that is very sexy, leaving a lot to the imagination and for the fanficcer, without really upsetting the sensibilities of those who don't want to read about throbbing cocks. I've been wondering whether I should split my writing into erotica and less-so to appeal to the mainstream a little more. I haven't decided yet. Lord John is an interesting and nicely angsty character, but I didn't feel that there was enough of the essential "him" in this for me to really get to know him. I know that a lot of people who pick up this book will have already met him in other works, but I hadn't. So I didn't even know what he looked like and it wasn't until about halfway through the book that I discovered he had blond hair. I was rather shocked as she'd left it so long that I'd already put a face and appearance to him. I would have liked a description earlier on. Sharpe is described at the beginning of every book, as far as I can remember, for those readers who have picked up the books out of order.

The writing is good, a fine mix of period and yet doesn't leave the reader struggling through run-on sentences worthy of Austen.

If I have any one quibble about it, it's the predictability. The whole plot didn't give me any surprises. It led (for me) inexorably from one fact to another. I think that she could write something that would make me say "OMG I didn't see that coming" in the way that George RR Martin always manages to do, but she didn't manage it in this book. And if she's setting Lord John up to be an historical detective, then it's something she will need to do, or Lord John will be as predictable as Jessica Fletcher.

All in all, I'll give it a 7 out of 10. I'll get the next Lord John books, but I'll probably get them from the library rather than buying them.

For years, I had wanted to read the spin-off of Outlander, and finally, I got the opportunity.

To be honest, I'm not exactly a fan of Diana Gabaldon's style. I appreciate the detailed type of writing, but not particularly the language register used.

Nevertheless, in the past, I read the first book of the Outlander saga thanks to the TV series, and my bae has always spoken very highly of the character of Lord John, so I was very curious.

Effectively, I found myself very fascinated by the character, a homosexual in an extremely difficult era for those attracted to people of the same sex.

I really appreciate Gabaldon's shrewdness from a historical point of view. Everything is taken care of in the tiniest details, and so I was able to practically observe, almost under a magnifying glass, the customs and traditions of the era.

The case itself didn't particularly draw me in, but I was curious to know who the assassin was and how John would manage to discover it and solve the other problems.

Almost surely, I will continue with the saga. I want to see what the dear Lord John Grey has in store for us in the future ♡.

Lord John is a character in the Outlander series that I really liked a lot. Ever since I finished the series, I also bought the volumes about him.

The series dedicated to Lord John includes three novels and 8 stories, and it was difficult for me to navigate among the titles, and I always had a hesitation to start reading them. For the fans of the Outlander series, the Lord John series does not reach the level of the former.

In this volume, there are vague mentions of Jamie Fraser and events from Ardsmuir, but nothing more. The plot is very complicated, ranging from a family matter, the marriage of his sister Olivia to Trevelyan, whom John suspects to be successively suffering from syphilis, homosexual or even a spy, to crimes, military secrets, foreign nobles mysteriously killed, brothels and cross-dressers.

An interesting book if not compared with Outlander.

I'm finally getting a chance to reread this series along with Voyager, and it's proving as fun as the first time around.

I can't believe I forgot about my precious Tom Byrd, the most put-upon footman in all of London. Hee! Lord John does have a tendency to destroy his suits beyond repair, but Tom tries. Too bad that it seems like Gabaldon hadn't created Tom Byrd until she started writing these novellas, since he's not in any of the Outlander books.

I did remember Captain Stephan von Namtzen, because who could possibly forget the sexual tension between him and John? Not me! *fans self* I did however forget that he was in this book, so it was fun to meet him again much sooner than I'd counted on.

And then there's Lord John, who has a rather delicate problem to deal with in regards to his cousin's betrothed and a murder to investigate for the Crown that keeps getting more entangled the more he looks into it. And since 1757 London is not a friendly place for the gays, he has to do all this while keeping his sexual orientation a secret - which is common practice on an average day but not so easy to do when his investigation takes him back to Lavender House. He's constantly walking a tight rope, and that rope just keeps getting tighter and more precarious. Since he refuses to marry just to keep up appearances, he is also lonely and unattached, and nursing the unrequited yen for Jaime Frasier. He's kind of a mess relationship-wise, honestly, but it's one of the things that is so intriguing about him, along with his pragmatism, empathy, strength and cunning.

One of Gabaldon's many strengths is writing colorful and three-dimensional side characters, and there are many met here, my favorite being Nessie, the Scottish prostitute with a hate-on for English soldiers. Gabaldon's sense of time and place really shines through here as it does in her Outlander series. She gives us 18th century characters with 18th century sensibilities.

The narrator, Jeff Woodman, does a great job. I can't say if all the accents are spot-on, but they sound pretty legit to my foreign ears, except maybe the Cornish accent for Trevelyan's was on the stilted side. Whether that's just the way he chose to speak his lines or he was having trouble with the accent, I don't know. He does a great job with voices, especially Tom Byrd's, and he gets all the emotional notes perfectly. I thought it would be hard to transition between Davina Porter, who does the Outlander books, to Jeff Woodman, but it wasn't at all. Both these series have real top-notch performers for their audiobooks, and they complement each other well.

In addition to the engaging plot and well-developed characters, Gabaldon's writing style is also a pleasure to read. She has a way of bringing the past to life, making the reader feel as if they are actually there in 18th century London. The details she provides about the clothing, the architecture, and the social customs add depth and authenticity to the story.

Overall, I'm really enjoying this reread of the Lord John series. It's a great addition to the Outlander universe, and I can't wait to see what Gabaldon has in store for us next.