the best of the Lord John books so far. John's flaws are exposed and you really learn a lot about his inner turmoil. A nice insight into Jamie as well. ( )

History is not my strong point. That said, I suspect that this novel, set in 1758, would not be my first stop in redressing the lack. So much the better for me, though - my ignorance probably went some way to the sheer joy I got out of it. It's a proper tapestry, full of life and character and good chewy plot, and it works bee-yoo-ti-fully.

In no small part, this is due to Lord John Grey, who is in many ways the archetypical hero of a novel of this type - he is an aristocrat, with the right skeletons in his family closet; he's charming and well-liked by everyone; an expert swordsman; well-off, educated, and good in a fight. But unlike a lot of heroes of novels of this type, he's eminently likeable. Not because the author says he is, but because he is - the charm is so beautifully written, and it's well-tempered with a solid sense of humour - and I for one have no objection to being charmed by him. And similarly unlike heroes of novels of this type, he's pursuing a clandestine love affair with his stepbrother.

...really. And that, too, is expertly done. There's no whisper of incest - the stepbrother is the result of a very recent parental remarriage, and is himself likeable, although in his case, the author falls squarely into the trap of making him preternaturally beautiful, having escaped any physical description of her hero altogether - and seen from a certain perspective, the first 250 pages of the novel are some sort of extended coitus interruptus for Grey and Percival. And when they get beyond that, well. She can write good sex, I will give her that. Romance-novel overblown, of course, but to just the right degree. Mmm.

There's a plot, too - full of Jacobites and treacherous Scots, which I read with some amusement as Northumberland became the Borders beyond the train window - but really, it's not the point, and neither is the occasionally less-than-stellar prose. The characters are such fun - as well as Grey and Percy, there is Hal, Grey's elder brother (who just screams "elder brother" from his first appearance), their indomitable mother and cousins, but even bit-players like Grey's valet, and the obligatory conspirators, come brightly to life - that I'll happily read 500 pages about them. I look forward to Lord John's further adventures with interest. ( )

I really enjoyed this second book in the Lord John Grey trilogy. I felt it was much more fleshed out than the first book, Lord John and the Private Matter. There is much joy and much pain in Lord John’s life during this book, and my only complaint is that the main mystery of the book — who killed Lord John’s father — often gets lost between his relationship with new step-brother Percy (and its consequences) and his involvement in the war. There were long stretches of the book where I completely forgot what the main point was. Lord John is himself an interesting character, noble and flawed both. I enjoyed his interactions with Jamie Fraser (which helped me place this book in the Outlander timeline), as well as his affair with Percy, even if that did end poorly. Not only does Gabaldon manage to tell quite an interesting tale, but she also explores what it’s like to live as a homosexual man in Georgian-era England, where such behavior is often punishable by death. As with the last book, if you are squeamish about homosexual relations, this trilogy is not for you! ( )

The reviews are correct - the history is quite good, but that was not enough to suffer through the constant blindsiding. ( )

The link to my review.