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3.6 AVERAGE
3.6 AVERAGE
This was an interesting twist on the standard regency romantic mystery. I enjoyed the concept of a male lead, and I thought the mystery was nice, if a bit predictable in spots. I previously have read the first Outlander book, and I must confess that I didn't enjoy it at all, so I was surprised to like this book at all. It was a bit slow and lacking in character development, but it was interesting enough for me to want to read the next in the series.
A wonderful read, well-written as always. The story has a Sherlock Holmes-y feel, and since I love Sherlock Holmes, I loved this.
I enjoyed listening to this. It made my work day much more entertaining. I find the Lord John books remind me a little bit of Sherlock Holmes, although the time periods are quite different. Still, it's nice that they have a different feel to the main Outlander series.
Diana Gabaldon focuses her new series on one of Outlander's most popular characters: Lord John Grey. Returned to London from his stint at Ardsmuir (and largely cleared of the scandal that sent him there in the first place) John is patiently waiting for his regiment's new orders when he makes a rather unpleasant discovery. The Honorable Joseph Trevelyan, his young cousin's fiance, has syphilis. John must try to prevent the wedding with no scandal falling on his cousin, while also investigating the murder of a soldier also believed to be a spy.
A fun mystery set during the reign of George II, Lord John and the Private Matter follows our protagonist through working class London, brothels patronized by the rich, the gay underground, and the parlors of the gentry. Deftly weaving the personal and political mysteries, Gabaldon leaves the reader wondering til almost the very end.
A fun mystery set during the reign of George II, Lord John and the Private Matter follows our protagonist through working class London, brothels patronized by the rich, the gay underground, and the parlors of the gentry. Deftly weaving the personal and political mysteries, Gabaldon leaves the reader wondering til almost the very end.
Another interesting Diana Gabaldon story. While there's not really any way to compare this to Outlander (it's much shorter and there's no romance to speak of), it was still full of rich historical details. And I always fell smarter after having listened to a Gabaldon story. She uses the $20 words instead of the nickel ones. It never ceases to amaze me the lengths people would go to in order to protect theirs or their family's reputations. Enter a loveless marriage? Fine, as long as it benefits the man financially. And moves the woman up in social circles. And keeps smut off the family name. To think that a broken engagement would imply a defect in the woman annoys me, but I know back then, women weren't as valuable as men. And while I know homosexuality is nothing new, I had no idea there were "molly houses" which were basically homosexual brothels. I learn so much about history in a Gabaldon story, lol. Anyway, this was an interesting mystery. What looked like two separate mysteries to solve ended up dovetailing into one odd conclusion.
So much fun... Laugh out loud, wonderful story and characters.
Definitely not Outlander. Not that it was bad but it was "interesting". As much as I zoned out listening to it, I still managed to figure out what was going on. The last 1/3 was the best of the entire thing; it really picked up pace. I will read the rest but not any time soon.
I quite enjoyed the first 2/3 of this book, thought it would be 4 stars. I find Lord John quite the enjoyable protagonist and I love the different types of society he moves through compared to most stories set in this time. Unfortunately the last third of the book seemed to drag on endlessly.
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced