FINAL DECISION: A winding walk through 18th Century England with Lord John Grey who is investigating the truth of his father’s allegiances, preparing his troops for war, and trying to live his life as a gay man where dangers threaten at every turn. The character of John is so vivid here, that I enjoyed this journey.

THE STORY: In the mid 1700s, Lord John and his brother are both soldiers in the Seven Years’ War. As their mother prepares to marry again, secrets from their father’s death and questions of whether he was a Jacobite traitor arise again. Lord John looks into the matter and someone seems to be taunting the family and threatening Lord John int he process. At the same time, Lord John’s new stepbrother is attracting Lord John’s attention.

OPINION: This book rests almost entirely on the character of Lord John. I enjoy reading of his life and how he deals with the complications of his family, his sexuality and just how he fits into the historical events of his time. He is a complex character. He has an unrequited love for Jamie Fraser, but he continues to live his life.

This book is driven by the mystery surrounding Lord John’s father’s death and whether he was a Jacobite sympathizer. However, while that is the framing of the story, this book is also about relationship and family and the dangers and events that Lord John experiences in his historical time period.

I enjoyed this book quite a bit and am more and more impressed with the historical depth of Gabaldon’s books.

WORTH MENTIONING: Jamie makes a couple small appearances here in a book that happens during the events of VOYAGER.

CONNECTED BOOKS: LORD JOHN AND THE BROTHERHOOD OF THE BLADE is the second book in the Lord John Grey series which is a spinoff of her Outlander series. I don’t know if people read these books apart from the Outlander books, but I think that this book assumes a reader already knows who these characters are so I would only recommend this series if a reader is familiar with the Outlander books

STAR RATING: I give this book 4 stars.