Rating: 
Summary: My first Gabaldon
Review: This is my first Gabaldon novel and I enjoyed it tremendously. Her other books due to sheer size have been intimidating but if the writing in Lord John is on par with the Outlander series I now see why she has her fans for that series. I am not a big book type and Lord John was long enough and detailed enough to follow and be well entertained by. On its strengths I may dip into the Outlander but I will certainly be looking for more Lord John stories. She handled the homosexuality very well both on the personal level of Lord John's dealing with it and also the historical context of how mid 1700's society regarded it.
Rating: 
Summary: You're all too hard on her -- this is a intriguing, fun read
Review: I've read all of the Highlander novels and loved them and I also read lots of mysteries and historical novels. This is a lovely short fun and intriguing read with a great main character and neat references to the Highlander novels and to Jamie Fraser that got me reminiscing about those books too. The plot had some great twists and kept me turning the pages. I'll admit it took me a bit of time to get into it at the beginning, but then again so did the first Highlander novel. Gabaldon's great historical research and attention to details is again superb. Just read it and enjoy it for what it is.
Rating: 
Summary: I gave it a three ...
Review: simply because of the love of the Outlander series. She tried to make his character into a book, but it just didn't hold my interest. I skimmed the last 30 pages once I found out the mystery. I hope she comes out with more about Jamie and Claire and leaves John Grey behind!
Rating: 
Summary: Wast of Time
Review: I did not care what happened to any of the characters. Forced myself to keep reading in case it came alive. Alas, no. I just skimmed the last chapter for lack of interest.A good writer wasted her time.
Rating: 
Summary: Not awful, but not that good, either
Review: While Lord John was readable enough, there just wasn't enough to allow me to give it a more favorable rating. The scenes set in the traditional whorehouse were vivid and held my interest, but the mystery was thin, and I found myself not caring about Lord John or his private matter. Gabaldon is capable of much better writing, as she so ably proved in Outlander. It was heartening to see, though, that she's able to produce something that isn't as bloated as her recent efforts in the Outlander series.
Rating:
Summary: Lord John and the Private Matter
Review: In 18th-century England, Lord John must solve a mystery of missing classified information, while attempting to keep a man with syphilis from marrying his cousin. Interesting period, interesting character, intriguing setting, and decent prose, but for the life of me I couldn't make sense of the plot. At one moment after another, the characters jumped up and yelled, "Aha! Now we know!" while I was left thinking "Huh?" One clue does not logically connect to the next. The characters' thought processes are beyond fathoming. As far as I can tell, though the large outline of the plot seems solid, none of the little bits add up. Perhaps it will make sense to other readers, but I wouldn't bet on it.
Rating:
Summary: Big disappointment!
Review: I absolutely loved the "Outlander" series and was expecting more of the same. Lord John left me confused. It's hard to follow and harder to care about the characters. Doesn't even hold a candle to "Outlander" and was a chore to finish.
Rating:
Summary: Not the captivating mystery I had hoped for.
Review: Although the first chapter starts off with syphilis, murder and adultery, I found my interest waning by the third or fourth chapter. While I was not expecting an Outlander book, I did expect the snappy dialog and well-developed characters that I have come to love in Gabaldon's writing. Finishing this book felt like homework.
Rating:
Summary: Not Her Best Work
Review: I picked up this book because (a) Diana is one of my favorite authors and (b) Lord John Grey is one of the most interesting characters I've ever read. The first thing I should say is that you had better not expect a Really Long, Really Detailed book a la the Outlander series. This book is not quite as in-depth as any of those gargantuan undertakings, nor does it offer the extent of detail offered by the same. (Can you blame her, while we're waiting for her to finish the next Jamie & Claire book? I'm just glad she wrote something that would pacify me!) That said, this novel is an intriguing departure from the usual genre. While it is historical, this is a mystery! I may not be the best judge of mystery novels, as I don't normally read them, but I figured, what the heck? I love Diana's work and I will give it a try. Firstly, I did find the trail of events hard to follow. Things seem completely disconnected until the last couple of paragraphs. (Could just be my inexperience with the genre here.) Secondly, while I loved the John Grey of the Outlander books, I felt he was less well-rounded in his own "first" novel. (There was a previous book offered about him called "Hellfire" which was available only on floppy disk, and that one was pretty good.) He seemed only to be going through the motions of solving the mystery, with a few brilliant flashes of his distinct personality sprinkled few & far between throughout. In short, a good book, but not her best. Well researched and an interesting commentary about the underbelly of London life at the time, but it can't knock Outlander out of the top spot for me.
Rating:
Summary: Forget Outlander, Enjoy This as a Historical Mystery
Review: I probably have an advantage in that I've never read Outlander-- ok, I've read the first few pages once or twice but never got pulled into it. I do enjoy historical mysteries and I thought this one was aces. First, the research was very good and the fruits of that research were very nicely woven into the story. I had recently read a social history of London's underworld in the early and mid 18th century and I was delighted to be able to identify some of the characters, places and terms she used. This is also not a time period that is used a lot in the mystery genre currently. Second, I liked the characters. The author noted that she stared this as a short story which may explain why it doesn't have the depth of exposition that can be expected from a very large book (and the Outlander books are VERY LARGE). Since this is my first introduction to Lord John, I found him intriguing and interesting. Third, the mystery was unusual and complicated enough to be interesting. A group of apparently unconnected events turn cat in pan to a rather satisfying conclusion. Clearly the ending was a foreshadowing of something, so I hope that there are going to be more Lord John books in the future.
| 
