Lord John and the Private Matter

Rating:
Summary: I liked it
Review: I have not (yet) read the other Gabaldon books, so this one did not pale by comparison. I found this book thoroughly enjoyable and the writing a delight. I did "read" this book on CD while driving so maybe some of the grammatical or such errors were less noticeable. Considering that everyone says that the other books are so much better, I can't wait to read them.

Rating:
Summary: Lord John and the Boring Matter
Review: My main gripe with this book is the horrendous, adolescent and plain old slip-shod writing. This reads like a college creative writing project, there are so many glaring grammatical/composition errors. I wanted to love it, as the bold subject matter intrigues me, but after awhile I started viewing it more as a comedy.

Unlike most other reviewers, I did NOT want to see a new Jamie/Claire thing, so that part isn't an issue. I was refreshed to see her doing something entirely different. Some sentences are just plain old weird, and seem to refer to nothing. At one point Grey thinks "Godamn it, now what?" Now what what? Nothing happened. What is he reacting to? It's almost as though they accidentally published an uncorrected galley proof. A couple pages later, two women both seem to be wearing the same wide, black hat. I had to read it three times, and I still couldn't tell them apart. A lot of times you don't know who the "he" or "him" refers to. In another place, Byrd "drew a deep breath, and swiped his knuckles furtively beneath his nose." Huh? Why did he do that, or what was the meaning? I couldn't figure it out.

Then there are corny and hackneyed similes and descriptions, such as "feeling his way through the room through bursts of brilliant white light that lit up the inside of his skull like fireworks on the Thames." Ho-hum, not to mention repeating "light" and "lit." He steps across the threshold as though he owns the place. Her eyes burned like twin candle flames. Someone was panting like a dog. A fog filled his brain. Another time, he "felt rather like a soap bubble--light, airy, and gleaming with iridescent colors"! In another place, there was a "faceless corpse naked and staring"! How can a corpse without a face stare?

Then there are the repeated words, twice in the same paragraph or page, as though she were too lazy to come up with something else. Someone had "alacrity" were "abominable," "stared moodily," had their "jaw set with determination," were "solid merchants" and "at the ready," and were "convinced" twice on the same page. And someone even had a "last regretful lungful"!

It just feels like something slapped together, flat, as though the author could care less. I give it 2 stars for the bold subject matter.

Rating:
Summary: Definitely not "Outlander"
Review: Lord John and the Private Matter isn't "Outlander" by any means, but as a reader who has just recently read the 5 historical novels by Diana Gabaldon, I found this a very entertaining mystery. I thought that Lord John was one of the more appealing characters in the series and felt that Lord John and the Private Matter did an excellent job of fleshing out his character and showing the sort of life that a man of his sexual persuasion would have to lead in 18th century England. Ms. Gabaldon has provided us with her trademark wealth of historical detail and recreated London-horrible smells and all!

The mystery is very complex, full of twists and turns and kept me guessing until the end. But I think the character development is the strongest component. Lord John shows himself to be a man of honor and character, just as he did in "Outlander" and I hope we will have more books about him in the future.

Rating:
Summary: Not light reading, but highly enjoyable
Review: A friend of mine recommended Gabaldon's 'Outlander' series to me a while back and I went to search for it at a local bookshop. While I found no other Gabaldon book at the bookstore, I did however come across this book at the 'just in' section. Curiousity got the better of me and I bought this book to sample Gabaldon's writing. While this book was very much out of my usual genre of fantasy and romance, it nevertheless intrigued and fascinated me.

I was very much impressed with the authors descriptions of the time and place where her story too place. It is written in a way that clearly shows what a place London was like during that period of time, the grimy undergrounds and polished surface like. Flesh trade was often very crude but easily and readily available. Investigations and sleuthing was litterally dirty work, and officers were not always in starched, clean uniform. And men of class or otherwise, weren't always straight. However, I must say that there was very little said about Lord John himself. You don't really get to know the lead character, aside from his sexual preferences and social standing. You don't really get an insight to who he actually is or what his underlying character is like.

That aside, the book is highly enjoyable if you don't mind a slow starting and lots of dialogue and 'what ifs'. Following the storyline can get difficult. That said, this is not easy reading. If you can bear with a heavy plot and dialogue, then get this book. The reward, which is a great story, will be yours.

Rating:
Summary: A very enjoyable read
Review: Grey is an interesting and appealing protagonist, this is a compelling story, and it offers a well-handled historical mystery with a satisfying resolution. The writing is skilled and highly readable, and it provides a richly-detailed setting which draws the reader in. Overall, I found this a very enjoyable read and look forward to the next LORD JOHN mystery--whereas I lost interest in the OUTLANDER series a couple of books ago.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful story!
Review: I'm a mystery fan who was simply looking for something different - and I found it! I borrowed the audio version of this book from the library and immediately went out to see if there were more books on Lord John because I enjoyed the story so much. I'd never heard of Diana Gabaldon or her other books before, but I'll be looking for more of her titles in the future - especially those with Lord John!