NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Diana Gabaldon weaves a dazzling tale of history, intrigue, and suspense in this first novel featuring one of her most popular characters from the Outlander saga: Lord John Grey.
The year is 1757. On a clear morning in mid-June, Lord John Grey emerges from London’s Beefsteak Club, his mind in turmoil. A nobleman and a high-ranking officer in His Majesty’s army, Grey has just witnessed something shocking. But his efforts to avoid a scandal that might destroy his family are interrupted by something still more urgent: The Crown appoints him to investigate the brutal murder of a comrade-in-arms who may have been a traitor. Obliged to pursue two inquiries at once, Major Grey finds himself ensnared in a web of treachery and betrayal that touches every stratum of English society—and threatens all he holds dear.
Praise for Lord John and the Private Matter
“[A] thoroughly entertaining and wonderfully witty historical mystery set in the richly detailed, occasionally bawdy world of Georgian England.”—Booklist
“Packed with vivid description and detail. Gabaldon aptly transports readers to eighteenth-century London, with all its reeking humanity and glitteringly elegant excess.”—BookPage
This book had a much more casual tone than the Outlander novels, but I found it pretty enjoyable. Lord John is a novice "investigator" at best, but his fumbling (such as finding himself accidentally sailing off to India) mostly serves to endear him further to the reader. However, if you have a problem Lord John’s sexual orientation, this book is not for you.
