Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade by Diana Gabaldon

Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade by Diana Gabaldon
Historical Fiction

Lord John Grey is back in the second of his series. He is with his brother when a page from his dead father's journal is delivered to him. Grey knew that his father was murdered even though the death was made to look like a suicide, which had people wondering if he was a Jacobite supporter. Grey never questioned that his father was a Jacobite but after receiving the letter and speaking with his brother about it, he starts to question what he knows.

Meanwhile, as Grey investigates his father's past and those who are involved, his mother mentions that she is getting re-married so Grey has new family members in which to get used to. This includes a new step-brother Percy who Grey immediately takes a shine to. As the two are out, Grey is attacked and he suspects this is due to him looking in to his father's death.

This is another long book of almost 500 pages. Sometimes I wonder if Gabaldon cannot write books fewer than 450 pages. This was quite similar to the previous Lord John book in that it was interesting but I felt like I didn't fully understand some of the things that happened and was always slightly confused. I'm not sure why that was the case. I still enjoyed the book though and will continue on to read the third book in the series to see what Grey gets up to. For those that enjoy the Outlander series, Jaime Fraser makes a couple of short appearances in this novel.

First Line: "To the best of Lord John Grey's knowledge, stepmothers as depicted in fiction tended to be venal, evil, cunning, homicidal, and occasionally cannibalistic."

Rating:
(3.5/5)