Book Log 30/2015 - Diana Gabaldon: Lord John and the Hand of Devils - Lord John #.05 (Outlander)

[jacey]

Three Lord John novellas which offer an introduction to the spinoff series from the Outlander novels featuring Lord John Grey. Outlander had fantasy elements (time travel) but Lord John is much closer to being straight historical fiction/mysteries. Lord John appears in the Outlander book Voyager and these shorts are from various times within the Lord John novels.

Individually the novellas are as follows.

Lord John and the Hellfire Club: Lord John investigates a murder which leads him into political treachery and into the realm of the debauchery of the hellfire Club.

Lord John and the Private Matter coimes here in the timeline

Lord John and the Succubus: Lord John is on active duty in Prussia and has to solve the mystery of a murdered soldier, a treacherous Gypsy and the Night Hag.

Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade comes here in the timeline.

Lord John and the Haunted Soldier. Recovering from serious injury, Lord John has to investigate an exploding cannon and the possibility that someone is sabotaging ordnance.

Readers of the Outlander novels have already met Lord John when he was put in charge of the Ardsmuir prison during Jamie's incarceration in Voyager. Jamie is not a character in these stories. John is an interesting character in his own right, intelligent, honourable, brave, and gay at a time when it's a capital offence. I'm always wary of spinoff novels, but these novellas had me hooked on Lord John right from the start.