Rating: 
Summary: Merely a good book
Review: I loved Lord John in the Outlander series and I had great hopes for *Lord John and the Private Matter.* Alas, Diana Gabaldon has set the bar too high. *Lord John...* is merely a good book, where as *Outlander* and its sequels are treasured evenings by the fire. One of the other reviewers on this page admitted to being bored with Claire and Jamie. Not me. I was bored with Brianna the first time she opened her mouth. "Selfish" and "self-absorbed" come to mind. I wish she'd lighten up. But that's another review....
Rating: 
Summary: You know, it's good to know Jamie has options....
Review: Frankly, I love Lord John, and am excessively happy to see him doing anything other than pining after Jamie Fraser. Well, only pining after Jamie a little, anyway.One of the best points about all of Diana Gabaldon's work is her attention to detail and historical accuracy. I found her descriptions of the molly-houses and that whole underground culture fascinating, and I daresay will go looking at that sourcebook she mentions at the end. Any road, I hope Diana keeps the Lord John stories coming. I'd particularly like to see more of his marriage, and his fatherly skills with young William, all wrapped around another mystery or two!
Rating:
Summary: I Liked It!
Review: My favorite thing about reading Diana Gabaldon's books is that they are like no other books I have ever read. She has the most unique writing style I have ever run across. Foremost is the fact that Diana never uses a fly swatter to kill a fly when a 16 pound sledge hammer will work just as well. She doesn't have her character simply beaten to death, he gets stomped into the ground for good measure. Don't just shoot the guy though the heart and leave it at that, no way. Bash his brains out after he is dead just to make sure. STD? Why stop there. Lets give the guy a couple of fatal diseases so that his chances of survival are really long. Yep, that's our girl. But all kidding aside, I really did like this book. I like John Grey and I hope that Diana continues on with this series. I read the customer reviews here and was surprised to see that so many people gave the book low ratings. As a reader of historical mysteries I thought this one was above average, although I will admit the ending got a little complicated and I had to go back and read it twice to get a handle on everything that happened. I think that perhaps some folks might just be a little uncomfortable with John Grey's life style and the fact that Diana took the readers on a little tour through the wild side of 18th century London. But you know, if she was going to make John Grey a real person, then to make the story credible she needed to have him think and behave like a real person in his situation would. I give her a lot of credit for this and I hope that she finds enough readers who appreciate this fact so that these books continue. Frankly, I am getting a little bored with Jamie and Claire. I think she has carried them about as far as they are going to go unless she injects some secondary characters more interesting than Brianna and Roger. So I am glad to see Diana branching out in other directions. As I said, I enjoy her writing. But I am going to complain. What is it with all the big words? Ameliorated???? Somnolent - Jocose ? What's wrong with improved, sleepy and funny? They are perfectly good words. Is Diana trying to give us vocabulary lessons or is she trying to prove how literate she is? Do we care how literate she is or do we just want her to write a good story so we can pay our money, read and enjoy a good story? I will be the first one to say that she is a fabulous writer, but seriously, the woman needs to get over herself just a little.
Rating: 
Summary: Love Lord John in spite of the Plot
Review: The bad part (but not too bad) of The Private Matter is the plot. It felt a bit on the thin side with too little mystery. But in all fairness, this is compared to the Outlander novels. The good part is the atmosphere and detail. Diana Gabaldon is brilliant at this as always, and the 18th century gay London underground is no small task. The best part of the novel is Lord John. I've adored this character since his first appearance. He might be better served by a stronger antagonist/ally. Claire and Brianna did this so well in the middle Outlander novels, that none of the characters here hold up as well in the role.
Still, I devored the book in one sitting, and anxiously await another. Nothing would make me happier than a Lord John series. Three and half stars is what I want to rate it at, but am giving four in the hope of encouraging more Lord John novels.
Rating:
Summary: Well written with good historical details
Review: When he happens to notice a syphilis sore on his prospective cousin-in-law's member, Lord John Grey faces a problem. First, he shouldn't have been looking. Second, breaking the engagement threatens to ruin his young cousin's reputation. And third, Lord Grey has other issues to deal with--like finding whether one of his sergeants was, in fact, a spy for the French. Somehow he's got to figure out a solution to the spying issue and save his cousin from a dreadful fate--all before his regiment is transferred to India or France or wherever it will next be assigned during the seven-years war then raging between Britain and France. Author Diana Gabaldon is best known for her huge time-travel/romantic adventures. Lord John appears in the OUTLANDER universe, but this book is completely historical. It's also a relatively short novel (300 pages in the hardback issue) that Gabaldon claims she wrote intending for it to be a short story. In some ways, Gabaldon is correct. LORD JOHN could use a bit more action. Still, Gabaldon's writing engages the reader and her discussions of 18th century British whorehouses, homosexuality (there was a reason Lord John was checking out Trevelyan's member) and disease are all fascinating. Fans of historical fiction will appreciate the details of Gabaldon's research and the skillful and unobtrusive way she weaves it into her plot. I would have preferred to see a bit more deeply into Lord John Grey's character. His secret homosexuality certainly would have created problems for him during that period. Gabaldon choses to tread lightly here, keeping the attention on the mystery rather than on the characters. I did appreciate the way she presented Trevelyan, who seemed a more troubled but possibly more thoughtful foil to the protagonist, Lord John.
Rating: 
Summary: Good writing; so-so plot.
Review: I was planning to like this book because I loved the Outlander series and think Gabaldon is an excellent writer. True to form, she delivers good writing again, but frankly the plot just never "took off" for me. The word "insipid" kept coming to mind. The central problems were unexciting, and even the characters seemed to think so. Too much happens inside Lord John's head, whereas I wanted to get to know him better through the eyes of others and more in-depth interactions. We readers are deprived of the thrill of discovering things for ourselves, because too much of the mystery is either disappointingly predictable; or transparent because it's spelled out either in Lord John's (revealed) thoughts, or in the tell-all discussion among several characters at the end of the book. It's a decent read, but not a page-turner by any means.
Rating:
Summary: Definitely not up to snuff
Review: Diana Gabaldon really drops the ball with this one. Fans of her Outlander series featuring Jamie and Claire will really be disappointed. The plot is confusing and pointless - as are her characters. Dialogue is good, as is her sense of the time period. But it's a short, unsuccessful attempt at a mystery novel. It seems it may have only been written to interest her readers before her next major Jamie and Claire novel comes out. Better to pass !
Rating:
Summary: This book took a little time to get into
Review: I enjoyed the role John played in the Outlander series, and picked this up hoping to read more about his relationship with Jaime and Clair. At first I was dissapointed to find this book had nothing to do with them and put it down. I'm the type of person who has to finish a book when I start it, though, and I'm glad I picked it back up. The book was an enjoyable little mystery with great characters and atmosphere, and I look foward to the next book in this series. It took me to places that most people never even think about when reading about Regency England. The ending was not what I expected, but that in itself was refreshing. I don't want to spoil it for those who haven't yet read this book. Read the book, but don't expect it to be the next Outlander story.
Rating:
Summary: Humor, Mystery and the Seedy Side of 18th Century London
Review: Perhaps because it was such a radical change from the Outlander series, I had a hard time starting this book. I read the first 30 pages, set it aside, picked it up again and found I like it very much. In fact, I wondered what my problem was the first time around. Lord John was always one of my favorite characters from Outlander. I enjoyed how his young character entered pre-Culloden then resurfaced years later, older and wiser. I can find no fault for anyone who loves Jamie Fraser, thus my liking of John. The wry humor and colorful characters made this an enjoyable read, something of an 18th century "Will & Grace" episode. Even the book's title is a clever play on words. Private matter, indeed! John's compassion and integrity make him the perfect focal point for the unfolding of the mystery. Because of his loss of Hector, and what could never be with Jamie Fraser, I found myself crossing my fingers for what may develop with the ridiculously plumed German.
Quarry, cousin Olivia, the Countess, Trevelyan, Scanlon, and persons associated with Lavender House round out an excellent array of secondary characters. I find myself looking forward to the next two books to see what happens with this lot, and to discover what events take place prior to John's re-entry into Jamie & Claire's lives in the New World. I recommend this book ONLY for those who are open-minded enough to know this is NOT and Outlander book, but an enjoyable spin-off, nonetheless.
Rating:
Summary: Private Matter indeed, me Lord!
Review: I have tried to read Gabaldon's tomes of great renown, i. e. The Outlander series, and I may yet try again. But something about this little book in purple on the Sam's Club sales shelf wooed me, much as the small detective series of Sharon Kay Penman's protagonist, Justin de Quincey had lured me into a series of mysteries in the time of Eleanor of Aquitaine. And I just thought I should give this shorter write a try. I am so glad I did! For I discovered much more than I thought I would in the pages of Lord John's tale, a story of intrigue befitting the times of the mid-1700's in England and rich with a history of a seamier side of life which directly impacts the lives of Lord John and the other characters. I found Lord John's role in the nobility of his day and its leadership of the English military quite fascinating, especially as it linked itself into the very real underworld of humanity, the scandalous and necessary part of whoring, both male and female, and the varied sexual proclivities that have always been enmeshed in human life. Was I surprised by Lord John's tastes? Yes! Was it off-putting? No! In fact, his sense of duty to family and his task as an agent of the monarch, indeed his self-knowledge and loyalty to who he really is are quite admirable. And Gabaldon's skill at keeping me reading, leaving just enough to question, made the novel one I found hard to put down. The other characters in the story, especially the Byrd brothers, Quarry, Stubbs, Olivia and Lord John's mother, the Countess, are colorful enough to make me feel like I would enjoy seeing them again, as is the especially flamboyant Stephan von Namtzen. Even the villains are sympathetic with a seemingly despicable Trevelyan and his Irish apothecary Scanlon assuming near heroic purpose as the tale unwinds. This little book is quite user friendly. It feels good in one's hands, and its smaller size, with a less crowded set of words on each page made me feel like I was just breezing through it. Nothing weighty here, though the social and moral questions it presents, which are set in a time of England's war with France, and the tragedies that war brings are weighty indeed. Most wonderful of all is Gabaldon's skill in writing historical fiction with a mystery interwoven. I really shall look forward to the rest of Lord John's trilogy. And I will promptly mail my copy of the book to my very dear friend for his enjoyment. I shall delight in knowing how he views this tale. If you like historical fiction that is on the mark, and you consider yourself a mystery buff, I suggest you spend some time with this private matter as well. This is mature adult fiction, at its best.
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